It looks like no other preamp I've ever seen. To call the Kairn's appearance unorthodox is akin to calling George Hamilton "subtly tanned." But aesthetic beauty has never even registered on my scale of priorities when buying an audio component. It's all 'bout sound and value, and in my very humble opinion, the Kairn hits it out of the park on both counts. I was skeptical at first. Nothing really, really good could come in that compact a package, I thought. The response of the sales staff was simple: "Just give a listen." So I did. For a long time. Here was my verdict: I had never heard a preamplifier that smooth, rich, clean, clear, precise and detailed for under $10,000. It took itself completely out of the equation, leaving behind just the music - nothing more, certainly nothing less. I'm not a die-hard audio freak by any extent of the imagination, but I do like quality and value and great sound - within reason. The Kairn is the best "reasonably" priced (all things being relative, of course) preamp I've ever heard.I don't know how Linn did it - I just hope they keep doing it!

BUIT QUALITY .. QUIET ELECTRONICS ..FACILITIES

NONE

4 YEARS ALREADY .. AND I DON T WANT TO DO ANY CHANGE ...
I USED THE KLOUT AND THE KAIRN FOR MUSIC TROUGHT 5140
AND HOME CINEMA WITH THE YAMAHA ..
ON THE YAMAHA I USE ONLY 3 CHANNEL ..THE LEFT AND RIGHT
ON THE KLOUT ..THE KREMLIN AND THE KARIK ARE CONNECT ON THE KAIRN NOT THE YAMAHA
ON THE YAMAHA DVD AND VCR ARE ON
FOR THE MUSIC EVERY THING IS PERFECT ..
KAIRN IS A NICE PRODUCT FROM LINN


FULL POWER ON KAIRN (POSITION 100 ON VOLUME )ON CD POSITION
NO DISC PLAYING BUT CD ON ..NO WHITE NOISE NO HUM ..
COMPLETELY QUIET ...THIS MACHINE IS REALY WELL CONSTRUCT
I CAN DO THAT ON THE YAMAHA ...FULL OF WHITE NOISE


THAT PREAMP FOR MYSELF WORTH EVERY PENNY ...

ON ALL ELECTRONICS PRODUCT MADE IN THE WORLD ..PROBABLY MANY PREAMPS ARE BETTER ..BUT LINN WITH THE PRICE OF THIS ONE IS NOT STEALING YOU

Similar Products Used:

KAIN USED WITH KLOUT AV5140 KREMLIN AND KARIK PLUS YAMAHA DSPA3090 AV 5120 5140 5110 ...

Transient, Up-beat

Shallow sound, high price to performance ratio, controls not user-friendly

I purchased the Kairn several years ago in an attempt to improve the sound of my fully loaded LP-12. I trusted in Linn to provide me with a pre-amp that could easily transform the Lp 12's loveley output signals and pass them on to the power amps, as well as provide a good 'switchbox' for the other source components in my system.
The sound achieved with Linn's little box (incl. Brilliant) is not to be ditched, but at the price asked for the unit nothing to write home about either.
I believe that there are better units on the market for the same purchase price, offering fullfilment in the areas the Linn is lacking. The soundstaging leaves a lot to be desired and I feel the job they did on the phono-stage in general leaves a lot to be desired.
I am putting my Kairn up for sale, something I should've done long ago. Maybe I'll see what tubes have to offer.