Linn Audio Loudspeakers (not be confused with Linn Products of Scotland) whose headquarters are in an even dicier neighborhood than the East Oakland barrio where I live (and where my husband was robbed at gunpoint just four nights before AXPONA began), knocked a major $20,000 off the price of their Athenaeum speaker system (normally $80,000/pair) for AXPONA goers. Unfortunately, their associated components—Bryston 4BST power amplifier ($4000), Linn Audio SET Tube Amp ($500), Linn Audio active crossover/preamp unit ($6000), Linn Audio cabling, and unidentified CD source—rendered Diana Krall's voice far too bright and ringing on the bi-amped loudspeakers. Compensation came in the form of a wonderful clarity to her piano and an impressively wide soundstage.
