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The new 3 in 1?
The Linn Classik - a 3 in 1 for the new millennium
by Lloyd Macomber
December 2001
The Linn Classik. $4100-$4200, depending on finish
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The Linn Classik comes in black, silver or three
other colours
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If you knew Linn like I knew Linn you would be forgiven for thinking that the Classik is not the sort of product one would expect to see coming out of Glasgow.
On the other hand, you would also know that Linn Products are not trend followers, but leaders.
The one-box CD player, tuner and power amplifier is, by all accounts, a product to impress audiophiles, music lovers and those of us concerned about home decor.
The Classik is a milled alloy case of understated styling. It measures 80 x 320 x 325mm (hxwxd) and sports an elegant fascia design including control pad and display to the left, a headphone socket outlet nearer the centre and CD drawer and power button to the right.
Key features include a single CD player, AM/FM tuner (offering up to an impressive 80 preset stations), clock, alarm and timer, amplifier (rated at 75w into 4 ohms), two sets of speaker sockets per channel, individual bass and treble controls and complete Linn Knekt multi-room capability. Also featured is a well designed and very comprehensive remote control handset.
Of these features, the Linn multi-room system is worthy of explanation. The Classik can be easily installed for use as the centre of a multi-room system. Or, it can be one of a number of components in a Linn Knekt system, where it can be used as a main room driver providing power and/or function intelligence to other components in the room.
Alternatively, the Classik can be used as a local room receiver, as part of a more comprehensive multi-room system, providing a cost effective multi source component within a Linn Knekt system.
The sample for review is in the standard black finish, with silver, blue, green and white also available. If decor colour matching is your thing, the elegant Linn 5110 speakers will complement the Classik music centre with speaker grill colour matched to your Classik.
At $4100 for the Classik in black, or $4200 for colour finishes, this integrated music centre is not to be taken lightly in terms of construction or sonic quality. I was immediately fond of its remote controllable capability. I found the layout and functions of the handset very intuitive and easy to understand.
Also, it was kind of nice to have bass and treble control, as I found that a tweak with the bass offered a more agreeable sound.
Interestingly, the inclusion of bass and treble control on a Linn product is a welcome, even surprising, development. Many readers will remember that such tonal control was banished from real hi-fi products for many years (and still is to keep the purist pure). Even now I can hear the purists groaning with descent, but we all come out of the dark ages, eventually!
Getting to the playback capabilities of the Classik, I found all music, whether CD or FM tuner source, to be engaging, with agreeable measures of spatial sound-stage depth and timbre, and buoyant musical passages of lively and clearly defined notes.
The excellent American jazz bassist Christian McBride and his Number Two Express album glowed with enthusiastic music making from the stellar personnel line-up. The tracks were music with discernible note changes making for an overall coherent and enjoyable aural experience.
The FM section of the tuner produced very impressive playback, particularly the broader band width stations of student radio bFM and Concert FM. I was particularly keen to detect any sign of electronic or sibilant sound through the Classik. I can report back favourably that the radio programmes were expressive, detailed and natural sounding.
On a more curious note, all music played on the Classik seemed to be limited in decay of musical notes. This was evident with a recording of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No.4, where I was inclined to lean forward to hear the decay of musical passages a little more than I felt I should. I must qualify that this last characteristic I only found noticeable when listening intently into the music. I doubt that anyone interested in the Classik and its abundant virtues would mark an otherwise sterling performance down because of this.
The few weeks spent listening to this Linn product was certainly enjoyable. My interest in this product was heightened by the convenience of many functions wrapped in one.
Although the Classik is a great one box system and can outshine many separate component systems from other brands, it does not outperform all its opposition. For example, the Rega separates system of Planet CD player, Brio integrated amplifier and Radio tuner will further reward astute listeners.
It was easy to dismiss, or at least set aside, the thou shalt have separate components maxim, and I felt the Classik made a positive step (for all hi-fi-dom) towards lightening the load of audiophile boxes in racks.
I resigned myself to believing that all I really need to play enjoyable music is a Classik and a pair of good speakers. Indeed, once you’ve experienced the Linn Classik this may be your conclusion too.
I for one propose a toast to a music playing system without the baggage!
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