Linn Majik DS-1 Streamer & Amplifier Review

[FrantzM]

As an owner of an aged LP12 that’s due for either replacement or upgrade, I’d be interested to know what you’d consider a well-engineered, optimal turntable.

Technics SL-1210

 

[Deleted member 65]

I’d be interested to know what you’d consider a well-engineered, optimal turntable.

If you're local to me I'll be putting up my tt for sale shortly ... (sorry for derailing)

 

[welsh]

Back in

Wow!
I wasn't expecting this!
Here in Europe paid reviewers (I mean paid by means of having a salary from their work in a magazine, or through ads or through receiving for free very expensive "audiophile" stuff the sell afterwards) have succeeded in establishing an image of Linn as producing expensive, faultless, perfect top highend devices.
Now with your measurements you have debunked another audiophile myth:
- a DAC not quite meeting the CD resolution of 96 dB is unacceptable at such a high new price, this is what I would only accept from a device costing no more than a few dozen euros! (I understand why you passed on the multitone test with already such unacceptable results at such a price)
- the frequency response truncated at both ends is absolutely unacceptable for such an expensive product, esp. given the (now debunded) subjective image of their delivering faultless, top products
- the same applies to the weak amplification which also produces distortion way too early.

On the the positive side, at least it is still not pure crap like the super-expensive TotalDAC (TotalARNAC for French connoisseurs...), some products by PS Audio,
or the earlier Schiit stuff (before the latter took seriously into account your measurements and started afterwards to properly engineer their products).
Nethertheless for me this performance remains unacceptable given the original pricing and the image of Linn.

 

[welsh]

Back in

Back in the dark, ‘flat earth’ days of the 1980s in Britain I owned a Linn LP12... sadly beaten by a cheap DAC nowadays.

 

[thewas]

As an owner of an aged LP12 that’s due for either replacement or upgrade, I’d be interested to know what you’d consider a well-engineered, optimal turntable.

Most good late 70s and 80s Japanese direct drive turntables.
Oops, @restorer-john was quicker.

 

[Willem]

I still own my LP 12 but it is indeed easily beaten by a Chromecast Audio using the analogue output.

 

[Jas0_0]

I realise I'm taking this thread off-topic, for which apologies, but thanks for the turntable suggestions.

Funny, people on most other forums will tell you an LP12 will out-perform a Technics SL1200/1210. But then most other places will tell you valves sound good. Would be great if there were measurements to help the discussion.

There's no contest between my RME ADC/DAC and LP12, but I just like finding music on vinyl and it would be great if my analogue setup could be brought closer to my digital side.

Though before I start a new thread and stop derailing this one, can anyone point me to one where the merits/otherwise of various turntables have already been discussed?

 

[Koeitje]

I can ignore the DAC, even though its far behind the Mark Levinson from 1999, but the terrible amplifier is something I cannot ignore. What a joke.

 

[Skookum]

Anyone else also amused by the Naim cable shaker....? Thank goodness for measurement.

 

[stunta]

This is no surprise to me , please don't measure any more Linn or Naim products Amirm , the UK is already at a level of national embarrassment unprecedented in our history lol .

You have some incredible musical talent to make up for it. What would we do without the likes of Pink Floyd and Led Zep?!!

I've owned Linn streamers and amps before. Heck even their speakers! The Majik line is the lowest end so in relative terms they are the "affordable" range. Their marketing strategy relies heavily on people upgrading up to the Akurate and then the Klimax lines. So the Majik needs to sound noticeably worse.

What ASR has revealed is that their Klimax line is on par with USD $300+ DACs and maybe come close to the Hypex amps. If you are sticking the Klimax gear in a hidden rack, you are wasting your money - the whole idea is you marvel at their beauty and show off to your friends.

 

[Vasr]

Linn does have commercial-free streaming radio channels if you like their choice of music. 320kbps MP3.

https://www.linn.co.uk/linn-radio

 

[infinitesymphony]

Seems like the general conclusion is to avoid all this AVR and streamers as a whole

There are values to be had, like the Yamaha WXA-50 for <$500 with around 90 dB SINAD out of the amplifier.

Linn does have commercial-free streaming radio channels if you like their choice of music. 320kbps MP3.

https://www.linn.co.uk/linn-radio

Wow, they're still streaming to Winamp and RealPlayer. Takes me back!

 

[FrantzM]

You have some incredible musical talent to make up for it. What would we do without the likes of Pink Floyd and Led Zep?!!

I've owned Linn streamers and amps before. Heck even their speakers! The Majik line is the lowest end so in relative terms they are the "affordable" range. Their marketing strategy relies heavily on people upgrading up to the Akurate and then the Klimax lines. So the Majik needs to sound noticeably worse.

What ASR has revealed is that their Klimax line is on par with USD $300+ DACs and maybe come close to the Hypex amps. If you are sticking the Klimax gear in a hidden rack, you are wasting your money - the whole idea is you marvel at their beauty and show off to your friends.

Still...You must admit, that this is a BS product. Overpriced doesn't even begin to describe it...
In that light once you get to the Klimax line, what would you get? Topping-like performance? I doubt it, but measures will confirm or cast these away.

Peace

 

[PuX]

wow, that's awful. another high-end brand to avoid.

 

[gvl]

Have they been updating the firmware all these years to keep up with new services and such? If so that may at least partially justify the cost.

 

[Dj7675]

You have some incredible musical talent to make up for it. What would we do without the likes of Pink Floyd and Led Zep?!!

I've owned Linn streamers and amps before. Heck even their speakers! The Majik line is the lowest end so in relative terms they are the "affordable" range. Their marketing strategy relies heavily on people upgrading up to the Akurate and then the Klimax lines. So the Majik needs to sound noticeably worse.

What ASR has revealed is that their Klimax line is on par with USD $300+ DACs and maybe come close to the Hypex amps. If you are sticking the Klimax gear in a hidden rack, you are wasting your money - the whole idea is you marvel at their beauty and show off to your friends.

Here is a link to measurements from Stereophile from the Klimax line.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/linn-klimax-ds-network-da-processor-measurements

 

[Zaki Ghul]

I realise I'm taking this thread off-topic, for which apologies, but thanks for the turntable suggestions.

Funny, people on most other forums will tell you an LP12 will out-perform a Technics SL1200/1210. But then most other places will tell you valves sound good. Would be great if there were measurements to help the discussion.

There's no contest between my RME ADC/DAC and LP12, but I just like finding music on vinyl and it would be great if my analogue setup could be brought closer to my digital side.

Though before I start a new thread and stop derailing this one, can anyone point me to one where the merits/otherwise of various turntables have already been discussed?

Big fan of active tonearms, Sony biotracers and Denon equivalent. I have PS-X75 and PS-X600 and they're the best sounding turntables that I've had. They deserve nice carts but will make any cart sound better than you think it would.

 

[DSJR]

Technics SL-1200mk2. Sell the Linn, they really have nothing going for them apart from secondary market resale value.

I don't know where to start here, I just don't, as the long term LP12 owner develops an emotional relationship with it and properly serviced and set up, it becomes more than just a tool to play records on.

To the LP12 owner, upgrades are expensive if bought new, but I'd do the mechanical ones first (Cirkus bearings/hubs are becoming available now with the new high class plumbing Karousel bearing they've introduced, but you'll need the Cirkus sub chassis or one of the new sub-chassis to use with it).

Parting shot you're welcome to scoff at or ignore - The LP12 is picking up in sales by all accounts nearly fifty years after the original Aridston RD11 was introduced, this a beefed up Thorens TD150 which looks so like an LP12 if you squint hard enough Maybe the buyers are all fools, or cashing in their pension and investment funds to resurrect the 70's and 80's (buying Naim too quite often). In the UK, I discovered Notts Analogue and was a VERY happy bunny for years, but there are so few dealers and any forum mention of these is ignored, so there ya go.

Linn's older amp designs were band limited a bit, but they did apparently change with the ranges that came after this I gather. In all honesty, LP12 apart, their systems are more the B&O market these days and sell as such, where cost is less important, but a safe as houses amp like this, would find a ready home.

 

[stunta]

Still...You must admit, that this is a BS product. Overpriced doesn't even begin to describe it...
In that light once you get to the Klimax line, what would you get? Topping-like performance? I doubt it, but measures will confirm or cast these away.

Peace

Amir did review the Akurate line: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ements-of-linn-akurate-dsm-dac-streamer.6272/

This is at the same level as the Topping D50s which is $250 but of course the feature set is different. The Akurate is $10K though.

 

[Kachda]

There are values to be had, like the Yamaha WXA-50 for <$500 with around 90 dB SINAD out of the amplifier.

While the WXA-50 is fine as an integrated app, I found their app to be awful. Kept crashing, wouldn't connect, and the app had the look of gen 1 apps on iphone 3g from my memory. You're better of connecting Chromecast audio to the optical input, or using Spotify connect on the WXA-50 since that is supported.

The musiccast app has 2.7 starts on google play store.