343 pwab /Setup

Linn 343 (Passive With Active Bass Setup)

Manuals

Installation

We recommend that your 343 loudspeakers are unpacked, installed and adjusted by an authorised Linn retailer. To get the best from your 343 loudspeakers, they must be positioned and levelled correctly.

Please note, to achieve the very best from your 343's, some adjustment may be required after positioning, levelling and connecting.

Unpacking

Click image for video

Positioning

As with any stereo loudspeaker, there are some fundamental principles which should be observed to get the best sound from your loudspeakers.

The loudspeakers should be place at an equal distance from the wall behind the loudspeakers.
The speakers should be a similar (not the same) distance from the walls to the outside of each loudspeaker.
Any toe-in applied should be the same for each loudspeaker.
The loudspeakers should be level with all four spikes in contact with the floor. Use Linn Skeets for hard floors.

For further assistance, try our customer support pages.

Levelling

Screw the spikes into the corners of the stand.
Fit the lock nuts, but do not tighten at this stage.

Very carefully (do not scratch the cabinet), use a spirit level to check if it is sitting level. If it is, gently rock the loudspeaker from front to back, side to side and diagonally to check for any movement. If none is present and the loudspeaker is sitting level, no adjustment to the spikes is necessary.

If the loudspeaker is not level, or moves when you rock it, loosen the appropriate lock nuts using the tool provided and use a screwdriver to turn the spikes to adjust their height. Adjust the spikes to level the speaker, using a spirit level placed on the stand.

Press down firmly on the top of the loudspeaker to ensure it is in close contact with the flooring.

Use the spirit level as before and continue to adjust the spikes as required.

Once the speaker is level and does not rock, use the screwdriver to hold the spike in place and fit and tighten the lock nuts with the spanner provided.

Note: To protect wooden or tiled floors, the spikes can be placed on Linn Skeets, which are available from your Linn retailer.

Connections & operation

Back Panel

MAINS INPUT - To connect to the mains electricity supply.
POWER SWITCH - To switch the mains power on/off.
SERVICE - For use of Linn Technicians only
FALLBACK - Primarily for Linn service use only, to put the device into Fallback mode (used when reprogramming the unit).
Note: The LED behind the Fallback indicates the Exakt Link is active, but the product is not powered/switched off.
BALANCED INPUT'(XLR-Line level)
FEED ², ⁵ To define if Bass amplifier feed is from XLR input or speaker terminals
GAIN ¹, ⁴ Adjust the Bass gain to match the external amplifiers used.
UPPER BASS—4 mm binding posts for upper bass drive unit.
MID—4 mm binding posts for mid-range drive unit.
TWEETER—4 mm binding posts for treble drive unit.
EXAKT LINK - From/To Exakt products.

¹: ONLY for XLR Feed ² Power DAC gain to match the level of the bass system with your choice of power amplifier. Most Linn power amplifiers have a gain of 28.6 dB.

² To select the Power DAC feed:

‘INT’ – Input feed from the UPPER BASS binding posts . (If you don’t have a suitable line-level output).

‘XLR’ – Input feed from the line-level XLR input. (Best sound quality option).

When using XLR, you should ensure the bass amplifier gain is matched to your power amplifiers, ¹

When using INT, this is a floating balanced feed and can easily work with Class-D amplifiers.

³ Exakt sockets ONLY for use with externally Exakt/Active configuration with ExaktBox(s) or Software update.

These sockets play NO part in music playback in Passive With Active Bass (PWAB) model

⁴The gain control can be used in XLR mode and Exakt mode. It should be set to zero for INT mode.

⁵This switch position is irrelevant when an Exakt link is driving the bass in Externally Exakt configuration.

Back panel links

The 343 is supplied with four link cables: two red and two white. Each cable has a 4 mm banana plug at one end and a crimp connector at the other.

For the best sound, link the speaker binding posts as described below. When you have finished, the amplifier connects to the upper bass positive socket (bottom) and the treble negative socket (top)

POSITIVE side (red cables):

1, Loosen the UPPER BASS positive binding post. Slide in the crimp of the first red cable and tighten the binding post.

2. Loosen the MID positive binding post. Slide in the crimp of the second red cable and tighten the binding post.

3. Plug the first red cable into the MID positive socket binding post.

4. Plug the second red cable into the TWEETER positive binding post.

The upper bass positive binding post is now free for the amplifier’s positive cable.

Negative side (white cables)

The negative side is wired in the opposite direction, starting from the treble binding post at the top.

5, Loosen the TWEETER negative binding post. Slide in the crimp of the first white cable and tighten the binding post.

6. Loosen the MID negative binding post. Slide in the crimp of the second white cable and tighten the binding post.

7. Plug the first white cable into the MID negative binding post.

8. Plug the second white cable into the UPPER BASS negative binding post.

The treble negative binding post is now free for the amplifier’s negative cable.

Back panel link cables
Cable	Crimp end	Plug end
Red 1	Upper bass +	Mid +
Red 2	Mid +	Treble +
White 1	Tweeter −	Mid −
White 2	Mid −	Upper bass −

Passive Example 1

Klimax DSM + Klimax Twin

With Power DAC feed from speaker terminals (FEED switch set to INT)

This will extract the Power DAC feed from the 343 speaker 4mm banana sockets and attenuate the signal to feed the Power DAC

Passive Example 2

Klimax DSM + Klimax Twin

With Power DAC feed from Klimax DSM XLR outputs (FEED switch set to XLR)

In this setup, the Klimax DSM line level output is fed directly to the Power DAC to drive the bass.

This is a better sounding passive configuration compared with Example 1.

Passive Example 3

Klimax DSM + two Solo 800

With Power DAC feed from Klimax DSM XLR outputs (FEED switch set to XLR)

In this setup, the Klimax DSM line level output is fed directly to the Power DAC to drive the bass.

This is the best sounding passive configuration.

OR

Passive Example 4

Selekt DSM

You require a Selekt Power Amplifier cartridge AND a Selekt Line cartridge. Otherwise, you get no Bass or no output from the 343's.

With Power DAC feed from Selekt DSM XLR outputs (FEED switch set to XLR)

In this setup,

The Selekt Line level cartridge output is fed directly to the Power DAC to drive the bass.
The Selekt Power Amplifier cartridge drives the upper bass, mid & treble of the 343.
The 343 set to XLR feed.

The Selekt DSM is configured for STEREO PASSTHROUGH operation.

Externally Exakt / Active example with Klimax DSM:

Externally Exakt / Active sample wiring using a Klimax DSM, a Klimax Exaktbox, six Klimax Solo 500 amplifiers and a pair of 343 PWAB loudspeakers

Note how the Exakt wiring goes to all Exakt products, including the 343 loudspeakers

When using amplifiers with balanced XLR inputs and XLR to XLR cables.
When using amplifiers with RCA phono inputs and XLR to RCA cables, with wiring as per Power Amplifier/Speaker connections section
The 343 speaker will be configured for Exakt operation of its Active Bass when programming the system.

Externally Exakt / Active example with Selekt DSM:

Externally Active sample wiring using a Selekt DSM configured for 343's.and a pair of 343 PWAB loudspeakers

Note how the Exakt wiring goes to all Exakt products, including the 343 loudspeakers

The 343 speaker will be configured for Exakt operation of its Active Bass when programming the system.

EXAKT LINK connection

Check HERE for information of Exakt link connection

LED Status

Front panel - Light in the front diffuser immediately below the loudspeaker.

LED	OFF	ON	Flash / Blink	RED
Diffuser light (between cabinet and stand)	No power	Ready to Rock n Roll	Starting up or Fallback mode	Amplifier fault

Back panel (On the Exakt sockets)

LED	OFF	ON	Flash / Blink
0 Master Port	No Link	Link Discovered	Link Activity
1 Audio Clock	No Clock	Clock locked	Clock not locked
2 Slave Port	No Link	Link Enabled	Link Activity
3 Software Status	Not Configured	Running	Hardware Fault

FAQ

Linn 343 common FAQ's to both PWAB and Exakt variants

What is the Linn Power DAC?

Linn Power DAC is a new amplifier technology specifically designed for bass systems that require high performance, high power, and high efficiency.

The Linn Power DAC is a true digital amplifier combining DAC and amplifier into a single process.
At high playback levels the Power DAC reduces distortion by over 10 dB compared to conventional designs.

It is designed for the Bass system and offers the lowest distortion and highest efficiency of any amplifier class for this job. This means that cannot bypass it with external amplifiers. The 343/360’s bass extension requires far more power and voltage gain than even a Klimax Solo can provide, so performance would get worse.

Linn 343 PWAB FAQ's

Why is 343 PWAB not a purely passive speaker?

The compact size of the 343 Pistonik bass system requires electronic compensation to achieve an extended bass response. This compensation cannot be implemented passively, so active amplification is required.

Why is the bass signal digitized in 343 PWAB?

The analogue signal supplied to the 343 PWAB is digitized and fed into the new Linn Power DAC.

The Power DAC has been designed from the ground up to drive the 343 Lower Bass system. It offers the lowest distortion and greatest efficiency of any amplifier class for this application.

Why can’t you bypass the internal lower bass amps on 343 PWAB to use Klimax Solos externally?

The bass extension system in 343 requires an extraordinary amount of power and voltage gain, far more than even the Klimax Solo can provide, so performance would actually suffer if external amplifiers were used.

Do you still require 2x Exaktboxes for an externally Exakt 343 PWAB?

No. The active bass system contains its own ExaktEngine, so a pair of 343 Arrays (tweeter, midrange and upper-bass) can be driven by a single 6-channel ExaktBox.