Mr Tiefenbrun has seen the light - again - apparently

[Neil McCauley]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1ae2e2c0-a...nclick_check=1

If you can’t stomach the rhetoric, the punch line is this:

“We made mistakes,” he says, “but that does not mean we became a bad company. I believe we are now in a good position to do well in the next few years.”

Meanwhile, the quote from a (I know which side my bread is buttered on - Jimmy) retailer is priceless. Really.

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[sastusbulbas]

Oh come off it, how can we call him a Pillock?

He took someone else's design, put his name on it, and made money by selling it with some spin.
Plenty of others in the audio industry still do this with no reprimand or such, just a slap on the back from forum members for a good deal.

[Mike]

Dead easy... just watch.

Pillock!

[David Price]

Whatever you might think about his products, I think we have to agree Ivor is (was) one of the most naturally gifted and erudite communicators in the hi-fi industry; he brought a lot of people into hi-fi (and still is). I also think he's right about streaming; whether we like it or not it's how the world will be consuming/playing its music in the future. With the exception of us vinylistas, of course! I'm also happy for him personally, and for Linn, that he has got through his illness - I wouldn't wish that on anybody. The trick is for him now to reinvent Linn - post Loewe and Aston Martin. It's going to be interesting where he takes it...

[Steve Toy]

Ivor is one of those "characters" in this industry I guess and some of the methods adopted by the major UK brands in general for maintaining dominance in the market place certainly don't seem to meet with everyone's approval... (and this can include me btw).

However, Linn have made a few products that I'd consider to be fairly decent over the years. In general Linn kit, despite all its flaws for some is about musical enjoyment/involvement first and foremost rather than just playing musical wallpaper. Also I'd like to avoid negativity on AOS where possible. We are here to discuss gear we like in preference to gear we don't.

[Mike]

Also I'd like to avoid negativity on AOS where possible. We are here to discuss gear we like in preference to gear we don't.

Thats a good point Steve, I'll delete my post above as its rather rude.

[alb]

Also I'd like to avoid negativity on AOS where possible

Here's some positivity instead.

I quite liked my Linn Genki!

[Marco]

I sympathise and understand Mike's frustration but as a businessman myself I can't help but admire Ivor. Regardless of anything else, he is most certainly 'switched on' as an entrepreneur and has enjoyed more success than failures so I'm sure Linn will be successful again in the future.

As for Linn as a company, I find them innovative and forward-thinking; their products are well-made and generally offer very good performance, if somewhat overpriced, but these days it's not really my thing apart from perhaps the Akurate DS which I may be interested in buying.

Linn products I rate highly and/or have owned:

1) LP12 (in its 'Valhalla' form with Grace arm and Supex cartridge).

2) Original Ittok.

3) Karma, Trak, Asak and Troika cartridges.

4) Kan (any vintage), Index, Isobarik, Keilidh, Kaber, and Keltik loudspeakers.

5) Kremlin tuner.

6) Karik/Numerik transport and DAC, CD12 CDP.

In my opinion the above products represent Linn at its best - some were genuine landmark products and truly exceptional. I personally can't see them getting back to the 'glory days' of those products and indeed I suspect neither would they be interested in doing so.

Marco.

[Mike]

I sympathise and understand Mike's frustration but as a businessman myself I can't help but admire Ivor.

To be fair to Mr T, I should point out that my wrath is really directed at one of his (now defunct) dealers. My comments were misdirected and therefore I retract them. Sorry.

[Neil McCauley]

Whatever you might think about his products, I think we have to agree Ivor is (was) one of the most naturally gifted and erudite communicators in the hi-fi industry.

But not quite good enough to have saved the jobs of so many who through no fault of their own were made redundant now was it? It's a constructive lesson I think.

Just compare the Linn approach - as a business enterprise - with that of REGA in terms of (a) supplying equipment that people want (b) at a price they think is fine value. And then consider the contrast between the corporate image or brand value if you prefer. It seems to me that while one of the makes is busy (or rather, was busy) ploughing the innovation furrow for innovation's sake, the other was sensibly 'thinking inside the box' and focusing on delivering tangible benefits - that meant something to the target market - at a reasonable price - to the benefit of everyone concerned.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I am aware, have REGA ever complained publicly that Government was a contributor to the current manufacturing plight? I guess that with what is probably a bulging order book, they have little time for finger pointing.

I have no commercial relationship with either REGA nor Linn.

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