Linn SPACE Optimisation - Better Sound for EVERYONE!

by Olaf Adam

Since 2007, the Scottish manufacturer Linn has been paving the way to pure, unadulterated sound with its digital DS systems. The DS software is now receiving a comprehensive update that takes the sound quality of the digital circuitry to a whole new level and enables extremely precise adjustment of the sound to the speakers used, their placement, and the listening room. But Linn goes even further: with a special upgrade kit, they transform the legendary Bowers & Wilkins 802 Diamond into a fully active speaker integrated into the Exakt world.   Linn’s philosophy with the DS and Exakt systems has always been to read, transport, and reproduce the digital music signal as interference-free as possible. The DS and DSM systems handle playback, source reading, and management of all connected devices. With Exakt, the perfect digital signal chain was finally created by extending it right into the speaker—with the only digital/analog conversion happening immediately before the driver.

Exakt technology from Linn: Digital signal path right into the speaker The sonic advantages of this solution were clear and convinced many hi-fi enthusiasts around the world. But even good things can be improved, and that’s exactly what the Scottish engineers have now done. First, they completely redesigned the hardware of the DS technology. From now on, all new DS devices, such as Klimax DS, Akurate DS, Majik DS, and Majik DSM, benefit from a new clocking architecture, an optimized circuit layout with fewer components, and shorter signal paths. The result of these efforts is significantly reduced jitter and an overall dramatic improvement in sound quality.

Klimax DS: From now on, all new DS systems benefit from these upgrades While this revised hardware can be found in all newly delivered DS systems, owners of existing systems will also benefit from another innovation. Starting March 16th, a new DS software will be available, adding the new SPACE Optimisation feature to all DS systems.

Also new: All DS systems now feature Exakt Link connections This optimization technology, derived from Exakt, creates an acoustic model of the entire listening environment based on speakers, speaker placement, and the characteristics of the room—regardless of speaker manufacturer or type. With SPACE Optimisation, a Linn DS system enables any setup, with any speaker and in any room, to achieve optimal, unadulterated sound. The unique characteristics of the speaker are taken into account, as well as its placement. After all, the position that’s acoustically optimal is often not practical in reality. With SPACE Optimisation, the speaker can now be placed almost anywhere in the room, and the DS system digitally simulates the acoustically optimal position.

SPACE Optimisation enables unadulterated sound even with less-than-ideal placement Likewise, SPACE Optimisation compensates for the unique properties of the listening room. Every room is different, and walls, floors, and furniture significantly influence the sound through reflection and absorption. The DS system with SPACE Optimisation determines and compensates for this influence. All sound adjustments by SPACE Optimisation are carried out in the digital domain, with extremely high bit rates and highly precise algorithms, so that the pure, unadulterated sound of the music can truly be achieved in almost any room. In Exakt systems, which control each individual driver with its own amplifier, SPACE Optimisation+ enables even more precise adjustment. Here, significantly more data flows into the optimization, allowing for each driver to have an individual sonic model based on its actual output. This allows for an unprecedented level of adjustment accuracy. The Linn developers are so convinced of their approach that they go a step further and want to help one of the world’s most successful high-end speakers reach new heights with Exakt technology: the 802 Diamond from Bowers & Wilkins. The 802 with diamond tweeter is neither lightweight in the literal nor figurative sense and is considered by many to be one of the best speakers in the world. But Linn firmly believes that even the 802 can benefit greatly from digital and fully active control, and is therefore now offering an Exakt upgrade kit for it.

The Bowers & Wilkins 802 Diamond can now be transformed into an Exakt speaker In this process, the original passive crossover of the 802 Diamond is bypassed and replaced by a Linn-designed digital circuit. This transforms the 802 into a fully-fledged Exakt speaker, controlled by a Linn Exakt system and fully customized to the listening room and placement using SPACE Optimisation+. This is certainly a bold step, but Linn is so convinced of the result that the Scots are providing special demonstration versions of the 802, where you can directly compare the original passive crossover with the Exakt control—soon, of course, at our showroom at Auditorium!