Linn Selekt DSM

Hi-Fi Corner
42

I bought the Selekt Edition with Katalyst Line Out a year ago; I did demo the Organik stereo at the time as well and bought one later….

I have three types of the four modules here although obviously only running one at a time through my Selekt Edition via a Lineout Stereo module. The DAC modules I have are Standard(DAC 1), Katalyst (2) and Organik Stereo (3). I tried them in turn again only last week.

The standard DAC is very ‘polite’ but not particularly dynamic nor has a great soundstage; doesn’t resolve complex passages (prog rock, symphonies) particularly well but fine as a background or introduction.

The Katalyst is definitely a step up, good soundstage and with other parts of the system (power, interconnects, network etc.) addressed can sound very good - better or equal to many DACs out there - deals well with the complex passages of music

The Stereo Organik is excellent, deals with complex music passages and has an excellent soundstage even in passive and with good speakers. Listening to it now with a single NC250 (new to me) and my Serhan&Swift Speakers it doesn’t leave much room for improvement without spending a lot more.

There are a few Linn Selekt users who have gone with Dual Stereo Organik Power Amp modules but have discarded them in favour of external amps (NC250, Akurate 4200, Klimax Twin) to get better control over the speakers. There are also some that still prefer the power amplifier modules in Exakt/active with Kudos or Linn 119 / 150. Makes for a neat single box system.

Having heard the Dual Monos at my dealer I would say the Monos improve on the Organik features even more, but the improvements become increasingly marginal. The mono line out cartridges may well have better optimised pre-amp modules leading to the improvement - the DACs also have a different less powerful FPGA (quieter?).

The standard modules are very cheap in the usual places(so I bought one online for £60!), and the Katalyst can be had now for 40% of the list price…

My recent decision process was to try two power amp modules with two Katalyst into Kudos Super 10As at home with a view to going Exakt/active, but I preferred to spend the upgrade cost on a single Stereo, i.e passive, Organik DAC module. I sold the Super 10As only this week to retain my S&S Mu2s, for now.

So Selekt provides many options and rabbit holes too.

Best to demo at home and negotiate with the dealer commercially as well.

@PeakMan may also wish to contribute too

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43

How does it cost to upgrade the KDS3 to organic. Or Kds2 .
Is it worthwhile to change the caps, by Linn, after for example 15 years?

44

UK cost is £6480 - the entire circuit board is replaced by the dealer.

As for caps - most likely but I didn’t worry about that as all the electronics in my KDS3 is now new.

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45

The range of cartridge options and which can be used with which is confusing, but I don’t think dual mono Organik DACs can be used with power amp cartridges. It’s line out only with those, but do check first and apologies if I’m wrong.

As to whether the dual mono Organik DAC is “worth £7k”, that’s so subjective. For me the answer is an unequivocal yes. It manages that trick of giving so much insight into the music without pulling it apart. It simply creates the illusion of realism substantially better than any setup I’ve had before. But that may matter less to other listeners so the value proposition may differ.

As to Classic or Edition case, when I bought mine, the Edition version had facilities the Classic case lacked, but I don’t think that’s true of the current Classic case. The Edition has a quality feel that I enjoy and I would probably still opt for it, but if cash constrained I’d definitely opt for Organik with Classic case over Katalyst with Edition case.

Roger

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46

Has FR yet listened to a Linn streamer equipped with Organik DAC(s) yet in your quest for a new streaming solution ?

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47

I don’t think it would ever require re-capping, it’s not something that Linn gear normally needs. You can add the Organik board to a KDS2, or any KDS or KDSM for that matter, so you could build something of a “bargain” streamer/DAC, as the board is brand new.

If you did go that route, I’d strongly urge you to also add a Utopik power supply, which moves things on a lot.

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48

Thanks for such comprehensive advice :smiley::+1:.

ATB, J

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49

Lots of experiences here, to try to work out what to do:

I went from KDS3 with Katalyst to Selekt Edition with dual mono Organik (and this box) serves as pre-amp too). The KDS3 Katalyst was fantastic. The upgrade to what I use now was vast. All thoughts of experimenting with cables, supports etc stc become trivial.Beware though…if you listen, you might not be willing to settle for a compromise. As always, just one person’s experience.

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50

Oh, then second hand KDS3 , around 7k euros, and Organik upgrade, 8k, it becomes serious money. Too much for a chicken.

51

I liked the KDS3. Not enough to replace the Nds, but Organik may change that. And the box looks very very nice, and one box vs my 3. Not talking about Qobuz and Tidal, still effective in the KDS3.

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For how much the Utopik ?

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Hi FR,

You might just have to trust me on this one. I note you are asking questions about changing the ‘caps’. By which I assume you mean capacitors?

FYI, the ‘caps’ problem is (I believe) practically eliminated in the Transversal Filtering architecture that Linn employ in their Organik DAC.

Specifically:- the Organik DAC circuit does not have any signal path relevant high quality capacitors that practically all other manufacturers employ in their post DAC ‘circuits’.

Power supply capacitors are of course still present in the design but as Linn use a highly sophisticated switched mode PS the capacitors can be much smaller and are not exposed to the same stresses as for mains frequency based rectification capacitors.

PS: I am happy to start a debate on another thread if people want to discuss these important details.

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54

Not if you buy one thats already been upgraded… for £5k :slight_smile: keep a look out.

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55

I asked first because there are KDS 1, which may have more than 20 years old, on EBay,
which were upgraded to KDS3. So I believe the capacitors were not changed, with the KDS3 upgrade.
Then , buying the KDS3 second hand ( upgraded from KDS 1) , may have 20 years old caps.
But i didn’t knew that the Organik upgrade on it = all changed inside, so the caps.
So a good news.
However the streaming platform is still unchanged, so the one going with KDS3. Maybe near 10 years now.
So not sure it’s worth all that. You have to buy a KDS3, then send it for Organik upgrade, for around 15k euros in total. And you are with an old streaming platform.

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I think it was around £1300, so, in the sphere of current Linn pricing it’s reasonable. It made a big difference.

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57

From what I understand, in addition to swapping out the DAC, the Organik upgrade includes Linn’s new 384kHz/24-bit and DSD256 streaming engine. I don’t think you need to be concerned about that.

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58

Here we are talking ! :grinning_face:

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No the Organik is everything on one board (streamer, DAC) streaming platform is latest. Only the PS remains and that can be upgraded too (much more cheaply).

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60

Keep looking on the auction site etc. They do come up at good prices if you wait. Like Naim stuff people who did the upgrade decide they want to go for the latest version or want to add digital inputs/outputs or have a one box select. Lots of reasons.

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61

If it’s really that, then I will keep that solution in my radar :+1: