GordonT

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 6.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from N.Y. city

Summary:
This is an excellent quality preamp from LINN. After auditioning it for few months, I felt in love with this amp so much that I want to have LINN products to replace all my audio components in my system. LINN has long been recognized as one of the major high-end audio equipments producers. Make no mistake, the Kolektor one the best pre-amp available in the today market.

Strengths:
Smooth sound, three outputs for tri-amp, 10 inputs, phono input for vinyl lover

Weaknesses:
LCD displays funny alphabets

Similar Products Used:
Classe, Channel Island

srplus

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $500.00 from second hand

Summary:
For its price an excellent piece of equipment which benefits from, or requires, excellent sources such as the sondek turntable or at minimum the ikemi cd player. A cheap upgrade (approx 200 dlrs) is a rebuilt lk1 amp where all except for the RIIA ha been shut down (the RIIA is still excellent despite the age of the design, especially considering it´s´price as a second hand commodity). The quality of the inbuilt phonostage is debatable but OK. A separate RIIA also allows for MC to be used. The preamp has also grown with improvements such as upgraded CD and improved turntable or upgrade to Linn silver interconnects. The preamp is also able to drive a poweramp situated as far away as up to 10 meters (according to Linn). Works fine for me with poweramp situated 6 meters away, between speakers.

Strengths:
Price and versatility

Weaknesses:
Phonostage

Similar Products Used:
Edison tube preamps, Linn Intek

Price Paid:  $1495.00 from Local Hifi Shop

Summary:
I just purchased the Linn Kolektor / LK140 combination to replace my beloved 15 year old Linn LK280 / LK1 rig. Have no fear, the latter gear is still going strong and is a great home office enhancement. Twenty years ago I bought into the "Linn For Life" benefit and have never looked back. Moreover, Linn really takes care of their customers which is the best part of their value proposition. Without question, Linn has made remarkable advancements in their entry level gear. The LK140 and Kolektor sound absolutely wonderful together. Clear, crisp, clean and powerful. I really could not be happier. My other equipment includes a Linn Genki, LP12 / Basik / K9, Quad FM4 tuner, Nakamichi CR-3A tape deck and Thiel CS2 speakers. I've now come to realize that the Thiel CS2's were slightly underpowered with the LK280 but not anymore. My thought of replacing them with Linn speakers have vanished since they have never sounded better since being driven by the LK140 / Kolektor. I'm hearing things I never heard before. It's marvelous! I'm a Linnie for life!

Strengths:
Well built, compact size, simple design, extreme functionality, remembering volume levels for each source, volume fad in / out when switching sources, tone controls for balancing the recording quality of many CD's

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Linn LK280 / LK1

Price Paid:  $770.00 from High Fidelity, Stock

Summary:
In my previous review (posted over a year ago), I stated that the Kolektor doesn't have a tape-loop. This is not true, I had misunderstood the meaning of the term. There is a "tape out" output, so there is a tape-loop. However, there is no listen-record switch. Since last year, I have replaced the power amp (from Rotel RB-991 to ADCOM GFA-585) and the CD player (from ARCAM CD72 to Sony CDP-XB740, believe it or not), but the Kolektor remains in my system. Still love it.

Strengths:
Great sound, loads of inputs, packed with features and no potentiometers that can start making noise.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Last year I decided to treat myself and upgrade my Mission Cyrus amp and Marantz 67SE MKII CD with a LINN Genki/Kolektor/LK140 combination. It sounded great in the shop but when I got it home I was underwhelmed. It was better than my old system, but not much. Did it need "running in"? Were my venerable Mission 753S speakers or QED Silver Aniversary Biwire speaker cables the problem? Eventually, I replaced the LINN interconnects with VAN DEN HUL 102 MKIII Hybrid. What a difference! Suddenly there was detail and stereo depth not heard before. If you like the LINNs and want to get the most out of them, you certainly need to use decent interconnects between CD and pre-amp and pre-amp and power amp.

Strengths:
Easy to use, flexible, open sound

Weaknesses:
Poor interconnects, lack of attack