Love the amp put my friend cross the wires and fried it. I am now looking for a circuit diagram so I can facilitate a repair. Anyone have a suggestion? (sjdhumphrey@hotmail.com)

Natural timbral presentation, detailed but refined and musical, plenty of power.

Power cord is disposable. Chassis is adequate, but no more. Written materials provide no real information for us word hounds.

The Linar 250i is a must listen for those in the market for a powerful SS amp. This jewel has bass authority, and is natural and extended throughout. Incredible detail and transparency, but quite refined at the same time. Compared to a friend's Pass X250: the two are virtually indistinguishable, although the Pass seems to run out of steam sooner and tends to be a bit congested in complex orchestral passages in comparison to the Linar. On the dark side, the Pass is built to withstand nuclear attack, while the Linar chassis and finish are more modest. I'm not qualified to comment on the inner workings or materials. My friend is dismayed that his Pass cost $2k more than the Linar. Of course the Linar blows away my now second system amp, a Classe'DR9. Related equipment: Magneplanar 3.6R Ayre K-5 Ayre CX7 Zu cable Libtec biwires Kimber 1111 ICs Custom powercords

Similar Products Used:

Pass X250 Classe' DR9

An high-power amp which doesn't have the problems usually associated with high-power amps.

Not as sweet as my NOS 300B tube, if you call that a weakness.

I am a Mark Levinson No. 331 owner and I am confident to say that you guys can spend less for better sound now. I do not have time to write a prolonged review but this is a BLUE-BLOODED AMP with every detail of fineness, a serious hi-end contender to Mark Levinson and Krell, buy it before the company become famous and charge you twice the price!

Similar Products Used:

Mark Levinson No. 331, Krell FPB 300c, Mcintosh 6850, etc

One of the best products on the market for the price. I don't think that you will find anything better. You can't imagine the open sound and detail this amplifier has. I purchased one and I recommend you take a listen for yourself. You will not be disappointed.

High Value

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I bought this amp because I was looking for a high quality, high value amp with enough power to drive my Proac Response 3s. I’ve had the amp for about 9 months now and to my ears in my system it’s a great sounding amp. It’s always difficult to judge a single piece of audio equipment because there are so many variables(associated equipment, cables, room) but I can tell you that everyone who has heard my setup says it sounds great. I’m using the Linar W250 along with the Linar preamp #2, Sim Moon Eclipse and the Proac Response 3’s. The sound is articulate yet still warm and the sound stage is large and accurate. This setup sounds good with all types of music from Jazz to Rap although unfortunately poor recordings still sound like poor recordings. Overall I think the Linar W250 is a great amp, and a great value. Highly recommended!

Similar Products Used:

Krell, BAT

Very fast and tight bass. Sweet sounding mids and highs. Deep and wide soundstage. Astounding microdetails revealed.

Cheap power cord,get a good one pronto, it makes a diff.Chassis could be stiffer.

First I want to start with a line that may be a "no-no", but can't help it. About the first review that would show a rating of -1 if it could...If only a sales rep would rate this a 5, only a competitor,and a jealous one at that, would rate it at 1 or 2... Yes baby does this amp sing, and with the best of them. A friend of mine and I went around with this amp to comparo sessions.Blindfolded.That's the only way to go. 'Cause people tend to listen with their eyes and/or preconceived (biased) assumptions. And guess what? The LINAR 250 came out pretty impressively against much more expensive and renowned hifi gear.Before plunking down the hard earned $$$ do your wallet,and your ears, a BIG service and have a listen.Blindfolded.

Similar Products Used:

BRYSTON 4B ST, CLASSÉ CA200, MOON W5, PASS LABS X150, PS AUDIO, MUSICAL FIDELITY

Dynamics, revelation of details, bass accuracy and depth, soundstage, and provides a natural "effortless" sound.

I agree with the previous reviewer about the power cord. It is quite small. However, even if they provided a decent one you would probably replace it.

This is one of the most dynamic amplifiers I have ever heard. The first time I heard it, it was driving a pair of Sonus Faber Amati Homage, and I instantly fell in love (with both the amp and the speakers). I had a chance to A/B the Linar against the Classe Omega monoblocks and the Linar was very close, closer than the price difference would suggest. It now drives my Grand Pianos with ease. The amp seems to allow all the musical details to come through, including the critical emotion and involvement with the music. Music sounds effortless, with no hint of restraint, coloration, or loss of dynamic range. Soundstage depth is limitless. The most impressive quality however, is the tightness, strength, and accuracy of the bass. The bass depth I can achieve with this amp is beyond anything I heard when demoing my speakers. In terms of styling the amp is unique and quite large, though not unnecessarily so (like a couple of manufacturers I can think of). There is a slab of Acrylic Plastic that is backlit in blue which is quite stunning at night. Construction quality is excellent, and the amp is bridgeable to 500 watts per channel at 8 ohms, or 1000 at 4 ohms. It also has XLR inputs as well as standard and reverse-phase RCA inputs. I have enjoyed this amp so much that I offered to become a local seller for Linar as there is no retailer in my area. The man who owns the company is Victor Sima. He started Sim Audio around 25 years ago but apparently sold it around 1995. In my opinion this amp easily rivals those available from his former company, and easily takes on those in a much higher price bracket. If you are in the market for a high-end amp, do yourself a favour and demo one of these amps. It can drive some pretty big speakers and make them sound awesome. Associated gear Linar Audio Pre-Amplifier 2 Shanling CD-T100 Tube CD Player Sonus Faber Grand Piano Home Acoustic Zen Silver Ref Interconnect Acoustic Zen Matrix Ref Interconnect Acoustic Zen Hologram MkII Speaker Cables Acoustic Zen Tsunami Power Cords

Similar Products Used:

I have compared with: Classe Omega/201/301 Bryston 4B/7B ST Krell X Series Mark Levinson 335 Simaudio W-3, W-5

Extremely musical amp with sheer clean power. Excellent bass, upper midrange, highs, and great price.

Needs better power cord. So does all other power amps.

Hidden gem! I replaced my Bryston with this beautiful powerful amp. Not only does this amp produce superb powerful bass, it reveals great detail in upper midrange and the highs. This amp is definitely a contender with any of the big boys. I am amaze with the sheer clarity of the sound from this amp. You can play any type of music and this amp will shine. The best part of this amp is the price. Excellent value.

Similar Products Used:

Bryston, Classe, Musical Fidelity, Krell

Detail, imaging, power, speed, timing. Great looking unit. The power switch is housed in rectangular plexi-glass which has a soft blue light that lights up the front. Has balanced xlr inputs along with rca.

None.

Fantastic amp! This amp is a contender with the big boys. It is a powerhouse that can produce the most delicate sound or slam the bass with no effort! It excels with stringed instruments. If you are a jazz buff then this amp is your forte'. Voices, espcially female, come to life with a smooth fluid tube-like sound. Put on Diana Krall and let the show begin! The soundstage extends way beyond the speakers with amazing detail that has a tube-like sound to it. I have a Krell 300iL which is a great little unit but it does not hold a candle to the Linar. The power of the 250 is effortless. Even at low levels you can hear the detail and imaging on this baby. I have it coupled with an Audio Research LS15 and the combination is a match made in heaven. If you are shopping for ML, Jeff Rowland, Krell, etc., you might want to give the Linar a listen. You won't be disappointed! Equipment used: Audio Research LS15 Linn Ikemi cd Krell 280 cd Paradigm Studio 100 Monitor

Similar Products Used:

Krell 300iL, Krell 250a, Jeff Rowland 112, Aragon 4004MKII, Conrad John 2500, Naim.

Very musical. Lots of clean power, great dynamics and detailed beyond most other amps.

Does not hide poorly recorded tracks.

I used to have the Musical Fidelity A3cr Pre/power amp and found that although the musical quality was very good I was missing something. A friend of mine suggested the Linar 250 power amp and immediately I found what I had been missing all along. Dynamics were 10 times better thanks to the Linar's 250W per channel versus the MF's 120W. Sound stage, detail and depth were much more pronounced with the Linar 250. Also lots more air around intruments and voices. This amp seems to disconnect all the instruments and voices, making each one materialize in the space between your speakers. On most well recorded tracks my speakers completely disappear. I could now hear lots of new information on tracks I had listenned to for years. I was amazed, when for the first time I clearly heard the little bell after the words "Pin prick" on the Comfortably numb track of the Wall album. Anyway, this amp really impressed me from the first track and continues to do so today, almost a year later. Excellent value.

Similar Products Used:

SimAudio, Musical Fidelity, Krell