LINN's New Klimax Exakt System **IN OUR SHOP**

Well the Exakt system does fit in rather well in our shop and straight off I must confess it literally blows away our Akubarik system which I have been quite in love with these last months ... that's even with the Exakt system optimisation off.

At the price you would expect the huge performance improvement but it's depressingly (due to the price difference), demonstrably simple and true with LINN, if you pay more you get more!

First up is Emily Barker and our own recording from Her concert in the shop here just a week ago. What's instantly noticeable is that I can't stop listening and really don't want to interrupt Her by switching track. That's a great indication that something is very right. The bass is way too heavy so we move the speakers out from the wall (we had pushed them in for the concert) and as well as clearer to follow and understand, we get an amazing sound stage. A few more position changes, level then exactly the same distance from the back wall and we are there ... Tune-dem position and it's good but still in our room which is very much dominated by concrete ... these big bass elements pushing all that air are causing problems.

So we knew already how hard it is here when producing huge amounts of directional bass (hence our love of Akubarik) so now for the fun part ... to see if we can get 350's bottom end under control in this room. Into LINN Konfig and input some room measurements, click the 'optimise' button and hej presto ... clean bass, super easy to follow and instant elimination of it interfering with the enjoyment of the higher frequencies. A tune-dem miracle!!

After 60 minutes of Emily live from Peoples & Schmidt I go through some classics, Monica Zetterlund & Bill Evans, Adele and then to Mumford and Sons (Babel). Prior to this I have been stuck on two tracks from the album, 'The Holland Road' & 'Ghosts we know' but every track is killing Me ... I have never heard the intro into 'Not with haste' so well before ... totally en-capturing and I'm drawn in so much I forget what I'm listening for ... I'm just listening

The most obvious difference from previous LINN systems is the sound-stage ... but it's the timing, the clarity and basically the ability to sound like a 'LIVE' performance that kills Me ... really really really really GOOD***

Studios are going to have to rethink how they record ... the playback bar has just been lifted

Final check is Maeve O'Boyle 'Facing Home' which has the heaviest bass ''''Boooommmm''! Totally under control but now it's easy to hear the 'optimisation' is taking lots of energy out of the bass line, which is exactly what's needed in our room! Amazing!