Featured system - Linn Selekt DSM with Linn 520 speakers.  

I set this up the other day and listened to it for a few hours this past Sunday and Monday. It's an interesting system in how much music it gives while taking so little room.  

We know and love our huge megawatt systems but sometimes they are just a bit much. Perhaps it's the amount of precious living room space you need to allocate both physically and visually to a system. A living room usually has a lot in it by default - a sofa, chairs, bookshelves, art books, art work, family photos, ficus tree, people. All of this stuff needs to fit into a space the size of, well, a living room.

The extra space to put a high end hifi in your living room is often a price we are not willing to pay.  So we compromise. Some popular compromises are:

• A streaming radio with ok sound, that doesn't really connect you to music. 
• Moving your hifi to a person-cave, away from the central-life area of most homes. 
• Spending serious dollars on a custom in-wall / in-ceiling setup with just ok sound.
• Buying a pretty stereo that becomes a visual and audible highlight.  (good)
• Buying an un-pretty stereo by bartering a trip to Italy and England, complete with weeklong stay at Downtown Abby castle. (also good)

The Linn systems like the one below are another option, and not much of a compromise. In terms of physical space for a truly engaging high end system, this system wins the prize.  It asks for just a little space, and can blend in, chameleon-like, to any decor. 

The little Linn 520 speakers are only 8.8" wide by 8.6" deep and 35.1" tall. The power amplifiers are built into the speakers, so the speakers themselves plug directly into the wall for power.

The Linn 520 speakers connect to the Linn Selekt DSM main unit with simple ethernet cables which allows you have the Linn Selekt on a bureau above as shown, hidden away in a cabinet, or even way down the hall in a closet.  

You control the system using Linn's app which can stream high resolution 24-bit music from Tidal and Qobuz - so no complicated music ripping or music library management needed. 

The Linn Selekt displays what is being played. 

The Linn 520 speakers have interchangeable Fabriks so you can tailor their look to your living room and update at any time. Our system above has Harris Tweed Barley Herringbone Check Fabrik.

In terms of giving, the Linn Selekt with 520 is a true high end system in that it connects you to the music by having superb sound that allows us to hear all the nuance and expression in music. The 520s are fully Exakt speakers with each driver driven by a dedicated amplifier and digital crossover. 

Lastly, and a boon for living rooms, the system features Linn's Space Optimisation which optimizes sound for a given room size, construction and speaker placement - perfect for living rooms where speakers are often put right against a wall or adjacent to a tall cabinet or corner.  Space Optimisation even helps tune rooms with lots of glass or concrete surfaces. 

Cheers,

John.