Even if you design a component without regard to the price tag, you still run into the compromises dictated by material science, or our collective ignorance, or even market pressures. (Although, with Asian economies in serious trouble, I'm…
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Audiophiles with budget restrictions (most of us, I imagine) could be forgiven for feeling we're afterthoughts to most manufacturers. Even though we probably keep many companies in business by buying their "entry-" or mid-level products, we're always hearing about products designed "without compromise." Waiter, could you bring the reality check, please?
But Linn isn't selling packaged air; they saw the future coming a long time ago and constructed their Glasgow facility to take advantage of automation and high-quality surface-mount construction. Despite its light weight and empty real estate, there's a lot of technology packed into the Linto. Besides, as Linn points out, a square centimeter of circuit area can pick up more signal as interference than a moving-coil cartridge generates as music.
While many audiophiles swear by loading networks, Linn's reasons for avoiding them are compelling. Linn claims the switches used in most…
The Linn was also superlative in its re-creation of bass. It had remarkable extension and definition. If you believe the bass region is the foundation upon which musical cathedrals are built, then the Linto is your meat. I've never heard Ron Carter's tone possess more heft and character than it did when I played Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage (Blue Note ST-46339) through the Linto. He isn't playing a really mellow-sounding instrument on the album—with some phono sections, I would have wondered whether this perception was colored by the preamp's limitations or whether I was hearing the sound…
Specifications
Linn Linto: Solid-state, direct-coupled MC phono preamplifier with switch-mode power supply. Recommended audio input level: 150uV (high gain), 500uV (low gain). Input impedance: 150 ohms (in parallel with 4.7nF). Voltage gain: 64dB at 1kHz (high gain), 54dB at 1kHz (low gain). Maximum input: 6.7mV at 1kHz (high gain), 19mV at 1kHz (low gain). Maximum output: 10.1V p-p at 1kHz. Power consumption: ca 6W/12VA.
Linn Linto: Solid-state, direct-coupled MC phono preamplifier with switch-mode power supply. Recommended audio input level: 150uV (high gain), 500uV (low gain). Input impedance: 150 ohms (in parallel with 4.7nF). Voltage gain: 64dB at 1kHz (high gain), 54dB at 1kHz (low gain). Maximum input: 6.7mV at 1kHz (high gain), 19mV at 1kHz (low gain). Maximum output: 10.1V p-p at 1kHz. Power consumption: ca 6W/12VA.
Dimensions: 12.5" W by 3" H by 13" D. Weight: 3.5 lbs.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 001575 ("Assembled and Tested by David Clyne").
Price: $1500.…
Measurements
As Wes Phillips found, the Linn Linto was astonishingly quiet, with an A-weighted S/N ratio (ref. 500uV input at 1kHz) of 85.3dB. Unweighted, with a broad measurement bandwidth of 10Hz to 500kHz, the S/N ratio dropped to 66.5dB, which is still excellent. Its voltage gain in the high setting (the only one I measured) was 62dB rather than the specified 64dB, probably due to the 25 ohm source impedance of the Audio Precision System One. The difference is negligible.
As Wes Phillips found, the Linn Linto was astonishingly quiet, with an A-weighted S/N ratio (ref. 500uV input at 1kHz) of 85.3dB. Unweighted, with a broad measurement bandwidth of 10Hz to 500kHz, the S/N ratio dropped to 66.5dB, which is still excellent. Its voltage gain in the high setting (the only one I measured) was 62dB rather than the specified 64dB, probably due to the 25 ohm source impedance of the Audio Precision System One. The difference is negligible.
The input impedance measured 165 ohms at 1kHz, slightly higher than spec, while the output impedance was a low…
I had a wonderful audio moment the other night. It was late in the evening, after a long day. I was standing in the middle of my makeshift listening room—Trish's dining room—and in spite of the fact that we were moving in just a few weeks, I'd just unpacked and set up my combo of VPI TNT Mk.V-HR turntable and tonearm with Grado Statement cartridge and dug a box of LPs out of the stacks in the garage. I cued up Dave Brubeck's Time Out (Columbia/Classic CS 8192), and the first notes of "Blue Rondo à la Turk" froze me in my tracks.
The music hadn't just started, it had come to life…
The Signature looks gorgeous. Its faceplate is a thick, softly sculpted slab of aluminum finished in a flawless, glossy black embedded with gold flecks that beautifully complement the heavy, gold-plated knobs. There are large knobs for Input Selection and Volume, flanked by two smaller ones on each end: Mute and On/Off on the right, Tape Monitor and Cinema/Direct on the left. The Cinema input provides a fixed-gain path from input to output, allowing a user to send the front channels of a home theater or surround system through the main audio circuit, but controlling the level with a…
Midway through the Saint-Saëns Bacchanale is a delicate exchange between the woodwinds and French horn. With the VAC, it wasn't simply point/counterpoint, but more like a tennis match, the lines bouncing back and forth between the instruments, their location and interaction with the surrounding space and hall boundaries transcribing an arc through the air above the orchestra. This particular passage was especially captivating because the span so beautifully described was truly three-dimensional, traveling not only laterally but also front to back and vertically, describing the relative…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-chassis, remote-controlled tubed preamplifier with optional integral phono stage. Tube complement: two 12AU7, two 8416 (line stage), six 12AX7 (phono stage). Inputs: 4 sets RCA line, 1 set balanced XLR line, 1 MM/MC phono (or additional RCA line), 1 set RCA tape monitor, 1 set RCA home theater "direct input." Outputs: 2 sets RCA main out, 1 set balanced XLR main out (pin 2 "hot"), 1 set RCA tape record out. Voltage gain: 12dB line, 44dB MM phono, 64dB MC phono. Polarity: noninverting.
Dimensions: 18" (203mm) W by 5.5" (140mm) H by 14.5" (…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: VPI TNT Mk.V-HR turntable/tonearm; Grado Statement, Benz Micro L04 cartridges.
Digital sources: GamuT and Simaudio Moon Eclipse CD players.
Power amplifiers: VAC Renaissance 70/70, VTL Ichiban, GamuT D-200.
Loudspeakers: Magnepan MG3.6/R.
Cables: Interconnect: Nirvana S-X Ltd., Nordost Valhalla, AudioQuest Anaconda. Speaker: Nirvana SL, Nordost, AudioQuest Gibraltar. AC: Synergistic Research, Reference Master Couplers.
Accessories: Merrill equipment stand; Bright Star Big Rock, Little Rock, and Air Mass isolation devices;…