Linn, the prominent Scottish audio equipment manufacturer, has unveiled its latest creation, the Klimax Solo 800 Monoblock Amplifier. With a price tag of £75,000 per pair, this high-powered mono amplifier aims to redefine the standards of audio amplification. The Solo 800 is a significant addition to Linn's portfolio, boasting innovative technologies and a unique design.
The Klimax Solo 800 marks Linn's foray into large, passively cooled mono amplifiers, setting it apart from its predecessors. Linn's primary objective with this new amplifier was to create a "superior-performance amplifier that can drive any given speaker optimally" under any conditions. To achieve this goal, Linn's electronic engineers went back to basics, emphasizing consistency and accuracy in their design.
One of the key highlights of the Solo 800 is its Adaptive Bias Control technology. In traditional Class AB amplifiers, the bias current is usually set once during manufacturing, leading to potential issues due to variations in transistors, changing temperatures, and component aging.
Linn's solution is to establish and maintain the optimum bias current dynamically and in real-time. This technology continuously measures, samples, and digitizes the current supplied to the transistors, allowing for precise control and adjustment, ensuring optimal performance throughout the amplifier's lifespan.
Gilad Tiefenbrun, Linn’s CEO, says: “As this is our first foray into the high-power, passively cooled amplifier category, we’re acutely aware that we have to outperform some strong, established incumbents. The challenge was to apply our unique expertise in both analogue and digital electronics engineering to set a new standard in audio amplification.
The resulting distortion and noise measurements are lower than anything the industry has seen. Solo 800 drives even the most demanding loudspeakers more assuredly than its competitor amplifiers. We’re confident that customers will hear the difference.”
The Solo 800's design focuses on minimizing distortion, with dynamic monitoring and error correction in real-time through multiple digital and analogue feedback loops. The analog output stage of the amplifier uses top-quality transistors, combining eight pairs of them in parallel.
This configuration results in an eightfold reduction in the amp's output impedance, enabling it to effortlessly drive even the most demanding speakers without performance degradation at higher volumes.
Linn's innovative Utopik switch-mode power supply topology further enhances the Solo 800's performance. This technology provides precision-regulated, independently isolated power rails, capable of delivering a maximum power output of 2kW while maintaining speed, responsiveness, and efficiency. Moreover, this power supply ensures stability, even when faced with variations in mains input.
Heat management is a critical aspect of the Solo 800's design. The amplifier employs large surface area heatsinks, which are in direct contact with the amplifier and power supply circuitry, ensuring efficient cooling. The amplifier uses convection to draw cool air into hidden lower vents, effectively dissipating heat without the need for an internal fan.
Aesthetically, the Solo 800 introduces a new design direction for Linn. The amplifier features a jewel-like roundel on the faceplate, illuminated by an array of one hundred LEDs. This roundel not only adds a visual flair but also communicates the amplifier's status to the listener. Users can adjust the brightness of the LEDs with a switch on the rear panel. The Solo 800 is available in two finishes: black-anodized and natural silver anodized faceplate.
Linn Klimax Solo 800 Specifications:
Orders for the Klimax Solo 800 are currently being accepted, with the units sold and shipped in pairs.
