Bought a new amp

Was idling around on Ebay last night when I saw a Linn Intek amp going cheap, got it for £160. Will give it a go if I don't like it am sure it will get it's money back.
Anyone ever heard or heard of this amp, it looks quite new.

 

One thing the intek is not is new. I believe that the unit in question is probably over a decade old, so don't make any assumptions about outright quality. On top of that, it was relatively cheap product at the time (I believe under £400), so it probably competed with the Audiolab 8000 and Cyrus 2.

 

Ooops

spoted this too

Linn Intek AMPLIFIER SUPERB UNMARKED N/R £149.00

Don't mean to wee on your strawberry's,

Should be built like the proverbial outhouse, and should sound ok. A lot depends on what your used to.

 

No I'm not expecting miracles, I'm just intrigued as to how well it will compare to my Quad 33/303. If I don't like it I will sell it on again.

 

Indeed they did compete with the Audiolab 8000A etc, indeed the styling and functionality are very similar to the Audiolab, as was the price.

I think they were launched in 1989-90 and the one I heard briefly was driving Linn Helix II driven by a Linn Axis and Marantx CD12.

To be fair though I'm not very familiar with them at all really.

Hope you like it.

Cheers

 

I have one of these. I think it was built in 1990 and sold for £398. I used to like it very much until I heard a Rotel RA972 mkII for a back to back comparison a couple of years ago . Now it's connected to my PC at home but I still like it.

 

Yeah that's pretty much what I thought. Will hopefully be able to replace the Quads which are a little bit noisy and suffering from crosstalk. When the CD is on I can still hear the radio. Will give it a go. If I don't like it I'll sell it on like I said and probably get the Quads fixed. If nothing else it will fill a hole in my rack whilst they are being done.

 

Hi Lordsummit

Sounds like an earthing fault in the Quads. Have you tried whipping the plug-in cards out and cleaning the connections (observing all ncessary anti-static procedures obviously ) ?

Cheers

 

No not tried that. The main really annoying problem is that I have to remember to turn the tuner off before I listen to the CD, otherwise I can hear the tuner in the background. Same goes for any recording I make. Was planning on sending it to Quad for a service, but I believe that can take months. The Pre-amp is one of the very early units, 3000 and something, and whilst I love it to bits, it can be a little temperamental. If I can get it to work properly it will be back in my system I'm sure. The thing that attracted me to the Linn was that it should have a more than decent phono stage. A large percentage of what I listen to is on vinyl.

 

I can't remember much specific about the Intek, apart from that fact that the bloke that had it said it was far far better than what he was used to (Nad 3220PE he'd had before). He'd upgraded his system in the way that sometimes happens, source, speakers and then the old "well it's just an amp routine".

Changing from the Nad made sense of the Helix, which went from being dry, edgy and scrappy (which they are a bit anyway), so being fast and involving (but still a bit dry even for me). The Intek was a good amp definately, although a head to head with an Audiolab was never done. It was all esoterik ( ) stuff to me at the time.

As for the Quads, a service may well help that. As things get older the de-coupling caps can cause leak through of sound etc, where you don't want it (they are often used to stop it in the first place). Also with the plug in configuration it employs for some bits (all bits?) then this type of fault can often be attributed to poor small signal earthing, a deterioration which press fit connections encourage as they age. If the card earthing is suspect the de-coupling caps won't be being allowed to work properly even if they are ok. They rely on getting this "seepage" to earth if they can find it!

I'm no Quad expert though, I'm sure Still Tones could shed more light on the construction, he's had his apart and replaced some cards with some after market "Go Faster" ones .

Cheers

 

I used to own an Intek, and from my recollection, the build quality was very high. The only thing I'd check is the volume pot which was a split design for left and right channels. On mine they din't quite balance centrally. It had the kind of design that I suspect would not improve with age.

It sounded pretty good. Up front, pretty quick and pace, neutral sounding. A pretty good amp from my memory, and better than AudioLabs I auditioned it with. Not better than the ExposureX though -- now that is an amp worth getting.

~ ~ Dave

 

Right it's arrived, it's certainly made an impression. It's generally a lot quicker and pacier than the Quads, but I don't think quite as easy to listen to. It made Tchaik. 5 very exciting, and some Haydn Quartets very involving. Don't want to go to far down the PRaT route but it certainly does have some of that. Am going to listen to it a bit and then try the Quads again. I think really it's a better amp, but maybe not as pipe and slippers. You should do a Smiley for that Cookie

 

I'm a bit busy momentarily but the new PRaT smilie for now:

RaT:

....and the not so good pipe and slippers (he's wearing some trust me):

:Quad:

(i don't think this deserves to stay long - offers for a better pipe and slippers on a postcard)

 

Yep that's how remember it. The Audiolabs are a little smoother and a little more organic / traditionally balanced. Certainly the 8000A Mk2 is anyway.

The Intek took a little bit of stick when it was launched, there were complaints about detail level and a general feeling in the press that the design wasn't all it might have been. Judged on it's own merits, it has a flavour that won't appeal to everyone, but IMO it is good to good+ as an amp. I've never lived with one though.

Still, more importantly, you've got one to play with, and if you don't like it, you're unlikely to loose on it. And it is fun trying anyway, (says an epay addict that's just bought a Teac VDRS-T1....)

Cheers

 

Saw that - you jammy b*astard didn't have anyone bid against you Hope the same happens for the Teac tranny I'm currently bidding on...readers of this thread, if you find it, butt out, or I might have to make bidding against me a bannable forum offence

Michael.

 

Mine was "Buy It Now" . I almost hesitated, then I didn't.

Good luck with yours

Cheers

 

Yup the Linn is staying for a while at least, then I might sell that and the Quads and buy that valve amp everyones talking about at the moment. Now that does sound like a good piece of kit. How hard is it to build? Bearing in mind I've never ever wielded a soldering ironRaT: