Introducing the new 343: the first loudspeaker to be designed around Linn’s revolutionary Pistonik drive unit technology.  Linn’s authentic proprietary technologies converge to project an unshakeable audio reality. A reference loudspeaker, concealed inside a form so compact and poised, that the acoustic quality seems physically improbable.

Welcome To The Omnibass

343 isn’t simply a loudspeaker that sounds “big for its size”. The down-firing arrangement is how this is produced within 343’s compact form. Positioned close to the floor, the 8″ Pistonik driver uses a highly reflective acoustic boundary to deliver omni-directional bass energy, readily and efficiently into the room. The unusual orientation allows the full mass of the loudspeaker to work against the reactive energy of the bass unit. The result is:

“bass performance with the depth and authority to give 343 its remarkable sense of scale”.

Precision is preserved so the even the lowest notes are clean and assured, delivered to your ears with immediacy and texture.

The 6” Pistonik upper bass driver brings the same principles of low distortion, linear performance and controlled output into the frequencies where much of music’s body, weight and 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 — from the deepest frequencies through the vocal range, and beyond.

Technically rational, acoustically beneficial, and

visually elegant

The elegant form of the 343 — free from hard edges — allows sound to leave the loudspeaker more cleanly and consistently, reducing the small diffraction effects. If you shut your eyes, you may forget where exactly the loudspeaker is, such is the exceptionally wide listening area.

The cabinet’s curved lower body is shaped as much by beauty as the acoustic and mechanical demands of Pistonik, creating the volume and geometry required for the down-firing 8” drive unit’s exceptional performance whilst preserving the slender front baffle. It’s a beautiful solution: technically rational, acoustically beneficial and visually elegant.

Central to realising this form was the cabinet material itself. 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.

The 343 comes in two versions. The more independent Exakt Integrated design with Exakt digital crossover, Organik DACs and Adaptive Bias Control amplification. Or, the Passive with Active Bass (PWAB) version, which allows for external amplification of the upper bass, midrange and tweeter units. Both versions share the same Pistonik 6” and 8” drive units, Utopik, and Power DAC for the bass system.

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.

A completely silent cooling system

The 343 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 (see image below) 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.

As you can see, from the outside, this vent is a small clue: a quiet hint at the power and precision held unobtrusively within the slender body of 343.

Contact us here at Crushco, in Berkshire, to hear a live demonstration of the wonderful 343.

 Hearing is believing: the 343 compact reference loudspeaker, fit for your home.