audiostreak

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $1200.00 from London hifi shop, ne

Summary:
I had previously used brands such as musical fidelity, naim, wadia, etc, with their larger then life sound, a little bit on the sloppy side with the bass and upper octaves. What i needed all along was this Linn... The first thing you notice about the linn is the incredible width and depth of the soundstage, the incredible solidness, yet smoothness of the bass and upper midrange sounds. Then that's about it. You don't notice anything else about the sound od the CD player since you start to forget you are listening to the CD player. You just go into the music. Live, vibrant music that's "happening" right before your eyes.

Strengths:
One word: involving...

Weaknesses:
The remote... The Tray... I could have gotten the bigger brother for the tray problem but it was a way too steep a price difference.

Similar Products Used:
Musical fidelity a5, naim, wadia, even cambrdige audio (mid-fi compared to linn)

raafjes

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
4.33 of 5, 6.00 votes

Price Paid:  $960.00 from eBay

Summary:
So after 13 years it was time to upgrade my old Marantz CD80 player. Reading the reviews on Internet and in the magazines; I had a list of players. Now the question to get one at an affordable price on eBay or so and if I wouldn’t like it, I was intending to re-sell it. Based upon some reviews I read, I was interested in the Creek CD 53, the Marantz CD17 Mk2 KI, Arcam CD92, Naim 3.5, So my second serious bidding was on a Linn Genki and successful. Player was send in almost mint condition to me. I connected it and after a few hours I compared it to my Marantz CD80 and was….. a little disappointed! It sounded a little flat and I missed some depth. So I switched the original Linn interlinks with my Van den Hul “The Source” and......... it was a huge improvement! I even decided to upgrade(?) my interlink too a little to a Van den Hul D 102 Mk3. Before comparing I let the interlink burn in a few days before critical listening. The D 102 Mk3 wasn’t that impressive at first sight, so now I’m still burning in this cable (mail me for my latest notes on that) and also looking for a bargain to obtain a VdH “The First” or a Nordost cable. My conclusion with the VdH “The Source”: the Linn was worth every Euro-penny I paid: better details, very smooth (almost analogue) treble compared to my Marantz, better soundstage and a pretty good (not that aggressive) bass. So I even noticed new details on my recordings. Sound was improving by the day! Note my remark below regarding some “heavy”rock recordings. Even my wife, from a distance(!), noticed the clearer sound and better details! I must admit on some recordings I sometimes miss the more aggressive deep bass-punch of the Maranz, but this player was outperforming my classical Marantz by far. The soundstage is open, natural, more analogue, musical, with enough depth and controlled bass. Player is more capable of producing (complex) details from various instruments playing at the same time (compared to the Marantz). And that all at appr. a third of the weight of my old Marantz! For comparing I mainly listened to recordings of The Nits: Henk/Kilo, Roger Waters: The pros and cons…; Peter Gabriel: Up, Simply Red: Picture book, Talk Talk; It’s my life, Phil Collins: Face value, Paul Simon: Graceland. All original cd’s, didn’t try the HDCD’s yet! So I’ll keep this player for a long time! Amp used: Accuphase E 205 intergrated amp. Speakers: Dynaudio Contour 1.3SE Interlink: Van den Hul D 102 Mk3 connected to the fixed analogue output Speakercable: Audioquest Type6 Value rating "only" a "4" taking in consideration the price you have to pay for new.

Strengths:
Natural, near analogue sound with plenty of details. Almost perfect in balance

Weaknesses:
Bad recordings tense to sound flat; especially in combination with my Dynaudio speakers, Therefore some rock-recordings (like The RHCP), tense to have a lesser kind of soundstage than with my old Marantz. (I will experiment with other (coloured) interlinks) The cheap plastic sound while opening the cd-tray. The remote-control with too many buttons The Linn interlinks: throw them away while opening the box!

Similar Products Used:
none

Price Paid:  $0.00 from a

Summary:
It has been awhile since i have posted a review. If all of us don't comment what we experience or feel with our new purchases etc this would be a dead forum.Right? So here goes! I have been using a Genki for nealy a year. In recent times i have gone through many system configurations including a complete Linn sys. (not active though). My present sys consists of a McIntosh MA6900 integrated ( rated Stereophile class A ) with TDL Reference Studio Monitor 'M' speakers. For those who are not familiar with these speakers they are FULL-RANGE transmission line speakers almost identical in propotions,size,weight & appearence to the Linn Keltiks & they almost cost the same as well. Since TDL's are trasmission-line speakers they produce very accurate bass and go VERY VERY low. 18Hz-20KHz .This is one of the best speakers in the bass dept,that i have heard so far. I think a lot has been said about the Genki in the previous reviews so i will share my experiences with a few comparisons i made with other Cd players. Namely Levinson No.390s , No.39 & the Naim CD5. Genki Vs Naim CD5 I recently had an opportunity to exchange my Genki with a Naim CD5 1:1 , with no added cost to me. The CD5 being rated class 'A' by stereophile made me very interested to take advantage of this opportunity. So i borrowed the CD5 & set it up side by side for a shootout with the Genki. I also had a friend along for a second opinion (he owns a Levinson 390s-our reference CDP). Both palyers were connected to the MA6900 simultaneously, CD5 was connected with a Cord DIN-to-RCA & the Genki via Transparent Musiclink 'Plus' interconnects.Both players were left powered-up permanently during the one week comparison & both units were well run-in. Also before each listening sessions both players were warmed-up simultaneously for approx. 45 minutes as i noticed the CD5 took longer to warm-up. Observations, The CD5 made a very good first impression. On the other hand the Genki would start slow & when you are halfway into a song you would have forgotten the good impressions made by the CD5. I really liked the swing out tray of the CD5 compared to the Genki's flimsy transport.With the CD5 the music was more focused & the bass had lot more weight , impact & an overall darker background . The Genki had a bigger & more realistic soundstage & was more airy than the Naim. After one week it was dicision time & i was totally confused as i liked them both. Not all CD's played would show the differences clearly. Some bass heavy tracks i prefered the CD5. On accoustic the Genki. Then came the turning point. On a solo harp recording with the CD5 we were always waiting for the other performers to join in. The Genki sounded complete & we could relax & enjoy the music. The harp was portrayed well within the soundstage with appropriate height & width & timbre. If i had a choice i would have kept them both. On long listening sessions the CD5 became fatiguing. Finally this also became the deciding factor & in my system the Genki won. Don't get me wrong. The CD5 is a fantastic player. But finally what matters is not the brand,price or rating but SYNERGY . The Genki was a better match in mine. Did the transparent interconnects tilt the scales in Genki's favour ? I could'nt confirm because of the DIN connections. Genki Vs 390s Actually there's no comparison between the two as the Levinson bettered the Genki in every way.More colour,timbre,liquidity,bass etc. but at 4 times the price. For what you pay for the Genki it holds it's own very well & in different rooms maybe the differences would have been indistinguishable. Genki Vs No.39 This was an actual blind comparison between the Genki & the Levinson No39. The controls were handled by a friend & i didn't know which player he was playing. From the SOUND I could identify which player was playing within the first 10 seconds. Then we placed a 3cm thick block of granite on the Genki cut to the same size (placed on thick Rubber) & this time i had to go through the full song to know which player was in action. One time i even mistook the Genki for the 39.So all Genki owners, you owe it to yourselves to do this experiment,if you haven't already done so. The voices become much smoother,real & the bass gets much more weight. Pls. note the CDP was also placed on custom-made thick granite on Lovan Soverign stands. This side-by-side comparison was done in a sys. with Levinson 383 integrated,all round transparent cabling and Dynaudio Crafft speakers. So fellow enthusiasts, i have come to the end of my long story. I finally put on hold my idea of upgrading the CDP as the differences we are talking about are very very small, compared to $$$ you have to pay extra(especially with SACD/DVD A on the way).I think a good universal player makes more sense than CD only. Maybe in a reference sys. the differences would be more evident. But as of now i have discovered a good pre-amp would make more ..........

Strengths:
.......of a difference for the price than would a CDP. A Mac C2200 Tube pre is in the horizon maybe with a MC402 power to partner. For those of you in the market for a decent CDP in this price range , go *LISTEN* & decide for yourselves. Use the reviews only to short-list the players & leave the rest to your ears. If you are considering any of the above CDP and are not able to compare side-by-side maybe my .02cts above would become useful. Based on price performance ratio the Genki deserves a 5 star rating IMO! Cheers !

Weaknesses:
Bass a little on the light side ? Remote controll full with buttons. Why can't everyone make lovely aluminium remotes like the Levinsons do.

Similar Products Used:
Many used & auditioned.

Price Paid:  $2500.00 from vernon

Summary:
price paid is can$.after having this cd player for 3 yrs i think i can safely add a review. this player is engageing subtle not in your face. i have tried many players but non have kept my attention long. be forewarned it takes many hundreds of hours to fully break in. i found it bright with lots of sibilance for many months. slowly that has gone and i have be left with a truly wonderfull toe tapping non fatigueing player.don't use variable outs. stock cables are more than good. just sit back and enjoy, forget the money you have spent

Strengths:
musical. true to the performers. great rythym.

Weaknesses:
bass could be lower

Similar Products Used:
arcam cd23, naim cd3/5. musical fidelity. cambridge audio cd500

Price Paid:  $1600.00 from Aberdeen UK

Summary:
The Genki, like all top HIFI components, is strongly affected by the components around it. I started with the Genki about 3 years ago powered by a Audiolab 800A and Royd speakers. The Amp went and was replaced by a Kolektor and LK85. Immediately there were huge improvements. The Speakers were changed to Monitor Audio 20SE, again a huge improvement in sound. I was happy with the sound but felt that there was an overly bright presentation with symbols and precusion over emphasized. Although the stereo focus was good, the soundstage depth was flat with poor individual instrument descimination. Overall it was a good set up but lacked true satisfaction. Along came a secondLK85 bi-amped. Wow what a diference, its almost like a completely new system. All the previous gripes have gone bass is tight, extended and articulate, the soundstage depth has tripled and a sudden focus on individual instruments has to be honest dazzled me. The Genki is very good for the money, to get the most out of it however you need to have very good amplification with some very revealing speakers.

Strengths:
Very detailed revealing sounds that can in the right set up put a big smile on your face. Good IC cable, as good as i have heard in the $150 range. Can be plugged straight into a power amp, though a good Pre amp is miles better

Weaknesses:
Demanding of partner equipment. Rubbish CD loader Can be a bit bright sounding

Similar Products Used:
The competition is strong. The new upsampling systems may be edging agead at the same price band.