Linn Ikemi still viable at 4k

Cody-my own personal take is if you listen to a wide range of music you could do well with the Ayre CX-7-I auditioned this against the Ikemi and found it superior especially with heavier music.

The key issue with the Ikemi is vibration management: its chassis is woefully underdesigned. I cannot emphasise this enough and cite Ben's response as supporting evidence (the deteriation of playback quality with "heavier music").

However, if you are willing to manage vibration properly, you'll have arguably the finest Redbook playback available at that price point. I have compared the Ikemi to its peer group and, well, I still have the Ikemi. I've even had the opportunity to compare it to the CD12 and must say it holds its own at a fraction of the price (after a certain point, you slam hard against the limitations of the Redbook format).

One more note: if you decide to purchase an Ikemi from other than from a Linn authorized dealer, know the warantee does *not* transfer.

Best,

I only lived with a Linn Genki for about 10 months. It had a lot of details, with great extended highs and solid extended bass. However, I found it a little grey sounding and happily stepped down to my old Rega Planet, which I find much more musical. I hope the Ikemi is more musical and more involving than the Genki (which it supposedly is).

Another note on the Linn warranty: Even if you buy a demo from a authorized Linn dealer, Linn will subtract the time that the dealer had it as a demo. The warranty is usually valid from the day the Linn dealer obtained from Linn for demo purposes (most Linn dealers don't even no about this). If in doubt about warranty call the Linn help line with the serial number of the unit.