Attended a Linn Lounge event at a local retail outlet on a Linn "Akurate Exackt" system (consisting of a "Akurate Exakt DSM" & "Aktiv floor-standing Exakt Akubarik" floor standing speakers). The introduction was performed by a Linn representative who had flown quite some distance to be there I am assuming that he had a hand in setting up the system (if not the main person).
The room in which it was demonstrated is very complex, not a conventional or near conventional rectangular space. It was placed in an open space foyer area with seating for approx 30-40 people, with 3 small open demonstration areas essentially situated behind & to each side on it. The rear of the foyer/main demonstration space was also open ended with larger demonstration areas than the others mentioned before, which themselves led to other rooms in the building.
The Linn representative gave a brief & general talk of the technology that went into the speakers as well as the software utilized to maximize sound quality from the speakers pretty much where ever they may be placed after the initial best placement for them (based on physical measurements [not microphone based] & type of surface(s) present. He then gave a demonstration of the software by a sound sample of album which appeared to be recorded at 16/44.1, played twice, first to familiarize ourselves with it & then with changing the parameters within the software (distance input?) played again. I noted that the bass appeared to be a bit more defined & a member of the audience indicated he thought the sound was clearer. But what struck me the most regarding this sample was the thin & harsh sound quality present. Especially when the singers voice increased in volume this was very present & essentially made the music unlistenable to me. After this the main music theme of the night was played at 24/192 "studio quality" recording level. I noted the same sound qualities again (thin/harsh), again unlistenable. To me, disregarding the poor sound quality noted, the 16/44.1 sample sounded better than the following 24/192 material. When listening again at another position (closer to the rear of the demonstration space) the same poor sound qualities were still present.
Guess this demonstrates that an improperly set up system can yield very poor results indeed but I was certainly surprised that such a situation could manifest with a demonstration of a statement product such as this from a recognised manufacturer of quality Hifi equipment. I am not here to bag Linn products or this particular system, this is my first exposure Linn. There is no way possible that this demonstration would have sold the system to anyone so obviously home demonstrations are mandatory for the type of money this requires. Still I am at a loss at how this has come about.
