Linn Products

Linn Products Limited

Company type	Private Limited Company
Industry	Audio/Visual equipment manufacturing and distribution
Founded	19 February 1973
Headquarters	Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Key people	Ivor Tiefenbrun Gilad Tiefenbrun
Products	Hi-fi equipment Audio-visual equipment
Number of employees	160
Subsidiaries	Linn Records
Website	http://www.linn.co.uk

Linn Products is a Scottish company that manufactures hi-fi, audio equipment and multi-room integrated audio systems. It is the manufacturer of the Linn Sondek LP12 turntable.

Originally based in the eponymous suburb of Linn, south Glasgow, opposite Linn Park, it is now just outside the city between Waterfoot and Eaglesham, East Renfrewshire in a building custom designed by Richard Rogers.

Company history

Origins

Linn was founded in 1973 by Ivor Tiefenbrun to produce the Sondek LP12 turntable.

Hamish Robertson designed the Ariston RD11 in 1971 with Castle Precision Engineering Ltd machining many of the parts. Robertson left Ariston, which had been taken over by Dunlop Westayr Ltd and reorganised as Ariston Audio Ltd. In February 1973 Linn Products Ltd. was formed to sell turntables made by Castle Precision Engineering. This was officially announced in an advertisement in Hi-Fi News & Record Review, with the following text: "The turntable previously available under the name Ariston RD11 is now available under the name Linn LP12." There were claims, and even patent litigation at the time, that the first Linn Sondek LP12 was a carbon copy of the RD11, and many parts interchangeable.

Sondek LP12

The LP12 working with a Linn Ekos tonearm

Main article: Linn Sondek LP12

The Sondek LP12 is a suspended sub-chassis turntable with a single-point platter bearing. From its introduction in 1973, there have not been any radical changes to the turntable design, which remains in production. However, the LP12's sound quality has been improved through retrofittable upgrade kits. The successive upgrades consist mostly of refinements in materials used and improved manufacturing tolerances.

In 2011, some thirty years after the birth of the compact disc, sales of the LP12 and accessories still accounted for 10 percent of the company's turnover.

In 1975, Linn patented its isobaric loading principle, and launched the Linn Isobarik loudspeaker. Initially Linn manufactured the LP12 itself, but not any other components such as tonearms and cartridges. This gap was filled with a largely complementary range from, amongst others, Supex cartridges, Grace and Sumiko tonearms, and Naim Audio amplification.

Digital compact disc

Linn's first CD player, the Karik, was released in 1993 – 11 years after the CD format itself. Its flagship compact disc player, the CD12, pioneered by Alan Clark, was launched in 1997 and discontinued in 2005 because some OEM transport components could no longer be obtained from the supplier.

On 20 November 2009, Linn said it would stop making CD players to focus on digital streaming products instead.

2006 crisis

The founder of the company, Ivor Tiefenbrun, had given up executive duties following his diagnosed with a serious illness.

The company faced its most significant crisis since its founding when it plunged into the red in 2006, due to escalating costs and weighed down by up to ₤6.8 million in short term debt. The distribution deal with Loewe television and the partnership to supply Aston Martin with ICE system were terminated. The company's turnover declined by £15.5 million. Lloyds TSB, the company's bank, put Linn on its "special measures" list, and installed a troubleshooter on the board to redress and restructure the business.

In 2007, assets were sold; Linn shed two-thirds of its staff, including then managing director Peter Murphy and some senior managers. At some point (after March 2007) Linn closed the original factory that was next door to Castle Precision Engineering (run by Ivor's brother) on Drakemire Drive. Thus the metalworking and training facility were moved into the Eaglesham facility.

Ivor's son Gilad was promoted from Head of Engineering to managing director in April 2008 and Ivor was brought back with executive responsibilities. In February 2009, Gilad Tiefenbrun was officially named Managing Director of the company. Ivor remains Executive Chairman.

Partnerships

During much of the 1970s and 80s, Linn adopted a symbiotic relationship with Naim Audio. Their product ranges were complementary, and their names were often mentioned together. During this time, the Linn/Naim system was a preferred combination for many audiophiles. The two companies advocated a 'source-first' philosophy based on the same principle as garbage in, garbage out – that an amplifier that correctly performed its role would only faithfully amplify a signal, but that all things being equal, a superior source component would allow the recorded music to better connect with the listener on an emotive level. It followed that a superior source signal paired with lesser amplification would sound better than an inferior source through high-quality amplification and speakers. This flew in the face of conventional wisdom that had been made prevalent by Edgar Villchur. In line with the philosophy of the comparative demonstration, the companies' dealers eschewed multi-speaker demonstrations with switched comparators to "single-speaker dem rooms". The two companies had almost the same sales and marketing strategy, and shared many of the same retailers/dealers. Since many of the principles the two companies subscribed to were thought to be heretical, or flying in the face of conventional wisdom, Linn/Naim aficionados were nicknamed "flat earthers", sometimes affectionately, sometimes derogatorily. The two companies diverged during the 1980s, at the dawn of digital audio.

In 2002 Linn formed a brand partnership to supply audio systems to Aston Martin cars. Linn supplied amplification and loudspeaker systems for the Vanquish and DB9 models but three years later was replaced by Alpine Electronics, the previous supplier.

Awards and recognition

• Ivor Tiefenbrun was awarded the MBE by HM Queen Elizabeth II in for "his and his company's engineering achievements and outstanding service to the electronics industry."
• As of 1 January 2002, Linn Products Ltd has been awarded The Royal Warrant of Appointment as a Tradesman to His Royal Highness, Charles, Prince of Wales, as a provider of Entertainment Systems.
• Linn was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in Innovation in 2012.

Products and trademarks

Linn have a number of trademarks for their products, many of which have the characteristic "k" in place of a hard "c". The origins of this practise have been relayed in a number of ways during Linn's history. Ivor Tiefenbrun stated it is a contraction of both 'sound deck' and the word soundex as all designs have their own unique recognisable sound. Many of the names have Scottish origins, e.g. Kairn, Keltik or Ekos (cairn, Celtic, Ecosse), some have relevance to the function they perform e.g. Knekt (a system to connect many rooms together) or Klout (a powerful amplifier), while the origins of others are rather more obscure. Some products have had relatively simple names such as the Index loudspeakers.

Integrated Products

• Streamers: Majik DSM, Majik DS-I, Sneaky DSM, Sneaky DS, Kiko DSM
• Disc players: Classic Movie, Classic Music, Classic

Multistage Products

• Streamer/preamp/digital-crossover: Klimax Exakt DSM
• Streamer/preamp: Klimax DSM, Akurate DSM
• DVD/CD/AVprocessor: Unidisk SC

Sources

• Digital Streamers: Klimax DS, Akurate DS, Majik DS, Kivor
• CD: Sondek CD12, Akurate CD, Majik CD, Ikemi, Genki, Karik, Numerik (DAC), Mimik
• DVD/CD: Unidisk 1.1/2.1
• Tuners: Kremlin, Pekin
• Turntables: LP12, Axis, Basik

File:Spinning Sondek 2.jpg

The LP12 working with a Linn Ekos tonearm and Linn Klyde cartridge

LP12– vinyl playback

• Power supplies: Radikal, Lingo 3/2/1, Majik, Valhalla, Basik
• Arm: Ekos SE, Ekos 1/2, Ittok, Akito, Basik Plus
• Cartridges:
• MC: Kandid, Akiva, Arkiv A/B, Troika, Klyde, Asaka, Asak, Metek, Trak
• MM: Adikt, K18 mk1/2, K9, K5
• Phonostages: Urika, Uphorik, Linto

Control/Preamps

• Integrated: Majik, Intek
• Two channel: Klimax Kontrol, Akurate Kontrol, Majik Kontrol, Kairn (Pro), Kollector, Wakonda, Pretek, LK1
• Multi channel: Kisto, Kinos, Exotik, AV5103

Power Amplifiers

• Klimax Solo, Klimax Chakra Twin, Akurate [234]200, Majik [2345]100, 2250, Klout, AV5125, AV5105, LK140, LK85, LK100, LK2

Active Crossovers

• Klimax Exakt Tunebox
• Klimax Tunebox
• LK Tunebox
• Aktiv cards: Stereo, Mono

Speakers

• Floorstanding: Klimax Exakt 350A, Klimax 350[AP], Artikulat 350, Akubarik, Akurate 242, Komri, Keltik, Majik 140, MIsobarik, Isobarik, Espek, AV5140, Komponent 110, Kaber, Ninka, Keilidh
• Bookshelf: Klimax 320[AP], Artikulat 320[AP], Akurate 212, Majik 109, AV5110 (also called Unik), Komponent 104, Sara 9, Sara, Tukan, Katan, Kan, Index, Helix, Nexus
• Centre: Klimax 340, Artikulat 340[AP], Akurate 225, Majik 112, Komponent 106, Ekwal, AV5120, Trikan, Centrik
• Sub: Klimax 345, Akurate 221, Majik 126, Melodik, AV5150, Komponent 120, Sizmik, Afekt
• In-wall: Diskreet, Sekrit, Custom 2K, Sweetspot

Cables

• Interconnect: T-Kable, silver, black
• Speaker: K600, K400, K40, K20, K10

External links

• Linn Products
• Linn Records