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When the Compact Disc was first introduced in 1982, many were critical of the sound quality of this medium, which promised ‘Perfect sound forever’. For many discerning listeners, digital playback was a travesty that paled in comparison to even modestly priced turntable/tonearm/cartridge combinations. Ironically, those listeners who were the first to praise the sound of the CD have been forced to retract their views in the face of the enormous improvements in digital-to-analogue conversion (and A/D conversion) seen in recent years.
No one more so than Linn Products and its founder and guru, Ivor Tiefenbrun, has been critical of the CD. Ivor is the man who, almost single-handedly, taught the world just how important the turntable is in the music reproduction chain. His audio philosophy and marketing strategy have indelibly changed the face of high-end audio worldwide. The concept that the front-end of any playback system is the most important seemed radical to those who felt (and still feel) that the loudspeakers are the main determining factor in sound quality.
From the early 1970s onwards, Ivor tirelessly promoted his views – and his product, the Linn Sondek LP12 turntable – in shops and at hi-fi exhibitions. Ivor also sought to teach the man in the street that playback quality was important and that one did not need to be an expert or critical listener to enjoy the benefits of high-quality music at home. His efforts were well rewarded: over 100,000 LP12s were sold; remarkably, this turntable was the benchmark against which all other turntables were judged for over a decade.
But let’s return to CD playback. Ivor once stated that Linn would not sell a CD player until the technology had advanced to the point where it could outperform its lowest-priced turntable, the Linn Basik, not the famous LP12. Whilst other manufacturers rushed to market with new digital products every year, Linn quietly pursued its own digital agenda. They developed digital products for their own purposes – learning and evaluation – without feeling the need for an immediate return on investment. Part of their research effort involved designing A/D converters for their own recording projects. They felt the need to be involved in the encoding side of digital audio to fully understand the decoding side. The result was the Numerik processor, a $50,000 audiophile version of the professional Sony PCM-1630 (which is used to make virtually all master tapes).
And, after years of anticipation, speculation and rumours, the first Linn CD Player arrived in 1991.
In fact, the first version featured a separate CD transport and a D/A converter. In typical Linn fashion, one cannot imagine anyone using the Linn transport without the Linn converter, or vice versa. Both units, however, were available separately.
The transport unit is called Karik. The name is a variation of a Gaelic word that loosely translates as ‘a pinnacle rising out of the water’. The processor was nicknamed Numerik, after Linn’s professional processor. Both are identical in size and have a black finish.
The evolution of this system led in 1997 to the launch of the Karik MKIII integrated player, which incorporated all the developments Linn had made over the years. The latest of these was the adoption of a power supply stage called the ‘slimline brilliant power supply’, which brings further benefits to the listening experience. The aesthetics have not changed, but on the rear panel, in addition to a dual analogue audio output, there are also digital audio outputs via both RCA and BNC connectors. A notable feature of the DAC’s implementation in the unit is that the main clock frequency for the DAC is derived from a dedicated low-phase-noise oscillator. In the conventional approach, the master clock is generated by an oscillator within the CD decoder chip and is inevitably affected by the circuits involved in driving the mechanism. In the Karik, the accuracy and quality of the clock signal (which in turn determines the quality of the music signal) remain unaffected. The DAC circuit is built around the Crystal (Cirrus Logic) CS4328KS.
Most standard CD functions are located on the rear panel of the Karik, including search, skip, index search and display control. Most users, however, will use the large remote control supplied with the system. This remote control is identical to that used with Linn’s Kairn preamplifier and the Kremlin tuner. Consequently, there are far more buttons than on a standard CD player remote control. The remote control will work when pointed in any direction and even from another room (provided the doors are left open). With an all-Linn system, the remote control can control a multi-room installation. The RCA sockets on the Karik allow for wired remote control operation.
The Karik’s front-panel display shows the track number and the play/pause indicator by default. You can select four time displays from the front panel or the remote control: total elapsed time, track elapsed time, total remaining time and track remaining time. A button on the rear panel turns the display off 20 seconds after receiving a command. The display reactivates when any function is used.
The unit has been refurbished and plays even burned discs without any issues. It is in excellent cosmetic condition. It comes complete with a remote control, a copy of the English-language user manual (the first edition but identical in terms of functionality) and a pair of original Linn signal cables of fine workmanship.
The Linn Black Interconnect Cable is a 1.2 m RCA (phono) to RCA (phono) cable, inspired by and derived from the low-capacitance polystyrene dielectric cable originally used to carry the signal from a turntable and cartridge to a preamplifier.
The ‘phono’ signal is probably the most demanding of all signals in any audio system. A cable good enough to handle this signal will accurately transmit any other low-level audio signal in an audio or AV system. This cable features a 45-strand copper conductor with a single-layer braided shield, 5.1 mm in diameter. In any environment, electrical background noise is present, particularly in digital systems; with Linn’s interconnect cable, you gain a significant advantage. The rigid construction features heavy double-braided shielding, making the cable much more robust.
