RADAR is a price search engine. We link to the original listing — we never sell direct. Transactions happen on the source site.
Compared with buying a newer streamer/DAC-preamp at this money, £2,500 is a touch strong rather than an obvious bargain. Your eight comparable listings put the median at £2,013 and the 75th percentile at £2,425, so this sits above the normal asking range; I’d want the later /3 Katalyst version, excellent condition, and complete accessories to justify it.
The Akurate DSM remains a serious all-in-one: an accomplished network player, DAC and preamp with substantial connectivity, good analogue performance, Space Optimisation, and Linn’s generally strong long-term support. It can simplify a system considerably, especially if you value HDMI, phono, or Linn/Exakt integration. With the version unspecified and condition unknown, check the exact hardware revision, display and streaming operation, remote, packaging, and service history. At £2,500, negotiate toward £2,100–£2,300 unless it is a particularly clean /3 example.
Independent perspective — not a price guarantee. Always verify condition, accessories and provenance before purchase.
Linn Products: Brand Overview
Linn Products was founded in 1973 by Scottish engineer Ivor Tiefenbrun in Glasgow as a vehicle to manufacture the Sondek LP12 turntable, which would become the company's most iconic product and a cornerstone of high-fidelity audio. The brand emerged during the golden era of British hi-fi with a revolutionary "source first" philosophy—challenging the prevailing industry belief that loudspeakers mattered most by demonstrating that superior sound quality begins with the audio source. This foundational principle has guided the company's engineering ethos for over five decades.
Linn's product portfolio spans the complete hi-fi chain, from turntables and tonearms to preamplifiers, power amplifiers, and loudspeakers. The company introduced the world's first microprocessor-controlled preamplifier and power amplifier in 1985 (the LK1 and LK2), establishing itself as an electronics specialist. From 2007 onward, Linn pivoted toward digital music streaming, becoming an early adopter of network-based audio playback supporting studio master-quality recordings at 24-bit/192 kHz resolution, and discontinued CD player production in 2009 to focus on this strategic direction.
Linn occupies the high-end segment of the audio market, commanding respect among discerning audiophiles and collectors for its uncompromising engineering approach and longevity. The brand's reputation rests on meticulous product design, acoustic isolation principles, and a commitment to eliminating weak links in the signal chain—a philosophy that has made Linn one of the most influential manufacturers in hi-fi history and a benchmark for quality-focused audio engineering.
See all Linn listings on RADAR.
