We know Linn for their speakers and turntables, but not so much for their power amplifiers. The Klimax Solo 800 marks the first of its kind from Linn.
The Glasgow-based audio company has created what it describes as a “superior-performance” amplifier, that it claims can drive any speaker optimally under any conditions, even speakers that present difficult loads.
Those are big words from Linn for a large amplifier, and they’re backed up by the numbers, delivering 800W into 4ohms and 1.2kW into 2-ohms. Operation is kept cool for this Class AB amplifier with “efficient” large surface area heatsinks, with the use of convection currents that draws cool air into the Klimax Solo 800’s hidden lower vents where heat is absorbed and then expelled from the the unit’s top surface.
The design does all this while ensuring temperature within the amp is minimised to ensure the internal components remain operate at a consistent at all times.
According to Linn, they say they’ve managed to “optimise and linearise” every internal stage of the amplifier to produce high performance. Its sixteen transistors are said to produce the “purest, ultra-linear” signal for loudspeakers, able to drive large speakers that present difficult loads with no tail-off in the performance as volume is turned off.
There’s a new switch-mode power supply topology for the Solo 800 dubbed Utopik, that can generate a maximum of 2kW power output whilst retaining “speed, responsiveness and consummate efficiency”. With the Utopik, Linn describes the Solo 800 as being cleaner, more efficient and whisper quiet over the full range of operating conditions.
Available in two finishes, a choice of black anodised or natural silver anodised faceplate, it’s available for order now. A pair of Klimax Solo 800 will set you back £75,000. You can book a demonstration over at this link.
