Linn Ikemi CD Player

Here we have an example of the Ikemi CD Player from Scottish Hi-Fi specialists Linn. It comes in good fully working condition with a few small marks – please see photographs. It will be supplied in original factory packaging with manual, mains cable, interconnect cable and our standard three month warranty.
Linn Say….
The Ikemi exceeds the audio performance of our previous best CD player and external D/A convertor, but all in one compact box. With its range of outputs, both balanced and single ended, its beautifully engineered mechanism and unique audio design it combines the latest technology with years of digital audio experience.
The slim aluminium drawer of the Ikemi is the only visible part of the CD mechanism. Inside is a precision machined and very ingenious CD loading mechanism. Its ‘mechatronic’ design is built up from a rigid circuit board which contains the CD servo and decoding circuitry, the mechanism control circuitry and software, and the motors, pulleys, belts and optical sensors which monitor the disc loading process. The mechanism is not only a pleasure to use but also provides considerable vibration and environmental protection for the laser system, increasing its immunity to external disturbances. The digital audio signals from this ‘CD engine’ are connected through very short links to the ‘audio module’ which contains our ‘2D’ digital signal processing algorithm, the D/A convertors, the master clock, filters, output circuitry and power supply regulators. This uses (as do all our products) high density surface mount circuitry to keep the signal paths short and direct, giving a very electrically quiet product with high immunity to external electrical disturbances. The Ikemi has both single ended and balanced audio outputs, making it easy to connect to any high performance control amplifier. The balanced output, unlike many others, uses a very low noise circuit topology allowing maximum signal transfer from the Ikemi.
The intelligence of the Ikemi is contained in a fast microprocessor on the control module, behind the front panel. The operating software is held in ‘flash’ memory, which is loaded, when the product is built, through the optional RS232 interface module. The RS232 interface module provides complete electrical isolation between the Ikemi and an external control system and allows, for example, a home automation system to provide the user interface to the audio system, with no compromise to the audio performance. Power is supplied through the latest generation of our ‘Brilliant’ switch mode power supply. Our understanding and use of this ‘silent power’ technology has enabled us to improve the performance of all our source and control products over the last few years.
The Ikemi is equipped with an HDCD® decoder. HDCD® is a digital signal processing system developed by Pacific Microsonics of California which conceals control codes into a very small fraction of the recorded CD digital audio stream. An HDCD® decoder recognises these control codes and uses them to process the digital audio to increase its dynamic range and resolution, while leaving the original digital stream compatible with conventional CD players. The HDCD® process has been used successfully on many CDs, but possibly more importantly, the digital filters in the HDCD® decoder, through which all signals pass, are much better than most existing digital filters, so every CD benefits.
The Ikemi has low jitter SPDIF digital audio outputs on BNC sockets, and also has an optical output (Toslink) and an AES/EBU professional balanced low noise digital output. Though rarely used on domestic equipment this digital audio connection format combines the high speed and low jitter of an electrical interface with almost as low electrical noise as an optical connection. We provided these digital outputs for connection to external processors, digital recorders and for potential future external DACs. However, as the digital and analogue audio circuitry used in the Ikemi is so good, and with the advantage of being in the same box as the source of the digital stream, there are currently very few external DACs which will give an improvement in sound quality!
Specifications:
Single Ended Analogue: RCA phono – 2V rms 300 Ohms
Balanced Analogue: XLR male – 4V rms 600 Ohms
SPDIF Electrical: BNC – 0.5V pp – 75 Ohms
SPDIF Optical: TOSLINK
AES/EBU Electrical: XLR male – 1V pp – 110 OHMS
Sync Link Input: RCA phono – 0-10 Vdc – 10k Ohms
Knekt Remote In/Out: RCA phono – 4mA
Mains Input: IEC (90 – 130 Vac; 180 – 260 Vac; 20 Watts max – manual switch)
Dimensions: 320 (W) x 325 (D) x 80 (H) mm
Weight: 4.1 kg