Glasgow-made hifi specialist Linn announces a first Bluetooth wireless speaker-- the Series 3, an egg-shaped number based on the Linn streaming platform offering plug and play setup, another first for the company.
The distinctive cabinet of the Series 3 is in cast mineral ceramic, and includes an electro-plated gold grille. It carries a 19mm silk dome tweeter and a 160mm long throw mid-base woofer, together with two 100W Class D amplifiers. The speaker is high-resolution enabled up to 24-bit 192kHz, and supports FLAC, ALAC, WAV, MP3, WMA, AIFF, AAC and Ogg files (but not MQA). Proprietary Exakt technology claims to reduce phase errors by delaying higher frequencies, making sure they arrive at the same time as lower frequencies to reduce degradation caused by signal processing.
On the wireless service side the Series 3 supports the high-res likes of Tidal and Qobuz, as well as Apple AirPlay, Spotify, Roon and Bluetooth. An ARC-enabled HDMI socket allows connection to a TV, and users can pair it with an Alexa speaker for voice control. An Exakt port allows customers to pair the Series 3 speaker with a "slave" version, and in addition it can make part of a multi-room wireless setup.
The Series 3 ships to retailers in early 2020.