For years there was an unwritten gentlemens agreement between Linn and Naim that as long as Naim didn't make a turntable, Linn would not make a CD player. When Linn finally broke the agreement and released it's first CD player the owner of Naim bought one and used it as a door stop for his office. 😃 Several thousand pounds worth of doorstop. 😀

Great to hear a true professional and a gentleman give honest and common sense practical advice.

Are you not naming any Naims?😉

I have been a Linn devotee for 20+ years, but when I started moving from CD to server based music storage, and now streaming, PS Audio has crept into my system more and more. Now all that is left of Linn in my room is a pair of Magik 140 speakers which sound better with my BHK 250 than they ever did with Linn amps. Linn does have a synergy, but the price of admission for new gear these days is far beyond most budgets and their upgrade path locks you into their ecosystem in a way that I don't agree with.

'Amplifier of the Month Club' is what one shop calls its customers who always seem to blame the amp for a systems issues, it's rarely the amp.

My suggestion would be to see if you can take those Linn speakers home for a listen and assess them. If you really like what you hear, go for it.

The worst audio purchase I have ever made was buying an integrated amplifier and speakers that specifically said they were designed to work together. Neither the speaker or the amplifier sound great alone, but they sound particularly bad together. I think Andrew Jones and I have different taste when it comes to sound quality. I think he likes rolled off highs, so when both the speakers and the amp were designed to his taste, it sounds to me like the speaker is wrapped in a quilt.

It's nice to hear you using the word system. I once went in to an awful and prolific hi-fi shop here in the UK and spoke about a hi-fi system, to which the dismissive salesman responded "we don't sell systems here, only separates". I couldn't get through to the guy that when you combine the separate hi-fi elements you produce a system. Needless to say I didn't waste any more of my time in Sevenoaks HiFi and haven't gone back since.

Mcintosh?!? Speakers?!?

The magnet on that lovely basket is the same size as the driver! Now you have my attention 😎

Love your company and your honest take. After owning tons of other folks, I adopted Linn over 20 years ago, and have stayed true to the path, and love it as much today as ever. But I will say, I found myself returning over and over to your booth at axpona. Wow! You have to be so proud of your showing! And that Joni Mitchell dsd? Insane! Thank you for such a musical synergistic presentation!

Off topic but my brother and I had a great time at Axpona Friday. The first system we heard was your Fr20s. And they did not disappoint. So much so that we made that system are last stop out the door.

Again, such a respectful treatment of competition, making the advice far more credible!

Another great and interesting video, in the old days you bought best components for your system, nowadays manufacturers of systems are so good these days don’t have to buy individual components from different suppliers, so I gone through all the specs and reviews on systems to make sure they are good for the budget I have. Carry on with your good work and your expertise in audio hi fi . Regards mark

Thanks Paul. It’s one more honest and good explanation.

Paul, You are really a "fair player" and fine guy! Hats off!

Linn Room Optimization

In terms of gear synergy, I've tended to see what's been together by audio stores whose systems I've particularly admired (e.g., Audio Connection in NJ, in my region), and also following brands often well-paired together at audio shows, etc.; which allows me to expect with more confidence that the purchase of components heard/reviewed elsewhere will fit well into my pre-existing system- and I haven't been let down yet by this approach! To be clear, I've never purchased major gear without hearing it, or at least another example of it by that manufacturer, first in some system somewhere.

Thanks, Paul!

Sticking with Linn speakers gives you a chance to go Activ but you need lots of Amps to do that and the solid-state cross-overs to go in the amps. (Aktiv cards). You could also look at used older Linn speakers such as the Keilidh or Ninka you will only need 4 channels (2xLK140) to drive them in Aktiv). I have active Keilighs on my main system and love them. That all said, my bedroom system is a very modest Linn Classik, Squeezebox touch as source (streaming tidal lossless through Roon) to a Linn Numerik DAC and a pair of Kef Coda 7s (yes that $200 speakers). Kef LS50's may also be worth a look I keep thinking to upgrade my venerable Coda 7s but just never do. All I can really say is if you can, listen to the setup or buy used, don't overpay and be willing to sell it on if it is not to your liking.