Sony G90 manual LINN-AV5103 Aktiv Multi-Channel System, Search of the Mythical Beast

LINN-AV5103 AKTIV Multi-Channel System

In Search of the Mythical Beast: I

he gleaming white livery of the Fed-X truck splintered

the morning calm with a fusillade of gravel against the

stone griffins sternly guarding the massive oak front

door. Upon the FedEx man’s announcement: “Two items,” the

door opened to reveal a man who might well be a stone Grif-

fin himself, his face bearing a stern and raptor-like stare.

“What do they weigh?”

Looking down at his clipboard, the Fed-X man replied:

“800 pounds.”

“But that’s a third of a ton!”

The next morning saw the arrival of the Bull, who swiftly

moved the boxes to the music room.

Then on the third day came the Alchemist from Linn Prod-

ucts to spread layers of thick black cables, cardboard boxes,

black metal boxes, and wooden speaker boxes. This formed

an ultimate hi-fi horizon layer two feet deep over the entire 25’

by 18’ floor, but the tide had again receded by sunset that

evening. The first level of alchemy left the room pristine and

newly decorated with a four-foot tall rack of black metal

boxes and a perimeter of cherry veneered cabinets. The Linn

AV speakers were arranged variously on black metal stands

(the four principal channels served by the AKTIV Tukan), on

a television monitor (the Aktiv AV5120 center channel), and

on the floor (the AV5150 sub).

The cabinets of the Tukan speakers are a foot tall, a little

more than half as wide and deep. They sit upon open black

metal stands that raise the top of the loudspeakers to a height

high, 9.5 inches deep). The AV5150 subwoofer (26 inches high,

18.5inches wide and deep), sits between the television and

one of the Tukans. A Quadraspire rack contains the five

AV5105 power amplifiers, the AV5103 system controller, and

on the top two shelves, the Linn Karik CD player and Numerik

digital-to-analog converter. The shelves are finished in cherry

veneer to match the loudspeaker cabinets.

The price of systems based around the 5103 controller

starts at $18,815; the system I am testing costs $27,170. This

reflects the 11 channels of amplification provided to separately

power each driver or pair of drivers, in the case of the center

speaker and subwoofer. With the addition of better Linn com-

ponents, it is possible to drive the system cost to $145,680.

The fourth day was set aside for musical refinement. The

Alchemist was pushing buttons on a remote control, watching

as messages appeared on the control unit and simultaneously

on the monitor. He listened to the hiss (pink noise) emitted by

each loudspeaker in turn, measuring the distance between

each loudspeaker and the listening position, adjusting the loud-

speaker stands, moving them a half inch at a time. At one point,

he added a cellular telephone to his juggling, speaking rapidly

into the mouthpiece as he set white words to flash across the

screens and listened to the loudspeakers hiss as he moved

them to and fro.

In the middle of the fourth day, music appeared whole and

viscerally present, as first the Alchemist then I sat on a chair

placed at the focus of the equipment. The cherry cabinets with

of three feet. At the front of the room, a television monitor is	their eyes one above the other gazed upon us as frantic mes-
centrally placed between the two loudspeakers on stands, and	sages in computeiform script scrolled over the blank displays.
it is surmounted by the Aktiv AV5120 cen-	A new cycle began. After much
ter loudspeaker (2 feet wide, 7 inches	searching and deep consideration, a disc

B A R R Y R A W L I N S O N