Art Dudley

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Linkwitz Orion-4 Speakers
AXPONA NYC 2011
Art Dudley  |  Jun 26, 2011  |  0 comments
One might argue that there are more research-driven engineering innovations in the Linkwitz Lab Orion-4 than in most other high-end loudspeakers— which is remarkable, considering that it sells for less than $15,000/pair—but at the Axpona show I found it easy to forget all of that and simply enjoy the speaker's musical prowess. Driven by Bryston amplifiers and fed by an Auraliti L1000 digital music player and MSB D/A processor, the Linkwitz loudspeakers disappeared into their own wide, deep, and mildly recessed (as opposed to in-your-face) soundfield. In addition to being spatially convincing, the Orion-4s sounded open, clear, and appropriately colorful: one of the finest demonstrations at the show.
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Linn Akiva MC phono cartridge
Phono Cartridge Reviews
Art Dudley  |  Oct 23, 2004  |  First Published: Oct 01, 2004  |  0 comments
The observation has been made, often and well, that audio writers are out of touch when it comes to judging value for money. For one thing, we get to live with exotic gear for months at a time, without spending a penny. For another, when we do decide on a more permanent upgrade, we usually get the opportunity to buy at wholesale—at a so-called "industry accommodation price," extended to us because, after all, we are a part of the industry.
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Linn Akurate 242 loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Art Dudley  |  Apr 17, 2005  |  0 comments
In 1985 or so, a middle-aged audiophile who lived in New York City called to invite me to come listen to his stereo: It was, he assured me, the best in the world. All he wanted was the pleasure of my opinion, for which he offered the princely sum of $100. (As I learned in the months and years to come, this same audiophile called virtually every other audio writer in the metropolitan area whose phone number he could get hold of, making the same offer.)
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Linn at large
SSI 2013
Art Dudley  |  Mar 25, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  0 comments
Montreal retailer Audio Club presented a simple, effective all-Linn system, comprising the Ethernet-friendly Linn Akurate DSM preamplifier/digital player ($9300) and Akurate 2200 power amplifier ($6300), seen above, and a pair of Linn Majik Isobarik loudspeakers ($6300/pair). An outboard file-storage device, of indeterminate make and model, was tucked away underneath the credenza. Unfortunate room dimensions were surely responsible for the trace of bass boominess I heard, yet the Linn system was compelling and listenable, nonetheless.
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Linn Ekos SE tonearm, Keel LP12 subchassis, & Trampolin turntable base
Turntable ReviewsTonearm Reviews
Art Dudley  |  Oct 20, 2007  |  0 comments
Visit www.stereophile.com and look at the Vote Results for June 17, 2007: You'll see that when we asked our readers to name the one audio product that's spent the greatest amount of time in their systems, the most common answer by far was the Linn Sondek LP12 turntable (footnote 1). Little wonder that Scotland's most famous record player endures as an object of attention for various and sundry commercial tweaks.
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Linn Klimax Kontrol preamplifier & Klimax Twin power amplifier
Solid State Preamp Reviews
Art Dudley  |  Jun 22, 2003  |  0 comments
I've spent six-odd years in a sort of hi-fi counterculture, playing with things like mono cartridges, one-box CD players, and cheap, homemade cables—and, of course, owning and listening to single-ended triode (SET) amplifiers and horn loudspeakers. But before all that, I owned components that, while more mainstream, did the job just as well in certain ways. That category included solid-state electronics (Naim, BEL, Spectral), dynamic loudspeakers of middling efficiency (ProAc, Epos, Magneplanar), electrostatic loudspeakers of very low efficiency (Stax), and even "high-end" accessories like Tiptoes and Shun Mook Mpingo discs (which I still have, although my five-year-old daughter has more or less permanently co-opted the latter for playtime use).
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Linn Majik CD player
CD Player/Transport Reviews
Art Dudley  |  Mar 25, 2007  |  0 comments
In the early 1980s, Ivor Tiefenbrun, of Linn Products, Ltd., compared digital audio to "a nasty disease" that his company offered not to spread. Less than 25 years later, digital sources outnumber analog ones in Linn's product line—so much so that the venerable Scottish manufacturer has expanded its line of disc players to encompass two different formats: multi- and two-channel.
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Linn Majik DS-I D/A integrated amplifier
Integrated Amp ReviewsDigital Processor ReviewsMedia Server Reviews
Art Dudley  |  Mar 18, 2011  |  1 comments
My quandary on receiving for review the Linn Majik DS-I: What, precisely, is it supposed to do? Does the Majik DS-I contain a hard disk and music-ripping software, so I can use it to store all the music in my CD collection? Does it have a graphical user interface (GUI) that at least matches the one provided by the endearingly free Apple iTunes? Does it include a DAC that allows it to play the music files I've already put on my computer?
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Linn Unidisk SC universal disc player
Hi-Rez Disc Player/Transport Reviews
Art Dudley  |  Jun 12, 2005  |  0 comments
Death to the fascist insect that preys upon the life of the people.—an old SLA slogan
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Listeners of a Certain Age
SSI 2011
Art Dudley  |  Apr 07, 2011  |  1 comments
Son Ideal demonstrated with the Harbeth P3ESR: a supremely musical loudspeaker in its own right, and one for which the Montreal dealer has shown a certain affinity over the years. At SSI the Harbeths were paired with brand-new Audiolab 8200 MB mono amplifiers (250W, $1099/each) and 8200 CDQ CD player/USB D/A converter ($1299), that venerable English brand having recently been revived by new owners. The 30-something fellow running the dem asked me to choose an LP from the good selection there, and I lighted upon a well-loved Neil Young album from the ‘70s. Then, while he cued that up, I found another Neil young fave—and, after that, the first album by Crosby, Stills, and Nash. I broke from my reverie long enough to find myself on the receiving end of the sort of pitying look reserved for The Very Old.
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