You could be forgiven for thinking otherwise, however: LinnвЂ™s press release says it вЂis again forecasting the demise of a long-term hi-fi stalwart by announcing that the company is to end production of all stand-alone pre-amps вЂ“ having previously, accurately predicted the demise of the CD player back in 2009.вЂ™ LinnвЂ™s line-up is now built around a closed-loop way of thinking when it comes to playback and amplification вЂ“ albeit with concessions to those not wanting to use the Scottish companyвЂ™s speakers, in the form of a growing number of third-party models with which its SPACE Optimisation will work.Д«ut letвЂ™s get this into some kind of perspective: this is a change for Linn, not the end of the preamp as a species, no more than the companyвЂ™s much-reported 2009 decision to stop making CD players in favour of its DS streaming solution signalled the end of the silver disc, physical media or indeed the world as we know it. Then again, who outside the ranks of the Linn aficionados even knew the company still made preamplifiers, so great has been its concentration of late on integrated solutions? From the entry-level all the way through to the flagship Akurate line,

After all, with its Exakt and SPACE Optimisation technologies now being incorporated into these network music models, allowing them to be used straight into power amps or even active speakers, thereвЂ™s no longer any real need for standalone preamps in the Linn range. LinnвЂ™s announcement that itвЂ™s to halt production of all its standalone preamplifiers, and concentrate efforts on the preamp functions built into its DSM players, should hardly come as a surprise. Company continues policy of integration by discontinuing its remaining preamplifiers, concentrating efforts on DSM player range, and claims itвЂ™s part of a bigger picture

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