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The third Kivor product is the Intersekt control center. While the Tunboks and Oktal can be used in standalone fashion in a single system—which is how I reviewed them—the Intersekt allows them to be used in a complete Linn Knekt multizone system. The Intersekt communicates with the Tunboks via an RS-232 connection and takes the eight pairs of analog outputs from the Oktal. It allows the Knekt Kivor owner, no matter what room he's in, independent access to any track, album, or playlist while feeding back real-time information on the music playing—album and track title, artist name, etc.—to…
As far as I'm aware, I don't own CDs that are "restricted" by copy protection. Almost all of the CDs I tried were ripped without problems, though I couldn't access a couple of tracks on one sample of Stereophile's first Test CD, presumably because of data errors.
Sound
Although its fan was quiet, the Tunboks' whirring drives proved too noisy to permit it to take up residence in my listening room. Fortunately, the system's use of readily available and inexpensive Cat.5 Ethernet cable to carry the four two-channel AES/EBU digital data outputs came in handy. Linn's Alistair Steel sent…
Overall, I couldn't help wistfully remembering the time I had spent with Linn's $20,000 Sondek CD12 player. The Oktal is undoubtedly a good-sounding DAC, and will work fine in its intended multiroom application. But for the ultimate high-end experience from the Tunboks, a two-channel DAC based on the CD12 for the master room would be the icing on the cake.
Grumbles
I had a few. Even though the Kivor had been first shown at the Hi-Fi Show in London in September 2000, it was still a work in progress nine months later, when I finally got my hands on a sample. And even though all the…
Sidebar 1:Specifications
Description: Web-enabled, hard-disk-based, multizone digital music-distribution system consisting of the Tunboks file server, PCI Musik Machine soundcard, Intersekt control center, and Oktal multichannel D/A converter. Control software: XiVA-Link v.5.13/11LP, licensed from iMerge. Music storage: 248 hours uncompressed 16-bit/44.1kHz CD data as standard, expandable to 1380 hours. Optional MP3 compression at 192kbps, 160kbps, and 128kbps increases storage time proportionally. Digital inputs: 1 AES/EBU on RJ-45 (Tunboks), 8 AES/EBU on RJ-45 (Oktal), 8 S/PDIF on RCA…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Mark Levinson No.31.5 CD transport, Meridian 800 DVD-V/CD/CD-R player, Technics DVD-A10 DVD-A player.
Digital processors: Z-Systems rdp-1 digital control center; Perpetual Technologies P-3A (with $349 Monolithic Sound P3 power supply), Musical Fidelity X-24K, Mark Levinson No.30.6 D/A processors; dCS 972 D/D processor.
Power amplifiers: Mark Levinson No.33H monoblocks, Krell KSA-50.Loudspeakers: Revel Ultima Studio, Revel Performa M20, Totem Acoustic Mani-2, Joseph Audio RM33 Signature.
Cables: Datalinks: AudioQuest SVD-4 (S/PDIF…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
To assess the Linn Oktal's performance, I ripped a CD-R containing all of my regular 16-bit CD-player test signals. The Tunboks drove the Oktal via a 1m Cat.5 AES/EBU link. I also fed the Oktal 24-bit digital data via one of its S/PDIF data inputs. Unfortunately, the processor would not lock to 96kHz-sampled data, though it did to an 88.2kHz datastream, after a few burps and hiccups.
At 1.942V, the maximum analog output level was inconsequentially below the specified 2V RMS, this sourced from a consistent 211 ohms across the audioband. The Oktal preserved…
Fig.6 shows an FFT-derived spectrum of the Oktal's output while driving a full-scale 50Hz tone into 100k ohms. The predominant distortion harmonic present is the third at -74dB (0.02%), with the second harmonic apparent at -90dB (0.003%). The spectrum didn't change significantly when the load impedance was reduced to a punishing 600 ohms. Intermodulation distortion was very low (fig.7). Even into 600 ohms, the 1kHz difference component lay at an excellent -90dB.
Fig.6 Linn Kivor Oktal, spectrum of 50Hz sinewave, DC-1kHz, at 0dBFS into 100k ohms (linear frequency scale).
…
Tweaks have acquired a bad reputation in certain sectors of the audio world, probably with some justification. Warming the cartridge to exactly the right temperature, suspending cables from the ceiling (but not with cotton string; it sounds grainy and dry), stroking CD cases with a "magic" brush, drinking "polarized" (or is it de-polarized?) water before a listening session---gimme a break!
And yet, it seems undeniable to me that paying attention to apparently minor aspects of system setup and the use of various low-cost accessories can produce major improvements in the sound of an audio…
CD Player Tweaks
Retrieval of information from digital storage seems inherently less subject to tweaking than the retrieval of analog information (who ever heard of tweaking a computer's hard drive?). So for some time it was assumed that, in the absence of circuit changes in the digital and/or analog sections, the sound of a CD player is what it is. If you don't like it, get a better player. (Or, many would say, play an LP.) Fortunately for those who love music and whose funds are not limitless, it is possible to improve CD playback without buying one of the multi-kilobuck machines: a…
Retrieval of information from digital storage seems inherently less subject to tweaking than the retrieval of analog information (who ever heard of tweaking a computer's hard drive?). So for some time it was assumed that, in the absence of circuit changes in the digital and/or analog sections, the sound of a CD player is what it is. If you don't like it, get a better player. (Or, many would say, play an LP.) Fortunately for those who love music and whose funds are not limitless, it is possible to improve CD playback without buying one of the multi-kilobuck machines: a…
Speaker Tweaks
Just the usual things: keep them away from walls and corners (unless they're specifically designed for such placement); use sturdy spiked stands or Tiptoes if appropriate; experiment with varying the vertical and horizontal angles; use the best cables you can afford; use spade lugs rather than banana plugs; if you have to use bananas, use ones with a high-pressure spreading action (eg, WBT). Almost every speaker I've heard sounds better with the grille cloth removed; depending on the manner in which the grille is attached and depending on how acceptable you find the…
Just the usual things: keep them away from walls and corners (unless they're specifically designed for such placement); use sturdy spiked stands or Tiptoes if appropriate; experiment with varying the vertical and horizontal angles; use the best cables you can afford; use spade lugs rather than banana plugs; if you have to use bananas, use ones with a high-pressure spreading action (eg, WBT). Almost every speaker I've heard sounds better with the grille cloth removed; depending on the manner in which the grille is attached and depending on how acceptable you find the…