LINN KLIMAX SOLO 800 £75,000 A PAIR MONOBLOCK AMPLIFIER LAUNCHED

Linn of Scotland has announced the global launch of their new reference mono power amplifier the Linn Klimax Solo 800 Monoblock Amplifier.

The new Linn Klimax Solo 800 Monoblock Amplifier is a large, passively cooled amp; the first of its kind from Linn.

With Klimax Solo 800, Linn has strived to create a “superior-performance amplifier which can drive any given speaker optimally”. To achieve this, their electronic engineers returned to first principles with the goal of achieving ultimate ‘consistency’ and ‘accuracy’.

LINN KLIMAX SOLO 800 MONOBLOCK AMPLIFIER

Solo 800 features novel and original Linn technologies which combine to produce low distortion measurements, with “superb signal-to-noise ratio, and incredible efficiency” say Linn.

It delivers up to 800W into 4Ω, and 1.2kW into 2Ω and the all-new Solo 800 is a whole new category of mono amplifier from Linn.

“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.” Gilad Tiefenbrun, Linn’s CEO

LINN ADAPTIVE BIAS CONTROL

Klimax Solo is a Class AB amplifier and, as such, it requires a ‘sweet spot’ bias current to minimise transistor crossover distortion. In a conventional Class AB amplifier, bias current is usually set once only, by an engineer with a potentiometer, at the point of building the product. However, due to variations in individual transistors, changing temperatures during use, and age of the components, this bias current can, and sometimes does, drift quite far from ideal over the lifespan of the amplifier, Linn tells us.

To circumvent this challenge in Solo 800, Linn has developed their original Adaptive Bias Control technology (debuted in Linn’s 2023 flagship 360 Exakt Integrated loudspeaker). Linn establishes the optimum bias current dynamically and in real-time by measuring, sampling and digitising the current supplied to the transistors. This data is passed to an FPGA, which calculates the bias corresponding to these measured current levels, and implements a digital control loop to hold this measured bias point at its ideal for each individual transistor.

Using this method, Linn’s Solo 800 ensures the optimum bias is applied and persistently adjusted to be ideal – at any temperature, regardless of volume or demanding dynamic changes in the source material – for the duration of the product’s lifespan, claims the Scottish HiFi brand.

DIGITAL AND ANALOGUE

Linn’s historical combination of digital and analogue expertise has allowed them to optimise and linearise every internal stage of the amplifier. Linn has employed novel techniques to drive distortion down as much as possible, through dynamic monitoring and error correcting in real-time via multiple digital and analogue feedback loops deployed throughout the amp.

The analogue output stage of Solo 800 uses only the best transistors available. Linn combines eight pairs of them, in parallel, to ensure linearity right up to and beyond the amplifier’s rating. Solo 800 incorporates sixteen transistors for upper and lower devices. This array of  output devices results in the the amp’s output impedance being divided by eight, giving Solo 800 the ability to drive large speakers which present difficult loads, right across the audio band, and with no tail-off in performance as the volume is turned up.

LINN UTOPIK FOR SOLO 800

Linn’s all-new, Utopik switch-mode power supply topology for Solo 800 boasts precision-regulated, independently isolated power rails. It is capable of generating 2kW maximum power output whilst retaining speed, responsiveness and efficiency. It maintains steady output voltage; the rails perform consistently in the face of dramatic loading changes. What’s more, if the mains input varies, the output won’t, says Linn.

Linn favours switch-mode power supplies for their amplifiers; rather than linear. With Utopik for Solo 800, Linn has progressed a step further to minimise switching noise and improve efficiency by utilising a technique called ‘soft-switching’; a resonant tank circuit ensures that voltage across the power supply switch falls to zero before the switch is thrown.

COOL RUNNINGS

Klimax Solo 800 features “superb heat management” driving the most difficult of loads without compromising linearity of performance, or resorting to an internal fan. Heat coupling is achieved by mounting the amplifier and power supply circuitry directly to the critically efficient, large surface area heatsinks. Simple convection draws cool air into hidden lower vents, where it absorbs heat, before being expelled silently from the subtle and low-profile oblong vent on Klimax Solo 800’s top surface.

LINN KLIMAX SOLO 800 ROUNDEL

The focal point of Solo 800’s external facade is the jewel-like roundel which draws your eye to the lit heart of the amplifier. Back-lit by an array of one hundred individual cool-toned LEDs, the Linn roundel communicates the amplifier’s status to the seated listener. Brightness can be set at three different levels via a simple switch at the product’s rear.

LINN KLIMAX SOLO 800 SPECS

Output Power: 400W 8Ω 800W 4Ω 1.2kW 2Ω

Nominal Gain: 28.6 dB unbalanced 22.6 dB balanced

3db Bandwidth: 150kHz 8Ω 140kHz 4Ω 130kHz 2Ω

Output Impedance 0.01Ω 1kHz

THD+N, 8Ω 0.0004% 1kHz, 400W

THD+N, 4Ω 0.0005% 1kHz, 800W

THD+N, 2Ω 0.0006% 1kHz, 1.2kW

SNR 98 dB Ref 1W, 20kHz A-wt

2-tone IMD (18kHz+19kHz) -115 dB 100W combined, 8 Ω

PSU 2kW Utopik

Power Requirements: 100-120 Vac, 220-240 Vac 2kW Max 100W Idling

Inputs: x1 RCA Phono x1 Balanced XLR

Passthrough: x1 RCA Phono x1 Balanced XLR

Speaker Outputs x2 Banana/Binding posts Furutech FT-816 (R)

Dimensions 268mm (H) x 350mm (W) x 412mm (D)

Weight 27 kg

LINN KLIMAX SOLO 800 MONOBLOCK AMPLIFIER PRICE AND AVAILABILITY

Klimax Solo 800 is available in two finishes, with a black-anodised or natural silver anodised faceplate.

Orders can now be placed for Klimax Solo 800. They will be sold and shipped in pairs.

Pricing (incl. tax) Klimax Solo 800 (priced per pair) £75,000

HiFi PiG Says: A beast of an amplifier from Linn and we can’t wait to hear them!