Linn KLIMAX AKTIV, Owner'S Manual

Page: 12 / 23

4
Introduction (continued)
AKTIV crossovers
In comparision, an AKTIV crossover has none of the disadvantages found in its passive counterpart.
The signal that is processed by AKTIV crossovers is un-amplified ‘line-level’, so is very much smaller than the
amplified loudspeaker-level signal that is processed by passive units. This allows the electronic components
that carry out the filtering to be very small, highly efficient and extremely accurate. AKTIV filters are built
around amplifiers, so gain – or signal increase – is easily available to make adjustments to the signal
wherever that may be required (gain is something that is simply not available to passive crossovers).
Therefore each adjustment of the signal response in an AKTIV crossover, over and above the basic filtering
process, is a fairly simple job, allowing AKTIV crossovers to be designed to precisely match the acoustic
properties of each drive unit.
The sophisticated and precise response correction found within an AKTIV crossover is thereafter uninhibited
by any further filtering as the amplifiers are direct-coupled to the drive units, allowing the entire amplified
signal to be delivered to the drive units. Avoiding the wastage that is inherent in passive designs makes the
job of the power amplifiers very much easier and, rather than having to overcome loss and the other
problems associated with passive crossovers, they can focus their energy on producing a much better
quality of audio.
The benefits do not end there however: AKTIV systems use one amplifier channel per drive unit so each
channel has a much less challenging job to do than one which is required to drive a number of units.
This provides yet another advantage: if the system is being played very loudly and one amplifier channel
clips (i.e. plays a signal which is beyond its power capability, causing flattening of the top of the waveform),
this only affects the specific frequency band handled by that amplifier and the others will play on as normal.
As a result, any distortion caused by clipping is much less likely to be noticed. An AKTIV system will therefore
play very much cleaner than a single-amplifier passive system, especially at higher volumes.
As a result of the advanced design of the Linn AKTIV system, the overall sound is much more natural,
accurate and effortless. The apparent ease with which it handles even the most demanding of soundtracks
belies a product that is seething with the very latest technological advances. Once your Linn retailer has
installed and adjusted your KLIMAX AKTIV crossover, all you have to do is sit back and listen.