Linn LK85 Power Amplifier
The Linn LK85 is a solid-state power amplifier from Linn Products, built in Glasgow, Scotland. It belongs to the company's "LK" amplifier line, which also included the LK100, LK140, and LK280. Linn designed it for its Aktiv active crossover systems. It was meant to drive the bass end of Linn's Aktiv Isobarik speakers when paired with a Kairn preamplifier fitted with Aktiv cards. Owned listings and forum commentary place it in the Kairn preamp era of the late 1980s into the 1990s, though exact production years aren't documented.
Documentation on the LK85 is thin. No original price, dimensions, or detailed circuit information has surfaced, so what is known comes largely from owner reports. The amplifier is rated at 80 watts per channel into 8 ohms and 145 watts per channel into 4 ohms, with a very high damping factor. That fits its design for 4-ohm loads in active configurations. Owners describe it as "built like a tank," with a quality power supply and tight bass in active setups. One long-term user on avforums said that for surround-sound duty, they'd take two or three LK85s over a single larger amplifier. They admitted the bigger Linn 2250 would be the pick if money allowed, since extra headroom matters when running eight-plus hours a day.
Period press coverage is sparse. Audio (October 1999, p.70) ran the LK85 in its amplifiers section, but the surviving OCR text from those pages yields no specific measurements or review commentary. In Linn circles, the LK85 has a reputation as something of a sleeper. Listeners call it more "raw and dynamic" than its sibling LK100, which some found "polite and refined" by comparison.
Known specifications:
- Power output: 80W per channel into 8 ohms; 145W per channel into 4 ohms
- Very high damping factor
- Designed for 4-ohm loads in active (Aktiv) configurations
- Made in Glasgow, Scotland
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