Excellent Value at Pricepoint
Compact Design
Can go straight into an amplifier

Soundstage a bit flat
CD tray woes

I would like to recommend the LINN Genki for any audio enthusiast who is looking for a starter HDCD-compatible CD player but who can't afford more than a few thousand dollars.

The sound is what I would call neutral, balanced, accurate. My only misgiving about the sound is that I wish the soundstage were a bit more dimensional. Sounds do have focus, and music does seem alive, but feels flat overall.

(Sidenote: of course, I've been really spoiled lately by my recent experience auditioning the new ML 390S which I am now trading my Genki in for. It's fair to say that the ML 390S and the Genki are apples and oranges, so it's not really a 1:1 comparison. The ML 390S sounds easily trumps the Genki in the resolution, ease, and dimensionality departments, and costs *quite* a bit more. But I digress.)

For $1700.00 you've got a incredibly solid and compact piece of equipment -- though I would agree with several reviewers here that the only thing not solid about it is the CD tray. It feels and sounds like it's a cheap piece of junk!

Other observations: since at the time I couldn't afford the pre-amp I wanted I chose the Genki because it could go straight into my amplifier. A plus if you're on a budget, and if you're just starting out building your system. For the last year it successfully drove my Mark Levinson 335 Power Amp with no problems at all.

The remote control: the ergonomics are horrible. The unit is littered with so many buttons that are all the same size and equidistant from one another. I'm always fumbling around for that "play" and "forward" buttons. And forget trying to use the control in the dark.

True, it doesn't have the upsampling and better sound like the Ikemi, it's bigger brother, but for the pricepoint, it's one heck of a CD player!

Similar Products Used:

N/A

It lets you hear what the musicians are doing

Kind of expensive

Ok, I'll admit it. I went backwards. Contrary to my usual advice to friends to do updgrades source-forward, I went backwards. I upgraded my old Carver pre and power-amps and Boston acoustic speakers with a Linn Kolektor/Aktiv LK85 (bi-amp)/Ninka system because I was so taken with the Kolektor and found considerable merit to the aktiv approach.

So, when all was said and done, I was left with a 4-year old CAL DX-2 player and my trusty Rega Planar 3. I don't have enough records to merit an LP12, so the DX-2 was next to go.

I auditioned the Ikemi and loved it, but couldn't swing the hefty price tag (at least not now). Ultimately, this is the player that will work 'best' with my system. The problem is how do I replace the player that I have with one that will show a considerable improvement without breaking the bank.

Along came the Genki. I bit my lip at the idea of the cheaper looking plastic tray, and took my DX-2 down to the local shop for a little head-to-head. Fortunately, for my wallet, there was an immediate improvement in sound when the Genki was switched in. And to top it all off, I managed to snag a demo version for a considerable savings.

The Genki may sound slightly forward in some systems, but in the context of my system (in which the speakers may be very slightly polite in the upper-mids), it is an excellent fit. I disagree with those that suggest that the Genki is laid-back or boring. If anything, it would benefit from a slightly 'tame' amp/speaker combo. Compared to the DX-2, the pace is very much improved, there is a new-found depth to the image, and the level of inner detail resolution is in a new league. While doing all this, the Genki resists sounding cold, hard or analytical.

Ok, with all the adjectives out of the way, what does it all mean? Well, in the end, it's simple. Music is communication. If I can hear what the musicians are trying to communicate to me, then I've achieved the goal. That, in a nutshell, is what the Genki does for me. The more I listen, the more I like it. That's a very good thing.

I'd actually give it 4.5 stars, especially when compared to the Ikemi, but I think the negative comments shown below should be fairly balanced out.

I'd welcome comments.

Best regards,
Jason

Similar Products Used:

CAL DX-2

Clarity, detail and neutrality - it doesn't colour the music like some

None apparent yet, for the price.

I just auditioned these today, and bought the Genki. Its just so clear and neutral, whereas the others coloured the sound, which might be good for some music, but probably not for other types of music. (The Rega was a close second best IMHO, and worth seroius consideration).

The Rega was very involving, even more so than the Naim I thought, but was less natural ultimately than the Genki. The FMJ wasn't for me - it didn't seem to hold bass together well, while the Genki seemed to control bass, mid-range and treble very well. I was a bit surprised at the tight control and presentation of bass given that I'd heard it was a maybe laid-back, but if there is good deep bass in the music, it will give you it. Basically, it provides whatever is on the disc very well. Although it may sound heresy from what I've read on this forum, I didn't think the Ikemi was that much better, either (I heard them one after the other). The Ikemi was execellent, but I'd recommend anyone after a good CD player audition the Genki and don't worry too much about the plasticy drawer.

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Auditioned alongside the Rega Jupiter, Arcam FMJ, Naim 3.5

sound, build quality, output options

none that I have found

I have been very happy with this cdp. On auditioning, I listened to several players thru the same amp, cables, and speakers at the same volume. All of the players have the same 2.0 volt output. This is the only player in the group that would play a trumpet blast with that "edge" that one hears in a live performance. In fact, a friend that was there listening with me heard the exact same things that I did from this player. It was NOT my imagination! The other players had one or two things that seemed emphasized or exagerated compared to the Genki, but the Genki was just more natural or neutral in its sound. A great benefit for me has been to get rid of my preamp and use the two pair of variable outputs on the Genki to go straight into the amp and a powered subwoofer. The sound is considerably better than it was going thru my Adcom 750 preamp. Actually, it was a night and day difference. Add a FIM wall outlet, PS Audio Ultimate Outlet, some wonderful Silver Audio interconnect cables, and, in my opinion, it is right up there with the Ikemi! It's that good!

Similar Products Used:

arcam fmj, rega planet 2000, denon, nad silver series

There is an episode where Homer Simpson is allowed to build his dream car. Sometimes I wonder if manufacturers have been to the HS School of design. Or perhaps, some people’s sense of aesthetics have been so warped by the marketing departments of large corporations, that they believe a large, flashy behemoth with every buzz, whistle and option is the penultimate achievement. Fortunately not too many hifi manufacturers fall prey to this, but sometimes we fall victim to the mind-altering message of mass consumption and want what is bigger, brighter and more ostentatious.

“Because there's a conflict in every human heart between the rational and the irrational, between the good and the evil. The good does not always triumph. Sometimes the dark side overcomes what Lincoln called the better angels of our nature. Therein, man has got a breaking point. You and I have. Walter Kurtz has reached his. And very obviously, he has gone insane.”

Look at the Levinson 33s and this quote will begin to make sense. Think big. Think insanely big. Think good heavens- Robo Cop has landed in my living room. Is a 33 a Homer Simpson special? Unquestionably no. But it is the ridiculous, and frankly, scary extension of a principled mission gone terribly wrong. They carry out their task with a single-minded effectiveness that is both laughable in its enormity and awesome in its dimension.

To some, LINN and a few of their contemporaries have come to represent the opposite. Empirical excess? Oxymoron, or zealousness of another color? There are reviews in the ether that complain the gear doesn’t have enough visual draw, or ergonomics, or size, or…. In truth, LINN engineer their gear to be as intelligent and undamaging to the music as they can. They honor Bauhaus in their approach. What does not enhance the goal, or draws unnecessarily away from it, is simply not done. Haiku? And the names, well we all have our idiosyncrasies.

So what about the sound and quality? It’s there. Are details necessary? Not really. This is an ‘entry level’ player from LINN. This player is about the tune, pace and message of the music. No, not in a tubed kind of way. In a let’s get inside the head of the artist and see what was meant kind of way.

The first level of good gear brings you the details of the music, in a sufficiently realistic or illusory [you choose] way to convince you of high fidelity. The next echelon continues on to bring you the what of the music. The timing. I, and most probably you, could not play a lick of jazz that wouldn’t have dogs hurling. Why? Timing. LINN gear will bring you enough of the measurable details of a song or a piece to satisfy most checklists of audiophilia-nervosa. They should and must at the price.

What LINN excels at, and is so incredibly dangerous- is how they bring it to you. With the Genki, and LINN in general, you know HOW the artist interpreted a piece. You sense the way syncopation was approached; you follow Yo Yo Ma change tempo, Diana Krall hang a note on the precipice of dying, or Les Claypool slap a note into music. All good hifi present the details well enough, but what of the more subtle intangibles? The tunefulness?

Put it this way- would you rather drive a Benz or Bimmer? Do you lust for a perfect heel-and-toe? Is McCallan better than Chivas? On a trail, do you ride the mules to the bottom or hike it yourself? The experience, the participation. Not someone else doing it for you, but you getting it yourself.

LINN are focused on one main objective- the soul of the music. Until you get it, they’re just another hifi company that makes little components with funny names. If you do get it, lookout- you just might become a Linnie. Where’s Dennis Hopper?

Pure sound

Lightweight bass

System context:

Quad ESL-63 USA Monitor
Air Tight ATM-2
Air Tight ATC-1
Thorens TD 126 Mk III
Benz Silver
Audioquest Diamond/Lapis
Kimber Monocle L

I have never put much faith in very expensive digital gear. For me the increase in sound quality just doesn't scale with $$$ (not even according to the "90/10" rule). Add to it the rapid depreciation of digital gear compared to other types and I have to think long and hard about laying out big dollars for this stuff.

Enter the Genki. I was looking for the best one piece player at $1000 representing the most current digital technology as a replacement for my long in the tooth CD960. No other contenders I found matched the Genki's balance of virtues. It is just so easy going and never fatigues me. The most impressive characteristic to me is the level of purity. Overtones of acoustical instruments are very well presented. The high frequencies are extended and smooth. In direct comparison to my old but venerable CD960 the Genki was MUCH closer to what I hear in the concert hall from the midrange up. The CD960 had slightly more bass extension. The tradeoff is acceptable to me. In an effort to provide a balanced account I will note that the only other weakness I found is a slightly recessesed mid-band. This is really tricky, though, it is possible that I am just used to hearing an exaggerated presence in this region from other sources.

I completely agree with the reviewer below who claims the variable out is not very good. I didn't think so much of the Genki until one evening I set the output to maximum and adjusted volume on my pre-amp. The result was really two different players. With maximum gain out the Genki really fills out dynamically and in the lower registers. Forget the variable outs! Anecdotally I have been told that this might not necessarily be true when going into a Linn pre-amp that reportedly are designed to accept lower input levels than are some others.

Sure the Ikemi probably sounds better. It has a better transport. At the asking price for the Ikemi I would be tempted to look at the competition Wadia, etc.

4 stars for sound because there is better out there but 5 for value, well done.

Similar Products Used:

Philips CD960, Parasound DAC1600

I home demoed the Genki vs. the Naim CD3.5, Arcam 9, and the older Linn Mimik in my system of Linn Majik and Keilidhs. The Mimik was disqualified straight away and after listening to several different types of music (Fleetwood Mac, Sarah M., Pearl Jam, U2), the Arcam fell by the wayside also. It had tremendous detail but not sound of the Genki or the Naim.
After much more listening, the choice came down to the Genki. They both sound tremendous with the Genki providing a bit more detail and both doing justice to all kinds of music. In the end the Genki sounded better about 2 out of 3 songs. The Naim very occasionally gave a "warped" sound that I have noticed on different machines. Once at a dealer and once at home. I did not investigate whether it was repeatable or not.

Both are really good players for the price (the TACT is awesome!!) but in the end the Genki wins. It is a great match with the other Linn components and I can hardly wait to go Aktiv!!

I purchased my Genki around a month ago and have listened to every CD I own and quite a few borrowed from friends, and it continues to astound me. I must say that any CD player would have been an improvement on my 13 year old technics, but having spent time auditioning players in a similar price range i'm convinced that the Genki is among the best. The only player that came close to the genki was the Naim CD 3.5 and then only with external power supply which brought the price of the Naim to £1400 considerably more than the Genki at £995.The Genki has excellent timing which really brings out the rythm, even when the music gets busy the genki stays in control. In comparison I found some players like the Arcam alpha 9 to be all top and bottom and the Naim Cd 3.5 forward in the mid, with no players exhibiting the control of the Genki.If your after a player in the £1000 price bracket do not leave the genki off of your short list.

I listened to the Arcam 9 and the Meridian 306, but the Linn Genki had a warmer and deeper sound. I listen a lot to jazz music and especially the bass gives a lot of problems with cd-players. But the Linn Genki did everything beautiful. I use MIT interconnects, a Densen DM-10 amplifier, MIT cables and Driade (Dutch design) speakers. The sound of my system is beautiful, very warm and natural. The Linn Genki is almost as good as my Linn LP 12 record player!

hmmm...

doesn't sound right

Wow, i'm not sure why there is so much rave about this cd player. My very serious opinion, if you can't get the ikemi... then don't get linn. The ikemi has such a bigger, warmer, more musical sound. It just goes in line with the rest of linn's products so much better that you wonder if the genki was made by someone else. Sorry for the poor review, but it didn't take me long to realize that I should splurge for the ikemi over the genki. This cd player was average... where as the ikemi was spectacular.

Similar Products Used:

IKEMI