Linn Products
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Linn Products Limited | |
 |
|
| Type | Private Limited Company |
|---|---|
| Founded | February 19, 1973 |
| Headquarters | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Key people | Ivor Tiefenbrun, Peter Murphy, Gilad Tiefenbrun |
| Industry | Home entertainment equipment manufacturing & distribution |
| Products | Hi-fi equipment, Audio-visual equipment |
| Employees | 320 |
| Subsidiaries | Linn Records Ltd., Linnsight Ltd. |
| Website | http://www.linn.co.uk |
Linn Products is a Scottish company, based in Glasgow, that manufactures hi-fi, home theatre, and multi-room audio systems.
Contents |
[edit] Company history
Linn began as an offshoot of Castle Precision Engineering (Glasgow) Ltd., a company now specialising in CNC machining, and many of the methods and processes of precision engineering form the philosophy behind the production of Linn's audio components. It was founded in 1972 by Ivor Tiefenbrun to produce the Sondek™ LP12 turntable, which utilises a suspended sub-chassis and an innovative "single-point" bearing machined to extremely tight tolerances.
From its introduction in 1972, there have not been any radical changes to Linn's turntable design. However, the LP12's sound quality has been improved through retrofittable upgrade kits. It is often used by hi-fi reviewers as a reference turntable.
In 1975, Linn patented its isobaric loading principle, and launched the Isobarik™ loudspeaker.
Linn capitalised on the success of the Sondek™ LP12 by introducing complementary tonearms and cartridges, and then extended its product range to electronic components in the early 1980s. Its flagship compact disc player, the CD12, was launched in 1997 and discontinued in 2005 because some parts could no longer be obtained.
Before the LP12, conventional wisdom in the hi-fi community dictated that the loudspeaker was the most important part of a hi-fi system. Linn championed a source-first doctrine, claiming that whilst a system was only as good as its weakest link, the most important part of any system was the source - information which was lost at the outset was gone for good.
Tiefenbrun gained much of his standing and influence today within hi-fi circles when he promoted his turntable in the early days of the company by hawking retailers and personally demonstrating the difference the LP12 made when it replaced a turntable in their own system in an "A:B Comparison". The company continues to value this approach, rejecting the use of technical specifications to judge a component, citing the fact that these figures are often inconsistently measured and purposefully misleading.
[edit] Partnerships
During much of the 1970s and 80s, Linn adopted a symbiotic relationship with Naim Audio. Their product ranges were complementary, and their names were often mentioned in the same breath. During this time, the Linn/Naim system was a preferred combination for many audiophiles. The two companies had almost the same sales and marketing strategy, and shared many of the same retailers/dealers. The two companies diverged during the 1980s, at the dawn of digital audio.
From the late 90's Linn has a brand partnership with Aston Martin, to supply audio systems to Aston Martin cars. Linn has supplied the Vanquish and continues to supply the DB9.
[edit] Technology and supply chain
From its engineering roots, it is now a fully-fledged hi-fi company, having gained significant expertise in electronics manufacturing through heavy investments in computer technology since the early 1980s. The company has embraced surface-mount technology, and promotes the "single-stage build", where one person is responsible for the entire process of assembling a product. It controls all the key processes from design. Linn also controls distribution in their key markets UK, USA, and Germany.
[edit] Market positioning
Operating mainly at the luxury end of the home entertainment marketplace, Linn is positioned as a lifestyle company through cutting edge industrial design. Aside from other British audio manufacturers Naim Audio and Meridian, Linn's most obvious direct competitor today is Bang & Olufsen of Denmark.
[edit] Milestones
- 1972, LP12
- 1976, Isobarik DMS/PMS loudspeaker
- 1979, Ittok LV II tonearm (made by OEM supplier from own design)
- 1981, Linnk, Moving-Coil Phono Pre-Amplifier (Manufactured by Naim Audio)
- 1984, Basik LV X budget tonearm (made by OEM supplier from own design)
- 1985, first moving coil cartridge Asak (made by OEM supplier from own design)
- 1985, LK1 pre-amplifier and LK2 power-amplifier introduced
- 1987, budget turntable Axis with [Basik +] tonearm
- 1988, own-made tonearm - Linn Ekos
- 1989, budget Akito tonearm
- 1990, budget turntable - Linn Basik
- 1991, First CD Player & DAC converter - Karik/Numerik
- 1994, embraces multi-room - launch of Knekt multi-room system
- 1997, first phono amp - Linto
- 1999, Flagship CD12 disc player, discontinued 2004
- 1999, embraces AV - launch of AV51 system
- 2001, Ivor Tiefenbrun - voted Scottish entrepreneur of the Year
- 2001, Kivor Index Tunbok hard-disk storage system
- 2002, Royal Warrant, HRH Prince Charles
- 2002, achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification
- 2003, Unidisk 1.1/2.1 multi-format disc player
- 2004, granted ISO 14001:1996 certification
- 2005, Launch of the New Classik Movie
- 2006, Launch of the New Majik System - Majik CD, Majik Kontrol and Majik 2100
It runs its own record label, Linn Records to which artists such as Claire Martin, Carol Kidd and Martin Taylor have signed. Its subsidiary Linnsight distributes LOEWE Televisions, Home Cinema and Multimedia through Linn's UK & Irish dealership network.
In March 2002 Aston Martin and Linn Products announced a partnership that has resulted in 'unique' audio systems for the V12 Vanquish and DB9 models.
[edit] Awards and recognition
- Ivor Tiefenbrun was awarded the MBE by HM Queen Elizabeth II in for "his and his company's engineering achievements and outstanding service to the electronics industry."
- As of 1st January 2002, Linn Products Ltd has been awarded The Royal Warrant of Appointment as a Tradesman to His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, as a provider of Entertainment Systems.
[edit] Products & Trademarks
Linn have a number of trademarks for their products, most of which have the characteristic "k" in place of the "c".
[edit] Isobarik
products which have borne the name :
- Linn Melodik Active Isobarik Bass
Legacy products no longer in production :
- Linn Isobarik Sara
- Linn Isobarik DMS/PMS
