Adding a power amp to a Linn Majik Integrated?

[mjp200581]

Yesterday I purchased a Linn LK85 power amp with the intention of linking it to my existing Majik integrated. The plan was to bi-amp using the Majik for the tweeters and LK85 for the main drive units. I connected it all up and the Majik instantly burnt out part of a circuit board (see previous thread). After reflecting on it I have realised that you can't use the Majik as an integrated and a pre amp at the same time. The options are to use use the Majik as an integrated or a pre amp or a power amp but you can't use the Majik as a integrated amp powering one set of drive units and connect the pre-amp output to a power amp to drive the rest. This is because to use the Majik as an integrated you need to connect the pre-out and power-in terminals and once you have done this you no longer have the facility to connect the pre-out to something else as well. The Majik looks fixable so the question is then whether I should keep it as a pre/control amp only or would I be better off selling the Majik and buying a dedicated control amp such as a kolector for use with one or more power amps?

 

[zanash]

you need to take a signal out ...pre amp out ? to the power amp ..tape loop could be used but you would need to add a volume control for the power amp. just had a look at the integraed majik-1...use the line out to feed the input of the power amp ....

unless anyone knows better !

 

[mjp200581]

Hi Zanash, that's what I thought and you can do exactly that if you run the speakers from the power amp only. What I wanted to do was bi-amp using the integrated function of the majik for the tweeters and the power amp for the main drive units. I don't think this can be done though because the Majik comes with connectors/jumpers which connect the pre-out power-in terminals thereby making it work as an integrated (pre+power). You have to remove the jumpers to connect the pre-out terminals to a power amp at which point it no longer works as an integrated.

 

[zanash]

ok....

you need a y splitter for the signal from the pre out one to the power side of the intigrated and the other to the power amp ......

unless anyone knows why not !

I can't see why you should fry your amp ?

unless you've feed the power amp back to the integrated

 

[RobHolt]

Should work with a splitter as described.

Can't se any obvious reason for the power amp chip to fail.
They should have on-chip protection IIRC.

 

[SteveC]

...unless you've feed the power amp back to the integrated

Most Linn amps are built to allow active application, and this in practice can mean daisychaining signal from the preamp to line in sockets of the amp, then line out sockets from the amp to the line in of the next amp, etc. So yes, I think it should be possible to take the pre-out signal into Line in of the power amp, and then line out of the power amp to the pre-in section of the Majik integrated, yes. But I have never tried it.

 

[mjp200581]

Thanks Steve that's a cunning solution!