klimax

Mar 26, 2021

davidboni.com There’s big news today for all those audiophiles who worship at the shrine of Linn. The Scottish company, based on Clydeside, has been building the ultimate in audio equipment ever since its founder Ivor Tiefenbrun developed the legendary Linn LP12 turntable back in the early 1970s, Even when CDs began to take over from vinyl, Linn stubbornly stood against the tide as an analog company. Eventually, like the rest of the industry, Linn came over to the digital dark side and began to embrace digital music, first with its CD players and later with its Linn DS digital streamer, one of the first of its type and launched back in 2007. Today, Linn is under the stewardship of Ivor Tiefenbrun’s son Gilad. The company serves a market of wealthy and not-so-wealthy audiophiles who are willing to spend almost any amount of money in their pursuit of audio Nirvana. The latest chapter in Linn’s history begins today with the announcement of the company’s most ambitious digital streamer to date… the Klimax DSM. The all-new Klimax DSM is the first digital streamer to feature a Linn DAC (digital to analog converter). The Linn Organik DAC is at the heart of the new Klimax DSM and has been designed to set a new benchmark in music streaming. Manufactured entirely in-house, the home-grown Linn DAC combines  FPGA  processing with a discrete conversion stage, optimized to work together as a system. The Linn Klimax DSM has the most beautiful panoramic display that appears to float. Linn This new digital architecture enables Linn to precisely control and optimizes every stage of the digital-to-analog conversion process for the first time. Its designers claim that Organik offers significantly lower noise and distortion, measuring better than anything the company has achieved before. It expertly the digital to analog conversion to achieve the most accurate re-creation of the original music signal, revealing more of the tiny details that create a closer emotional connection with the music. MORE FOR YOU Every aspect of the Klimax DSM custom-designed enclosure plays a crucial role in preserving the original musical detail and also has a visual and tactile luxury. Machined from solid, special grade aluminum, the design has a fresh new look but retains the much-loved signature Klimax feel. The control dial is a visible reflection of the attention to detail that Linn lavishes on its products and the digital engineering inside the striking enclosure. Every Klimax DSM is under the direct supervision of a Linn engineer while it is being put together. This isn’t a production line product. The builder of each Klimax DSM features an isolating foot that bears the signature of the engineer who built the unit. It only gets signed off when perfect. The Linn Organik DAC is the company's first in-house digital-to-analog converter. Linn The front of the Klimax DSM is a panoramic screen that displays track information almost with a floating appearance. The screen is fitted with a proximity sensor that illuminates the display when a person approaches it. The dial is a thing of beauty and made from high-quality materials. Everything from the dial’s turned brass bearing to its precision-cut glass cover and the photo-etched stainless steel gives an analog feel to the control. The dial surround encases no fewer than 100 status lights. The dial, combined with an array of stainless-steel buttons, has been designed to be touched, bringing the joy of physical interaction that’s been sadly lacking in the digital age. The surface of the enclosure pays homage to the Klimax forebears with the signature Linn smile reimagined through a series of diamond-cut circles that echo the grooves of a record, a subtle nod to Linn’s vinyl origins that began with the legendary Sondek LP12 turntable. The Klimax DSM enclosure plays a vital role in preserving the original musical detail. Its mass and internal damping are designed to isolate the Klimax DSM from vibrations in the room. Precision-cut pockets and partitions separate the analog, digital and digital power stages, shielding the electronics from interference within the product. Linn claims the high level of isolation preserves the delicate digital signal while cradling the precious Organik DAC. The AV variant of the Linn Klimax DSM include four HDMI inputs and an HDMI eARC output. The system ... [+] can also be expanded to a 7.1 surround sound with an optional module. Linn The Organik DAC is a massive achievement for Linn. It’s the company’s first-ever DAC. The components have been selected, designed, laid out and populated on circuit boards at Linn’s Glasgow factory. The design includes Linn’s multi-layer PCB design capability and uses the latest surface-mount machinery. Linn has garnered significant experience with high-speed digital electronics and those skills have been essential in creating the Organik. Linn handles every element of every stage of the digital-to-analog conversion process with a combination of FPGA-processing and a discrete conversion stage. The FPGA processing stage uses custom-designed algorithms for increased upsampling, more precise volume control and distortion-free modulation. Its partnering discrete conversion stage renders an analog signal with very low levels of distortion thanks to a new ultra-low jitter oscillator and clock distribution network. These features are combined within a unique double-sided design that reduces signal paths to an absolute minimum. Linn claims that Organik offers significantly lower noise and distortion levels, measuring better than anything the company has ever achieved before with third-party DACs. The company says it’s the most accurate re-creation of an original music signal, revealing even more of the tiny details that create a closer emotional bond with the music. The top of the Linn aluminium enclosure retains the Linn smile in the form of diamond cut vinyl ... [+] grooves, a nod to Linn's Sondek LP12 turntable. Linn The audio performance of the Klimax DSM, with its new Organik DAC, combines with higher-performance, 24-bit 384khz streaming and DSD256 support. It’s designed to give all streaming, connected digital, analog and wireless sources an audio uplift. Even connected analog sources can benefit from the higher-performance, lower-distortion ADC (analog-to-digital converter) design which has a dedicated circuit board and power supply. There are two Klimax DSM variants to provide choice depending on listening preferences. Klimax DSM (Audio) is for those wishing only to connect music sources. Klimax DSM (AV), with its HDMI connections, provides an enhanced listening experience from movie sources as well. Linn aficionados seeking the highest performance from a complete Linn system, will probably want to opt for the new Klimax System Hub. It’s housed in the same enclosure as the new Klimax DSM so benefits from improved acoustic isolation. It also includes the new, improved ADC, and in terms of connectivity, offers all the same inputs as Klimax DSM (AV) variant, including the option to upgrade with 7.1 surround capability. The pairing of Klimax System Hub plus Klimax 350 speakers or Klimax Exaktbox, both with the new Organik DAC on-board, is Linn’s optimum digital set-up. The Klimax DSM's beautiful analog-feel dial is made from a brass bearing and a ring of 100 lights ... [+] surround the dial under etched glass. Linn On the analog input side of the Klimax DSM are two pairs of stereo Phono RCA sockets and a pair of balanced XLR inputs. The analog output stage offers a stereo pair of RCA Phono sockets as well as a balanced pair of XLR outputs. For digital sources, Linn has included two Coaxial SPDIF inputs and a single TOSLINK optical input. For connecting a computer there is a USB Type B input and a USB-A port for attaching hard drives or USB thumb drives. Connection to the network can either be via Wi-Fi, a regular Ethernet port or an Optical Ethernet port for isolating the Klimax DSM from the network. Finally, two Linn Exact inputs are included for connecting any of Linn’s Exact-compatible components. The Wi-Fi circuitry supports TIDAL, Qobuz, Spotify Connect, Apple Airplay, Roon, TuneIn, Calm Radio. There’s hardly a source that the Klimax DSM can’t handle except Google’s Chromecast built-in. Make no mistake, the Klimax DSM range is a massive stride for Linn and brings the company’s digital network player line-up entirely in-house as far as design, development and manufacturing goes. This is a network music player for people who don’t or won’t make compromises when it comes to getting the best sound possible. I’ve not had the chance to listen to a Klimax DSM yet, but if you know anything about Linn’s reputation, you’ll know that its products rarely disappoint. I still have a Linn system that’s 20 years old. I inherited it from a friend; it still sounds great. The price of the Klimax DSM range means this isn’t a streamer for the majority but we all need a dream to aim for. Each Linn Klimax DSM is signed off personally by the engineer who built it. The signature appears on ... [+] the front foot of the enclosure. Linn