Replacement for my dead Classik

[admin_exported]

Hi all - first post here so be gentle with me!

I currently have a Classik connected to a pair of Ket Q65.2s. Very happy with the performance for a living room set-up. However the Classik has broken again for the second time in 2 years and I'm fed up with it. Linn have repaired it before but I've lost faith now. The CD transport is shot (won't play disks but will read them when you put them in) and the amp keeps cutting out and displaying an error message.

I've also moved a lot of music onto the ipod and have been running a fairly cheap Onkyo dock into the Classik and it's been fine for my needs.

So what do I replace the Classik with?

I've considered the Arcam Solo, maybe just an amp like a Cyrus 6Vs2 of 8Vs2 or maybe a Fatman 182 or 252? Or should I just dust off the old Audiolab 8000a and see how that does? Budget of up to £1k.

Cheers

 

[JoelSim]

Arcam Solo Mini and Arcam dock?ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers, hadn't really considered the mIni over the standard solo. Do they sound much different?

 

[JoelSim]

I haven't heard the mini but I gather it's stunning for the money, albeit if you have a large room and want headbanging levels it may be wise to go for something more powerful - never read anything but 5* reviews in any magazine about the mini.

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Dust off the Audiolab 8000a. It was and still is a good amplifier. I'd also contact Linn directly and forcefully about your Classik's unreliability. Hopefully they'll be able to do something as, by the sound of it, they should.ÿ

 

[Andrew Everard]

Agreed with Tarquinh on the Audiolab - I'd fire that up and see how you get on before making any big decisions. Will work fine with the iPod using the dock, and will drive the speakers perfectly well.

After that it's really a matter of deciding whether you want to carry on playing CDs, or copy them over to something else.

The Arcam Solo Mini is definitely a contender.

And as for the Linn's reliability, it's unfortunate that the repair hasn't sorted the problem - I'd certainly talk to Linn's customer service people either directly or via a dealer about this.

But if you've had the Classik for a long time - and it has been around a long time, having been well ahead of the game - then it may just be old age setting in...

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers for your thoughts everyone - I'll go and hunt out the Audiolab as a start! I've also got a Arcam Alpha 170.3 transport and Black Box 5 DAC and a pair of Linn Keilidhs sat in boxes, and then there's the Rega Planar 3 under the bed.......

I bought the Classik second hand and it is an early one, I've had it for about 5-6 years. The amp blew a couple of years back and when I sent it back to Linn I was told it had been repaired before. It's now died again. So actually that's at least three repairs it's had.

I used to be very into my hi-fi and spent ages auditioning stuff. It didn't help that a friend ran a hi-fi shop! These days it's more about enjoying the music rather than being super critical about the ability of the equipment. I know the quality of an MP3 is less than a CD in most cases but the way I have stuff set up and where I sit to listen means that you'll not really tell the difference anyway.

 

[the record spot]

LPH:

Cheers for your thoughts everyone - I'll go and hunt out the Audiolab as a start! I've also got a Arcam Alpha 170.3 transport and Black Box 5 DAC and a pair of Linn Keilidhs sat in boxes, and then there's the Rega Planar 3 under the bed.......

Err, in that case DEFINITELY get the old kit out! Not least, as already said, the Audiolab (see my sig below for a certain classic amp that's reappeared in the last fortnight), but do give those Linn Keilidhs a workout too. Great speakers in their day and if they're still in good fettle, nothing will have changed now.

And as for that P3...!

 

[Anonymous]

I did set them all up a few months back as I was goingto sell them. Then I decided they sounde too good!

To be honest I found the Classik and Kefs a better sound than the Arcam/audiolab/kelidhs for the type of music I listen too (mostly rock) but maybe a lot of it was the fact that the Kelidhs are more critical of placement that the Kefs. Maybe I should invest in some kustone stands for them.

My P3 is a great powder blue colour. Bought in the early 90s. I wish I'd have bough the white one now very ahead of it's time and the 'ipod' white vibe that went around for the past few years