Devialet vs Linn Akuate (AK/1 A4200/1)

[ZincAlloy]

Hi
I am currently an owner of a mainly Linn system - LP12 (Dynavector) and Linn DS into Akurate Kontrol and 4200 amp feeding Linn Ninkas

I believe many of you may be ex Linn owners and would be interested in opinions on comparisons and any advice....
Any compared to Exakt...

I am away in France next week and plan to go to a Premier dealer to listen...
Thanks

Hi ryl1e

It sounds like you have a Linn system that is fairly similar to what I ended up with - Akurate 4200, Akurate 242s (a step up from the Ninkas, admittedly) and a Kairn, with Ikemi and SBT sources.

The main difference I experienced when I changed (after being a Linn customer for 20 years) was a much more immediate and exciting sound, and I point the finger towards the 4200 here. I appreciate that you're an owner of one (as was I), but - in comparison to the Devialet - it sounded flat, uninvolving and "nice". Everything was listenable, but nothing was amazing. I think of it like an audio homogeniser .....

I'd suggest a dem of the D120 with your Ninkas as a sensible step. If you like what you hear, selling the 4200 and DS will basically cover your purchase of the 120. If you do get to a Devialet dealer, ask to hear the Ensemble system - a 120 with Atohm speakers.

Good luck - and keep us posted!!

ATB, Ken

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Oh I'll chip in! I wa a die-hard Linnie for years, culminating in Klimax DS, Klimax Kontrol pre-amp, and Lejonklou Tundra monoblock power amps (these are fabulous by the way). I've previously owned Akurate/Renew DS, Akurate Kontrol pre-amp, 4200s passive and Aktiv. Also 212 and Katan speakers, though I moved away from Linn speakers about 3-4 years ago as I heard speakers from other brands. I think Ninkas are lovely by the way!

The moment I heard a Devialet with my KDS I was blown away by it. The simplicity really appealed as well. I wasn't impressed with AIR though and felt from my initial experiments last year that AIR with iTunes or VLC was something around the quality of an Akurate DS. Then Guillaume experimented with the Simaudio Moon MiND 180D which provided the usability of the KDS - and things were getting close to Klimax sound quality. He then tested the Transparent Reference XL digital cable between the devices and that was it - better than Klimax DS in both our opinion! So the Klimax DS went to a new home...

I've heard Exakt a few times and haven't been hugely impressed, though a lot of it comes down to the 350 speakers I heard it with which I'm not a fan of. I don't like the rather hollow flappy bass in particular. I prefer Akubariks actually but again the're not perfect either. Exakt does have a wonderful precision with the microdynamics that the regular Klimax stuff doesn't. But it's oh-so expensive! Or rather it was when the Klimax Exakt stuff came out last year, and compared with a little D200 it seemed like a bit of a no-brainer to me. i felt Linn had gone the wrong way, largely due to the high pricing of the Exakt system.

I've recently tried AIR again and with different player software and been very impressed. Whether it's improved a lot over the last year or I just got it wrong initially and didn't test hard enough I don't know.

Me too Rufus - was gobsmacked at just how good and reliable AIR sounded today, having not used it in anger for the best part of a year. Has led me to totally reevaluate next steps.

ATB, Ken