Linn Klimax 360. Audibly Invisible. Visibly Remarkable
Linns all new Klimax 360 is audibly invisible. It produces a performance with unprecedented clarity and realism, that’s entirely absent of sonic colouration. Incorporating innovative drive unit and amplifier technologies, 360 turns out our lowest ever levels of audible distortion. The honed curves of its cabinet are partnered with meticulously matched drive units to deliver the cleanest possible dispersion characteristics.
All that is experienced with 360 is sound-stage; with vocals suspended in space, and true-to-life scale and depth leaving you utterly devoid of the sense you are listening to a pair of stereo speakers. 360 is visibly remarkable. Its curvaceous cabinet, intricately machined trim, and range of dynamic finishes combine to present an overall aesthetic that is familiar, yet with ultra-modern flair and contemporary class.
Audibly Invisible
Critical to 360’s sonic character, is the wholesale elimination of audible distortion brought about by the cutting-edge material science which
drove development of the drive units, and their subsequent integration with Linns latest amplifier technologies in both the Bass System and
new 360 Array. When these acoustic and electronic innovations are deployed alongside Linns unique and established loudspeaker technologies
– Exakt and Space Optimisation – 360 becomes audibly invisible.
The pair of lower bass drivers have greater range and more than double the excursion of Linns previous maximum. The bass drive units are steadfast and adept; they can be pushed loud and driven hard whilst remaining firmly under control. 360 produces exceptionally pure sound with astonishing clarity and transparency due to the hardness, great inherent strength, and low-mass of the futuristic materials deployed throughout the suite of drive units. Their diaphragms don’t colour the sound they generate in any audible, or measurable, way – you only hear the music.
The Bass System delivers lower frequency sound with more impact, efficiency and dramatically less distortion thanks to Linns new Power DAC technology. Built from the ground up, this new technology combines DAC and amp into a single step – thus extending the digital path and reducing loss. The all-digital nature of Power DAC yields unique benefits over conventional amplifier designs. In more-traditional amplification,
unwanted noise is constantly lurking beneath the music you’re hearing, and as you turn the volume up, the noise level increases proportionally. With Power DAC technology, this noise level is fixed digitally and so the inverse is true – the louder 360 plays, the more effective it is at nullifying noise. Power DAC is highly efficient, ultra-low-noise, and provides the perfect platform for driving the lower bass system in 360. When coupled with the prodigious excursion capability of the matched lower bass drive units, 360 produces seismic, realistic and distortion-free bass that will seriously move you.
Linns new Adaptive Bias Control amplifier technology is critical to the superlative performance of tweeter, midrange and upper bass drive units – comprising the all-new 360 Array. Adaptive Bias Control eliminates distortion from the amplifiers using real-time, dynamic management and correction; ensuring that they behave at their absolute optimum in all scenarios – for all types of music, at all kinds of listening levels, and at all times.
The Passive with Aktiv Bass 360 variant (PWAB) features an entirely new design of ultra-low-resonance passive crossover. There is no circuit board; rather the components are mounted using vibration-absorbing adhesive on a dense structure, with integral dampening and very low resonance. Wired directly to one another point-to-point, using the thickest possible bonds, current moves optimally through the crossover, and the overall number of connections is minimised – dramatically reducing loss, distortion, and interference.
360 possesses extraordinary dispersion characteristics. The curvaceous front of each speaker tapers from bottom to top, with shaped radii specifically matched to each individual drive unit. The speakers’ constituent drive units are placed perfectly flush within this smooth baffle, so that they emanate sound, out and away from the speaker, entirely without obstruction. These elements result in a speaker which produces precisely the same tonality in every direction, reinforcing the sound-stage of the original recording.
Visibly Remarkable
Sumptuous form conscientiously follows function in a visibly remarkable aesthetic that breaks ground beyond traditional cabinet design. The shapely and extremely robust cabinet is built up from scrupulously formed 3D laminates – pushing and exceeding the limitations of ply engineering to construct a fluid front baffle which reaches right around either side of the speaker. Machined into the 360 Array trim piece are a series of concentric arcs – themselves redolent of the grooves of a vinyl record in a conscientious nod to Linns origins and the Sondek LP12 turntable upon which Linn was founded. These grooves are set adjacent to a tweeter protector, which draws the eye in with its chrome-plated
Linn icon feature. The engineered trim is machined in-house from 5754-grade aluminium, and incorporates ingenious wave guides to help facilitate optimum performance from the drive units which they surround.
Designed exclusively for the 360, The Glasgow Collection is a range of curated cabinet finishes, that demonstrate pride in Linns origins and celebrate their Scottish home. These three special finishes are dynamic and complex; colour and texture play off the curves of the 360 cabinet under different lighting conditions and when viewed from different angles. The Classic Collection offers a more subtle, monochrome palette: the timeless elegance of Piano Black, and the minimalist chic of Alpine White.
The Klimax 360 is now on demonstration at Billy Vee.
Please hit the button below to contact Ian ridge if you would like to arrange an audition
