Linn Summer Promotion 2011
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Linn Summer Promotion 2011
Turn on, tune in and power up with Linn +2
Why not add 2 extra channels of amplification for free when you buy any Linn Majik or Linn Akurate power amplifier during Linn’s +2 Summer promotion.
2 means that, for a limited time, you can get a Linn Majik 4100 for the price of a Linn Majik 2100, or an Linn Akurate 4200 for the price of an Linn Akurate 2200, giving you +2 amplifier channels in each example.
Alternatively, if you’re thinking of buying an amplifier to go fully Aktiv, we’ll let you choose between the extra channels you need or free Aktiv cards…whichever saves you the most money.
Why Linn +2?
Normally, one amplifier channel is required per speaker, so a Linn Majik 2100 or an Linn Akurate 2200 would be enough to power a pair of Linn stereo loudspeakers.
By adding an extra two channels of amplification, it immediately allows you to bi-amp a stereo playback system to significantly improve performance. Bi-amping reduces distortion and increases separation between high and low frequencies, with individual speaker drive units powered with greater efficiency and control.
The Linn +2 promo makes it easier for you to experience the quality of Linn amplification, helping you to reach the number of amplification channels you need for less and hear the difference Linn power amplifiers can make to your favourite music and movies.
From bi-amping to fully Aktiv
Bi-amping is an easy first step along the multi-amping path (tri-amping, quad-amping) towards the audio nirvana of fully Aktiv, where all speaker drive units (bass, mid, tweeter etc.) are driven individually by their own amplifier channels and use their own Aktiv filters.
Aktiv playback systems benefit from improved timing and control, as well as lower distortion across the entire frequency range thanks to the elimination of electronic interaction within the passive crossover.
Why Go Activ?
A fully Aktiv playback system sounds much more natural, accurate and effortless than conventional passive playback systems
Why should I go Aktiv?
Going Aktiv is a simple, cost-effective way to maximise the performance of your playback system – the power amplifier(s) and loudspeakers which ‘play back’ your analogue and digital sources. The performance improvement is so great that it is arguably more significant than upgrading your loudspeakers alone.
While traditional or conventional loudspeakers are almost exclusively ‘passive only’, all Linn loudspeakers can be driven actively with a simple upgrade. You can make your music system Aktiv from the very start or add extra power amplifiers over time to improve audio performance – the term ‘multi-amping’ covers bi-amping, tri-amping and so on, until you have enough amplification channels to individually power each drive unit on your loudspeakers. Once each drive unit is individually powered, you simply add individual filters or Aktiv cards for each frequency band to make your playback system fully aktiv.
Passive vs. Aktiv
When you go Aktiv each individual drive unit (woofer, tweeter, super-tweeter etc.) in each loudspeaker is powered by its own channel of amplification and has its own Aktiv filter. This ensures that the drive unit gets exactly the information it is meant to have – and no more – so the entire audio spectrum is covered efficiently, seamlessly and accurately with minimum noise and distortion.
In a passive system the output from the power amplifier is passed through a passive crossover filter in the loudspeaker, meaning each loudspeaker is powered by its own channel of amplification. The passive crossover divides the full range music signal into high and low frequencies (e.g. bass, mid and treble) using complex circuitry to filter out the unwanted frequencies for each drive unit.
In an Aktiv system each individual drive unit in each loudspeaker has its own corresponding filter, or Aktiv card. These are normally installed inside the amplifier but can be integrated within the loudspeaker like Klimax 350A or built as high quality boards housed within their own dedicated enclosure, like a Klimax Aktiv Crossover . It is the combination of each drive unit having its own amplification channel (multi-amping) and its own filter or Aktiv card which turns a multi-amped system into a fully Aktiv system.
The following benefits apply to an Aktiv playback system:
· More efficient
· Greater control
· Less distortion ·
Reduced Clipping
More efficient
A passive playback system is much less efficient than an active system as a portion of the signal energy is absorbed by the passive crossover, or worse, reflected back into the power amplifier. The passive crossover is essentially a rather basic filter which uses large capacitors, inductors and resistors to remove unwanted frequencies from each frequency band of the large loudspeaker level signal, to ensure that each drive unit gets only the signal appropriate to that drive unit (i.e. woofer gets low frequencies, tweeter gets high frequencies). Filtering a signal as large as that of loudspeaker-level audio, when combined with low-impedance drive units, results in a great deal of inefficiency and the passive crossover can only give out a lesser signal than it receives. Much of the perceived difficulty ‘driving’ some types of loudspeakers is actually a difficulty related to driving particular passive crossovers, as the drive units themselves are normally very easy to drive. Most of the energy that the passive crossover prevents from reaching the speaker drive units is expendedas heat, with some loudspeakers wasting over a third of the power supplied by the amplifier. These inefficiencies mean the power amplifier has to work harder and control over the drive units is lessened as a result. The higher the volume levels, the more pronounced the problem tends to become.
In an Aktiv playback system the passive crossover is completely bypassed, making it much easier to drive the loudspeakers. Each Aktiv filter processes an unamplified or ‘line-level’ signal, which means the circuit can use very small and extremely accurate electronic components. This allows filters to apply controlled signal boosting, which is not possible with a passive filter. In an Aktiv system all filtering is done before the power amplification stage, which means all of the amplifier’s output signal is used to move the drive unit, rather than a portion being converted to heat by the passive crossover. The result is much greater control over the drive unit, which produces a better quality of audio.
Greater control
An Aktiv system benefits from the amplifier(s) having greater control over the drive units as individual amplification channels only have their own own frequency band to amplify, which means each amplifier has less to do, and the passive crossover is bypassed. A passive crossover is made from components that present an impedance between amplifier and drive unit, which modifies the signal that the amplifier outputs, adding distortion and resisting the flow of current. By removing the passive crossover from the circuit, the drive unit is directly connected to the power amplifier with a minimal impedance and the motion of the drive unit will correspond much more closely to the input signal. Greater control over speaker drive units means the amplifier can respond more quickly to changes in music signal and this increased control and improved timing provides greater separation between the frequencies.
Less distortion
The negative effects of electronic interaction with a passive crossover are completely eliminated in an Aktiv system. Passive crossovers are difficult to design and require large capacitors, inductors and resistors in order to filter each channel’s frequencies. The physical proximity of these components, to each other and to other metallic parts, can cause problems such as ‘crosstalk’ – signal leakage from one part of the circuit to another. Again, the higher the volume levels, the more of a problem this becomes.
The problems that arise from using one complex crossover circuit for all drive units in a passive system disappear in an Aktiv system. Aktiv crossovers require smaller and fewer components as they are processing unamplified ‘line-level’ signals, which reduces potential crosstalk. Each Aktiv crossover can be designed to precisely match the acoustic properties of each drive unit. The sophisticated and precise response correction found within an Aktiv crossover is thereafter uninhibited or distorted by any further filtering as the amplifiers are direct-coupled to the drive units, allowing the entire amplified signal to be delivered to the drive units.
Reduced clipping
An additional benefit of Aktiv playback is a reduction in the likelihood of amplifier clipping. A power amplifier clips when a signal is played which is beyond the power capabilities of the power amplifier. By splitting the full frequency range audio signal across several amplifier channels, each producing a narrow band of frequencies, the amplifiers are required to produce less power. This reduces the likelihood of the amplifiers clipping the top of a reproduced waveform.
In addition, any clipping that does occur (at VERY high playback levels) will be less audible. Most of the energy in a music signal resides in the lowest frequencies, which means heavy bass lines are the most likely to push the amplifier to clipping. When a bass signal gets clipped it introduces sharp corners to the otherwise smooth bass waveform and these sharp changes manifest themselves as high frequency distortion. In a conventional passive loudspeaker these high frequency errors would be played through the tweeters and are very audible. In an Aktiv system any clipped bass signal is sent only to the bass driver, which is much less able to reproduce these high frequency sounds, so if clipping does occur you are less likely to hear it.
If this all seems a bit complicated, don’t worry – Rococo will be happy to demonstrate the difference between a passive and Aktiv system, and talk you through the options for your system.
Linn LK-style
And if you’re still holding on to your precious Linn LK-style amplifiers, there’s never been a better time to upgrade them or pass them on to someone else – if you’re already running an Aktiv Linn LK-system then we’ll throw in the Aktiv card adaptors required to use your existing Aktiv cards in your new amps.
Lin Majik and Linn Akurate power amplifiers feature Linn’s Chakra and Dynamik technologies for efficient, responsive and distortion-free amplification.
If this all seems a bit complicated, don’t worry – Rococo will be happy to demonstrate the difference between a passive and Aktiv system, and talk you through the options for your system.
Why not contact us today on 0207 454 1234 or 01371856593. You can also email us on [email protected]
LINN +2 OFFER – TERMS & CONDITIONS
1. The offer runs from 1st July 2011 to 16th September 2011 inclusive. Only orders placed during this period will qualify.
2. Customers purchasing a power amplifier from the Linn Majik or Linn Akurate ranges can choose one of the following two options:
a. Purchase a power amplifier with an additional two channels provided free of charge. The models available on this offer are:
· Linn Majik 4100 for the price of Linn Majik 2100
· Linn Majik 5100 for the price of Linn Majik 3100
· Linn Majik 6100 for the price of Linn Majik 4100
· Linn Akurate 4200 for the price of Linn Akurate 2200
OR
b. Receive a set of Linn Aktiv cards free of charge.
Customers are entitled to claim one complete set of Aktiv cards to convert one pair of Linn loudspeakers to Aktiv operation, upon the purchase of at least one Linn power amplifier. Amplifiers included in this offer are: Linn Majik 2100, Linn Majik 3100, Linn Majik 4100, Linn Majik 5100,Linn Majik 6100, Linn Akurate 2200, Linn Akurate 3200, and Linn Akurate 4200.
3. This promotion cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.
4. There is no limit to the number of amplifiers that can be purchased as part of the offer.
This promotion is being run by Linn Products Ltd (‘Linn’), Glasgow Road, Waterfoot, Eaglesham, Glasgow, G76 0EQ, UK. Registered Company Number: SC 52366
