Do I go active with my Linn 5140s ?

Just today my dealer installed six Aktiv cards in my Chakra 6100 for my 5140s and two Aktiv cards in my Chakra 2100 for 5120. So they do exist! I got them during the Linn free Aktiv card promo this summer.

I still haven't listened enough yet to give a full report (just about to go do that).

Speaking of which, has anyone adjusted the gain on their amp for 5140s or 5120s? I left them all at the Linn default (3 = 0db).

FYI, just posted similar question at Linn forums:

http://forums.linn.co.uk/bb/showthread.php?tid=926&pid=9611#pid9611

They are the new Chakra cards. I believe the adapter that Linn sells now is actually to fit the new "Chakra" style cards into old amps so they don't have to manufacture two styles for each speaker type (just the adapter cards themselves).

My thinking on adjusting the gain on the amp is to balance the dB output level for each driver within a given speaker. For instance, boost the treble to match the same SPL level as the other drivers in the speaker. I suspect at worst I'd only adjust the gain for ONE of the drivers. Best case, Linn has it perfectly balanced and it I don't need to change anything (which I suspect they do). The only other reason would be to boost treble, for instance.

Hopefully someone can post their experience/insights into whether it is even worth fiddling with the gain for individual drivers.

The Chakra amp manual says that the per-channel gain controls are only for when Aktiv cards are installed. If you aren't running Aktiv the manual says you should leave them at setting 3 (which is 0 dB gain).

Perhaps for older amps different advice was given?

Correct, for the new Linn amps the signal strength/gain control is on the back of the amp for each channel. There are several settings (including mute). There is no setting on the card itself.

This makes more sense to me as the gain can be adjusted without opening the cover of the amp. The Linn dealer just sent a guy out, installed the cards, and did no testing or setup. In fact he admitted he couldn't hear well anyway so it would be better if I setup. I believe he was more of an electrical technician than an audio setup expert. A little disappointing given how much I've spent at the dealer.