Please help - Linn Genki or Exposure 2010s cd player ?

[sthomas048]

Hopefully this is the final chapter in my search of audio nirvana. Its down to two cd players -

1/ Linn Genki
2/ Exposure 2010s

See my current setup below. I have AVI Neutron 5 speakers as well as the B&Ws. I dont know which of these cd players would sound the best in my system and as im buying off the web its tricky. Anyone with experience of these cdps please give me your experiences. I listen to a very wide range of music, but mostly indie, rock, pop etc; My listening room is also relatively small.

Id like some heart and soul in the sound, something with life and dynamics. Not too cool or analytical sounding.

Im hoping for some kind and *quick* answers as i dont want someone else to nab these cd players !

Kind Regards.

Stephen

 

[John Duncan]

I found the genki on the dull side of neutral. Don't think I've heard the Exposure, but it has a 'rock' reputation. However, I'm still of the opinion that differences in CD players are quite small, given the same price bracket, so I'd buy the one you think looks coolest (was considering the Exposure pair when I eventually got my Primares, but couldn't be doing with the red lights on the black model

), and concentrate more on the amp/speaker combination to give you the sound you want.

 

[sthomas048]

Hello John. Im quite open minded to an uprgade other than the cd player. Im also quite naive with hifi kit and no where near as experienced as many others on this forum. So John, if you were we me what would you do ? I have about £450 to spend. I love the Neutron speakers. But maybe a new amp before a new cd ?

 

[John Duncan]

Maybe - you have a tricky budget in that none of your components are an obvious weak link, so improving any of them enormously will be hard without perhaps spending more money, to my mind. I think if I had to replace something, yes it would be the amp. £450 will buy quite a lot second hand, and if you had the value of the B200 (100-150 quid say) on top, you could almost get into s/h Primare A30.2 or Naim territory - or stick with MF and look at the X150 (lovely, though weird shape) or A3 (stonking, in budget, acquired taste aesthetically).

You might even consider adding a small, fast sub to the AVIs, though I haven't tried it with mine, so can't speak for the improvement you could expect.

If I didn't have to replace something though, I'd get a DAC, a wireless streamer and a subscription to Spotify

 

[sthomas048]

Oh well i went and bought the Linn Genki. I know the amplifier is something im considering for the future. But for now - lets see what happens with the Genki ! Thanks John.

 

[the record spot]

Excellent player - I think the Genki clocked in at around the £1500 mark? Or was that the Ikemi? Either way, in pure cost terms alone, you'd needed to have spent at least twice the money of the Exposure to get the Linn new. Neither are bad, both excel in their areas, but with the Linn, I think you might find it is a little more forgiving of less than stellar CDs.

Congratulations on your purchase - enjoy!

 

[sthomas048]

Thank you !

I paid £435 for the Genki, which isnt too bad - do you think ? It was so close between the Exposure and Linn, ive had some great advice from the forum. But what made me choose against the Exposure was that it was descibed as forward and rocking - which i dont dislike, but i have a relatively small listening room so those characteristics would only have been more pronounced. Hopefully ive made the right choice with the Genki. Anyone know if it plays CD-R discs ?

 

[Thaiman]

Genki is one of the "legend" imo, not very details, not very wide soundstge, not very full in the bass and a tad bright but it has soul! Genki still remain one of the most involving CD player I have heard and at the end of the day, that's all you will ever need to enjoy music.

 

[sthomas048]

Thaiman - i was eagerly awaiting your arrival on this thread ! What would suggest in terms of pairing the Genki with Linn amplifiers ? I think the Genki has a pre-amp section so could i simply add a LK100 or 140 ? This would be a stepping stone until i could afford a proper pre-amp like the Kairn or Wakonda. I would need a power amp of at least 30w to power my speakers, but i have a small listening room so dont need bags of power really. Any advice you (or anyone else) could give would be greatly appreciated.