Agreed. The Linn Klimax is amazing. I have one minus the phonostage... I am using my Audio Research Reference 3. It unquestionably pushes the Linn LP12 to new levels. I’d simply recommend amending your last few words to be, "... the Klimax Radikal pushes the LP12 way ahead of my streaming." Not all streaming. One can assemble a digital end that sounds better (mine sounds the same) and then once again one could assemble an analog end that sounded better than that. As always in high end audio, it depends on what you are comparing it to.
Linn Klimax Radikal for LP12
A couple of days ago, I heard the new Linn Klimax Radikal for the LP12 in a friend’s system. This is a dual Utopik power supply for the motor and a Urika phono stage. It is very expensive. In fact, the full list price in the UK is nearly as much as I paid for my entire Klimax LP12. My friend’s system is almost the same as mine and I heard it before he got the new Klimax Radikal, so I can easily determine any differences due to it.
As it turned out, the differences were not subtle. It is staggeringly good. I was becoming sceptical about the benefits of upgrades, but I would do this one in a heartbeat if I had the cash for it.
The first thing that struck me was the amazing quality of the bass, not just terms of the amount of it but also the richness, shape and textures. Vocals and harmonies were fantastic too. Voices were more distinct from each other. Overall it brought out subtleties in a familiar album that I hadn’t noticed before. Surface noise was considerably reduced, too. Every aspect of the music was better.
Having improved the streaming side of my system recently, I was becoming increasingly of the view that it is a par with vinyl sound quality wise. From what I heard, the Klimax Radikal pushes the LP12 way ahead of streaming.
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Thank you for your comments. It is the new bigger boxed Klimax Radikal with two separate Utopik power supplies for the turntable motor and Urika II that I was talking about in comparison with an old style Machined (Klimax) Radikal 2. That was with a Klimax DSM/3 (Utopik I think) and two Klimax Exalktboxes Organik (see my virtual system for something quite similar.) That already sounds fantastic with vinyl due the improved clock of the DSM/3 controlling the Urika and Exaktboxes. However the new Klimax Radikal made it sound much better than anything I have ever heard. Truly amazing. My friend didn’t say much about it. He just asked me if I wanted to come in to listen to his system when I dropped him off. He said nothing to prime me and put on Graceland because I’d mentioned that my then future wife had been shocked when she heard it on my LP12 for first time 28 years ago. I didn’t take it in at first as we were chatting about other stuff. Probably the system was warming up. Then it hit me. Just like with my wife all those years earlier. The Radikal 2, Karousel, Klimax DSM/3 and Organik upgrades that I’ve done over the past few years plus tweaking the network/server setup all pale into insignificance in comparison I would be sceptical too, if I hadn’t heard it for myself. In fact, I was when another friend rang me a while back to tell me about his new Klimax Radikal. Hearing is believing. |
I don’t own Linn but find this thread interesting. |
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