Linn AV5125 5-channel Amplifier Review

[Deleted member 2348]

BTW, 5 * (2 chipamps by channel). Which?

TDA7293.

 

[maty]

Then as Neumann KH120 active monitors if I am not wrong.

 

[Digital Mastering System]

So Amir was right about the rail switching. In the spec sheet they detail a 'high efficiency' mode. The spec sheet also details how to parallel two devices for better current drive. Actually an unusual power amp chip design. DMOS.

 

[digititus]

Power amps aren't supposed to be "cute".
They should reflect a muscular, beefy, mean look.
Something that will scare a speaker into submission. LOL

It should also be rack mountable with handles

 

[PuX]

I'd love to see more reviews of amps made by hi-end companies: Densen, Electocompaniet, Primare, Naim.

it's a shame Linn turned out to be not great, maybe this particular amp is worse than others, but generally if one product from a company performs badly, other products should be close. new DAC from Schiit surprised me, all of their stuff was just trash up till now, so I guess sometimes companies do turn things around.

 

[Ron Texas]

Not very exciting compared to what one can buy today. Thanks for the review.

 

[maty]

TDA7293.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Linn+TDA7293

-> http://highfidelity.pl/!ev/artykuly/22_02_2008/linn.html

[ Majik-I

The amplifier was packed in an almost identical enclosure. In the front we have also a big blue display and a few buttons. There are also two mini-jack sockets – one is a headphone amplifier and the other is an AUX input for an external source like a MP3 player or iPod. There is a lot of connectors on the back – five line inputs, turntable input (MM), that can be exchanged for a line one if needed, recording output and a preamplifier output. There are also two pairs of gold plated speaker terminals and an IEC power socket and a power switch. To the far right we have two CAT-5 sockets with the RS232 protocol, allowing the Linn to be placed in a computerized multiroom installment. The insides are interesting. Similar to other amplifiers of the series also the integrated uses the Chakra technology. It means that in the power amplifier two technologies were combined – IC and solid state (2 transistors per channel). Until a certain power level only the IC is active – in this role the TDA7293, but when the signal level is higher the transistors kick in (a complimentary pair of bipolar Sanken 2SA1386 + 2SC3519). This allows for the use of a smaller heat sink than usual. In the model “I” it is a curved, double, thick aluminum plate, screwed to the bottom of the enclosure. In the power amplifiers a small fan is mounted to increase the heat exchange, but it is missing here. And good… The source selector is based on ICs, similar to the volume control – in this role the PGA4311 from Burr-Brown. Large part of the PCB is occupied by logic steering the power stage. The circuitry is all SMD, and the inputs are not gold-plated. Two words about the power supply – it is an impulse one, but it does not resemble other impulse PSUs, it is much more complicated, with large transformers and a very thorough voltage filtration on the side of the amplifier and the mains. The remote is a system one, so it has many buttons. ]


LINN 2250 Poweramp

https://www.lejonklou.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4991

Linn 2250 damaged again...

https://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/linn-2250-damaged-again.131040/

Opened up my Linn 2250 amplifier to install a treble active card for my new (old) AV5140s and found this:

...Does anyone has an idea what would be the correct value for this SMD ceramic cap? I will replace the poweramp chip (TDA7293) just in case it was damaged...

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

The power devices at the front and the speaker outputs at the rear. I've never seen that.

 

[anmpr1]

I was one of those dealers and can tell you subjectively, that with two and maybe three pairs in the same dem room (unused pairs well separated from the playing pair), you can just about get away with it...

Well...one must keep it reasonable. I've been in stores where there's a wall of a dozen or so loudspeaker pairs. You are certainly correct that it is often difficult to pinpoint which speaker is playing in that kind of situation. Two or three pairs is reasonable.

In any case, the presence of a non-playing loudspeaker isn't going to markedly destroy the sonic signature of the other loudspeaker. I think Ivor was just confusing the situation. That said, his turntable demos using swappable Kieth Monks tonearm tubes was clever. You could demo two turntables with essentially the same arm/cartridge by doing a quick lift-it-off exchange.

But as I've said so often, the only way to really know is to take the speaker home and live with it a week or two. Find out if the loudspeaker's trade-offs (and they all have trade-offs) is what you are willing to live with. It's easy to do with the small box speakers reviewed here on ASR. Not as easy with four hundred pound behemoths shipped in multiple boxes.

 

[amirm]

Did you forget to run THD tests with different frequency of test tones? Or do you only do that with 2-channel power amps? I really like that test.

I did forget. The owner is anxious to get it back so it is all packed to go to UPS.

 

[martijn86]

Well, I guess that's it guys. First he likes speakers that don't measure perfect, now @amirm gives an emotional recommendation to an amplifier. Next thing you know he's going to prefer TUBES! This is madness!

 

[Robbo99999]

Frequency Response not flat, not very good distortion performance, and screaming noises coming from the amp....it's a laying down panther!? Is that about AVR's having a low bar? We can give it some slack for coming from year 2000 I guess, but aren't they supposed to be measured with the same bar? Seems expensive to me too for an old product, just doesn't seem viable/sensible.

 

[amirm]

Frequency Response not flat, not very good distortion performance, and screaming noises coming from the amp....it's a laying down panther!? Is that about AVR's having a low bar? We can give it some slack for coming from year 2000 I guess, but aren't they supposed to be measured with the same bar? Seems expensive to me too for an old product, just doesn't seem viable/sensible.

You guys are brutal!

Distortion and noise at low volumes come near Purifi amplifier reference:

And hugely better than that NAD AVR. It has superb dynamic range as well:

20 bits of dynamic range is very hard to find in an amplifier at full power. And better than 16 bits at 5 watts is also excellent.

It also runs cool. And you can get 5 channels for less than price of the Purifi in stereo in used marker.

 

[Robbo99999]

You guys are brutal!

Distortion and noise at low volumes come near Purifi amplifier reference:

And hugely better than that NAD AVR. It has superb dynamic range as well:

20 bits of dynamic range is very hard to find in an amplifier at full power. And better than 16 bits at 5 watts is also excellent.

It also runs cool. And you can get 5 channels for less than price of the Purifi in stereo in used marker.

Ah, ok, I'm not used to this AVR market, I'm probably seeing it more from DAC / headphone Amp perspectives.

 

[LTig]

Sometimes Linn's way was every which way but up. I remember Ivor the Linn Guy telling dealers they needed to have 'single speaker' demos. His idea was that the SPL from the 'active' speaker would somehow cause the unswitched speaker in the room to interfere sonically with the speaker under demo. Thus, the only way to make a valid comparison was to only have one set of speakers in the listening room. You can imagine the pain this was for dealers who had to lug speakers in and out of the room. It made A/B impossible. Just another pseudo-scientific bit of high-end mumbo jumbo. LOL

You could short cut the terminals of the unused speakers and be done...

 

[Francis Vaughan]

The power devices at the front and the speaker outputs at the rear. I've never seen that.

I have. Edward Cherry, he of nested differential feedback loop amplifier fame, laid his PCBs out like this. He was concerned with ground layout, and had specific intent in mitigating coupled signals in the layout.

https://linearaudio.nl/sites/linearaudio.net/files/cherry ndfl amp.pdf

 

[anmpr1]

You could short cut the terminals of the unused speakers and be done...

If I understand what you are writing, that wasn't it. What Ivor was claiming was that sound waves from the active speaker would penetrate and vibrate the drivers of the unplaying speakers, and even resonate inside their cabinets, causing unwanted sound to pollute the listening environment, causing the loudspeaker under audition to be judged incorrectly from a sonic standpoint.

I think where that came from was an extrapolation he made from his turntable 'experiements'-- where air and floor loudspeaker vibrations would cause the Technics SP10 (which had no suspension to speak of) to sound muddy compared to his Sondek, with the AR type suspension. So Ivor imagined that if it happened with record players, it had to happen with speakers. Solution? Move all other loudspeakers out of the listening area.

 

[gfx_1]

If I understand what you are writing, that wasn't it. What Ivor was claiming was that sound waves from the active speaker would penetrate and vibrate the drivers of the unplaying speakers

Funny that you mention that, I was playing around with a subwoofer to add some under the 50 Hz the bookshelfs don't play.
It's to big to fit under the desk (legroom) so it sits on my left, on the right is an old floorstander for nostalgic reasons and while playing test tones the woofer in that started to move around at aprox. 40 Hz.

 

[anmpr1]

Funny that you mention that, I was playing around with a subwoofer to add some under the 50 Hz the bookshelfs don't play.
It's to big to fit under the desk (legroom) so it sits on my left, on the right is an old floorstander for nostalgic reasons and while playing test tones the woofer in that started to move around at aprox. 40 Hz.

There is no doubt that vibrations at a certain frequency and a certain SPL could cause a passive driver to move. Think of the passive radiator concept. Whether that would be significantly audible when another loudspeaker is playing at normal to loud volumes? I certainly don't think it would mask the overall sonic signature of the loudspeaker under demo.

And when you take the speaker home from the store, it will sound different anyway because your living room dimensions will not be those of the store.

I think Ivor was just causing problems for dealers and listeners. But as an earlier post said, Linn did things their own way.

 

[SEKLEM]

I have Linn Katan monitors that have a very bright presentation. It's not shrill, or screeching, but they sound better (at least to me) with the treble adjusted down a little. Linn has always designed their electronics to suit their speakers, even going as far as a system of active crossovers (which Linn annoyingly calls Aktiv). Unlike most high end audio companies that specialize in just speakers, or just electronics, Linn does both and with the expectation that dealers will sell entire systems of their brand to their customers. How better to make sure that happens than to specifically design the products to perform or at least "sound" best in tandem with their own products?

Despite using a cheap receiver and cheap amplifier to run the Katans they are the best sounding monitors I've ever had, and I'm super stoked to have them. I would like the opportunity to try one of their amplifiers with the Aktiv cards installed for these speakers just to see what a difference it could make.