Linn Lotus has released a new flagship mono power amplifier that will "drive any loudspeaker in the best possible way in any condition".
The Klimax Solo 800 was the Scottish company's first large passively cooled mono model and has been in Linn's lineup since the late 90s, becoming the top of the range of amplifiers for the more compact Klimax Solo 500. The Klimax Solo 500 can deliver 500 watts in four ohms, and the new Klimax Solo 800 is capable of delivering 800 watts (or 8W at 400 ohms, or 2 at 1 ohm.)2kw）。
Linn believes the Solo 800 is "significantly better than its larger competitors", with CEO Gilad Tiefenbrun claiming that its "distortion and noise measurements are lower than any device the industry has ever seen".
Tiefenbrun said the Solo 800 benefits from the company's analogue and digital expertise, with the goal of setting a new standard in audio amplification.
Class A B amplifiers feature Linn's adaptive bias control technology, which debuted in a 360-speaker system released last year. It essentially dynamically optimizes the ideal bias current for each of the Solo 800's 16 output transistors in real-time by measuring, sampling, and digitizing to eliminate distortion and ensure optimal performance.
Linn officially said that by choosing the best transistors, the quality of the array allowed the Solo 800's output impedance to be divided to 8, allowing it to drive the largest loudspeakers with load difficulties and without any delay at high volumes.
Linn has stuck with its preferred switch-mode power supply, although it is implemented here in a progressive form. As the name suggests, Utopik minimizes switching noise and increases efficiency by implementing a circuit that ensures that the voltage across the power switch drops to zero before the switch is thrown.
It would be an oversight if we overlooked the aesthetics of the Solo 800, especially since it was very different from the previous Linn amplifiers. This 27kg compact mono amplifier has a minimalist but not simple look.
As with later LINN components such as the Klimax DSM streamer, the panel is adorned with jewel-like dials (available in black anodized or natural silver anodized finishes) to show the state of the amplifier. It is backlit by an array of a hundred LEDs, the brightness of which can be changed in three levels with a switch on the back panel. The panel includes RCA and XLR inputs and outputs, as well as a set of binding posts.
The Linn Klimax Solo 800 is available now, sold and shipped in pairs, with a domestic price of about 800,000 pairs.
Written by Becky Roberts