Aaaaaallllright. Got the LK85! (I won't bore you with the details, but judging by the tracking info it made a 1500 mile loop-de-loop of sorts across the united states midwest for some strange reason.)
Anyway, first thoughts. I've run J.J.Cale, CCR, Dethklok and Beethoven so far. All after letting it warm up nicely while watching some dvds through it.
It certainly doesn't have the sheer oom-pah-pah of the Jolida. But it's only 57wpc or something into 8ohms. My speakers are 6ohm so I guesstimate about 69-70 watts of SS power versus the 63ish of tube I was getting before. All in all the tubes wrought a mighty bass that the Linn can't seem to quite do. The frequencies seem to be hitting the same lows, just not with the same intensity and character. Basically the swings into base aren't so sweeping, but to me music is in the mids so all is not lost.
All that said, the polite bass is where the disadvantages end. I've clearly got boxes of much better breeding here. The bass, while not as championed as with the JA, is deep and firmly under control. Midrange detail is a vast step up and I reckon better than the Nait. There is a balanced level of detail across the mid and high end as well, I don't feel as if the amp overemphasizes any of the spectrum and it has an uncanny warmth that places me firmly into the Linn camp if one had to choose between Naim and Linn. Despite Naim's undeniable sexiness.
The opening movement of Molto Vivace in Beethoven's 9th Symphony announces itself with vigor and there are definetly things I've not heard before shining through.
All in, after four hours of testing some very familiar scenes on dvd, some records and cds. I'm extremely satisfied. The duo out-performs the Nait5i without the Nait's harsher high end, that was my hope, I feel I've found something good here.
Incidentally, I've just secured an LK100 as well, so I will report back again with bi-amping reviews.
Oh and I must give credit where credit's due. The Oppo is holding up very well considering the company it's keeping. I'm still out for a rega or linn cdp in the long run, but the Oppo's temporary position will hold now that I've shelled out for the LK100.
EDIT: I can distinctly hear music sheets being turned on this my Mozart cd. I've been aware of it before, but it's been much closer to the peripheries. I can clearly hear it now. Quite something.