Linn has introduced 343: the first loudspeaker to be designed around the brand’s Pistonik drive unit technology from the outset.
Pistonik gives 343 a fundamentally more capable 8-inch bass driver with the linearity, vast excursion and precise control required to deliver low-frequency performance directly from a single unit. The down-firing arrangement integrates this within 343’s enclosure.
Positioned close to the floor, this driver uses a highly reflective acoustic boundary to deliver omni-directional bass energy readily and efficiently into the room, whilst its orientation allows the full mass of the loudspeaker to work against the reactive energy of the bass unit.
The 6-inch Pistonik upper bass driver brings the same principles of low distortion, linear performance and controlled output into the frequencies where much of music’s presence is formed. Together, 343’s lower-frequency drivers carry around 70% of the loudspeaker’s acoustic workload, meaning the benefits of Pistonik are heard across the heart of the speaker’s performance.
The continuous cabinet — free from hard edges — allows sound to leave the loudspeaker more cleanly and consistently, reducing the small diffraction effects that reveal the position of the box in the room.
Reflections arriving from the room retain more of the same spectral character as the direct sound itself, helping the image remain stable, spatially precise and solid across a wide listening area.
A glass-fibre-reinforced moulding compound gives the cabinet the stiffness and density the design requires, enabling thinner walls whilst preserving structural integrity and performance. This allowed Linn to maximise the cabinet’s overall acoustic volume and accommodate its bass system and electronics module, thereby ensuring that 343 could deliver reference-level performance and remain compact enough to sit comfortably in any home.
At the rear of 343, concealed within a cowl that completes the flowing form of the cabinet, is the module which drives the loudspeaker.
The 343 is available in two variants. Exakt Integrated is the most self-sufficient model, with Utopik power supply, Exakt digital crossover, Power DAC architecture, Organik DACs and Adaptive Bias Control amplification housed within its integrated module.
Meanwhile, the Passive with Active Bass (PWAB) variant shares the same Pistonik 6-inch and 8-inch drive units, and Utopik and Power DAC for the bass system, with the 343 array comprising upper bass, midrange and tweeter units driven instead by external amplification.
Building on Linn’s history of protecting delicate audio signals from interference — in keeping with the principles which underpin Sondek LP12 — the module is mounted using a three-point spring system which isolates the electronics from the cabinet. This serves as a true isolation system, mechanically decoupling the module from the cabinet to preserve the performance of the system it contains. Its passive cooling system operates in complete silence.
Using advanced thermal modelling, Linn optimised a custom heat sink: a triangular-prism aluminium arrangement with internal fins that draws air up through the module like a chimney, carrying heat away from the electronic components and out through the machined vent at the top of the loudspeaker.
Both 343 Exakt Integrated and Passive with Active Bass (PWAB) models are available to order today in six finishes: Triton, Single Malt, Clyde Built, Linn Heritage, Piano Black and Alpine White. All six finishes are available exclusively with black array trims.
Many Linn specialists across the company’s global dealer and distribution network have already taken delivery of 343, meaning prospective customers may be able to experience the loudspeaker for themselves immediately, with further demonstration opportunities becoming available shortly.
Customers are encouraged to contact their nearest Linn specialist to arrange a demonstration.
Pricing:
GBP (incl. tax) 343 – Exakt Integrated: £65,000 343 / Passive with Active Bass (PWAB): £45,000.