Linn · Technology
Exakt: the signal stays digital to the loudspeaker.
Introduced in 2013, Exakt takes the crossover out of the analog domain and does it in software inside the loudspeaker. This page explains what that changes, what it asks of the rest of the system, and how it compares with connecting Linn components by analog cable.
The problem
Every loudspeaker has to divide the music.
A loudspeaker shares music among its drive units with a crossover. In a passive loudspeaker the crossover is a network of coils, capacitors and resistors working on the full output of the power amplifier. Its parts vary a little from one to the next, it shifts the timing of some frequencies against others, and the drive units it feeds are never quite identical.
None of this is a fault in any one loudspeaker. It is what analog crossovers do, and good designers work within it. Linn's first answer, in 1974, was Aktiv: move the crossover ahead of the amplifiers and give each drive unit an amplifier of its own. Exakt finishes that idea in the digital domain.
How it works
The crossover becomes software.
In an Exakt system the DSM sends the music, still digital, down an Exakt Link cable to each loudspeaker, together with the master clock. Inside, the Exakt engine divides the signal in software, so the crossover is exactly what its designer drew.
It also corrects for the small differences between individual drive units, and aligns the frequencies in time so that the parts of a note arrive together. Only then is the signal converted to analog, by a separate converter for each drive unit, and amplified.
For loudspeakers without the electronics on board, a Klimax Exaktbox does the same work in a separate enclosure, feeding power amplifiers that connect directly to the drive units.
The room
Space Optimisation, in the same step.
Because a Linn DSM knows the loudspeaker in detail, it can also account for the room. Space Optimisation builds a model from the dimensions and construction of your room and from where the loudspeakers actually stand, and takes out the bass energy the room adds.
It works in analog Linn systems too. In an Exakt system it happens alongside the crossover, before the signal is ever converted. We set it up in your home, and adjust it if the furniture or the loudspeakers move.
Records
An LP12 in an Exakt system.
The Urika II phono stage sits inside the LP12, within inches of the tonearm. It amplifies the cartridge's signal, converts it once, and applies the record equalization digitally, to a closer tolerance than analog parts allow. Its output is an Exakt Link socket, connected to the DSM.
Urika II takes its power from a Radikal supply and needs a Linn DSM with Exakt Link. For an analog system, the Urika and the Uphorik do the same job with analog outputs.
Side by side
Exakt or analog.
Neither is the lesser choice. Exakt takes a Linn system as far as it goes; analog lets Linn components work with what you own and lets a system grow in stages.
| Exakt Link | Analog | |
|---|---|---|
| Signal to the loudspeaker | Digital, over an Exakt Link cable | Analog, by speaker cable from a power amplifier |
| Crossover | In software, inside the loudspeaker or an Exaktbox | Passive parts inside the loudspeaker |
| Amplifiers | One for each drive unit; built into Exakt Integrated loudspeakers | A Selekt DSM with its amplifier, Klimax Solo, or your own |
| Source | A Linn DSM with Exakt Link | Any; a Linn DSM adds Space Optimisation |
| LP12 phono stage | Urika II | Urika, Uphorik, or another maker's |
| Loudspeakers | 343 and 360 Exakt Integrated; some passive loudspeakers with a Klimax Exaktbox | 119 and 150; 343 and 360 Passive with Active Bass; other makers' loudspeakers |
| Suits | A system that is, or will become, all Linn | Mixing Linn with components you own, and building in stages |
Which loudspeakers an Exaktbox supports, and what an existing Linn system needs to move to Exakt, depends on the models involved. Ask us and we will work it out with you.
Getting there
Most systems arrive in stages.
Few people buy a whole system at once, and Linn does not expect them to. A common path begins with a Selekt DSM and passive loudspeakers, connected by analog. The Exakt Link sockets are already on the back of the DSM.
Later, the loudspeakers can give way to an Exakt Integrated pair, or a Klimax Exaktbox and power amplifiers can take over the crossover for loudspeakers Linn supports. The 343 and 360 in Passive with Active Bass form sit between the two: they use Exakt for their own bass and leave the rest to your amplifier.
Hear it in Portland
The clearest explanation is to listen.
Call or write and tell us what you own. We will tell you plainly whether Exakt is the right next step for it, or whether something else comes first.
Or call (503) 222-2599 · sales@pearlaudio.com · 1038 NW Johnson Street, Portland
Next The Sondek LP12