Linn Urika II Internal Digital Phono Stage

The Urika II is the component that brings an LP12 into the Linn Exakt world — a moving coil phono stage that installs inside the LP12 plinth, converts the cartridge signal to digital at the earliest possible point in the signal chain, and transmits it losslessly over Exakt Link to a compatible Linn DSM. At £3,360, it is the definitive answer to a specific and important question: how does an LP12 achieve its full potential within a Linn Exakt system? The answer is the Urika II, and only the Urika II. No other phono stage — internal or external — connects an LP12 to an Exakt DSM with the lossless digital signal path and the individual device optimisation that the Urika II delivers. It is not an optional enhancement to an Exakt LP12. It is the component that makes an Exakt LP12 possible.

Linn's position on digital RIAA equalisation is unequivocal: digital RIAA is more accurate, produces lower distortion, and lower noise than the best analogue RIAA circuit that can be designed. Where analogue RIAA introduces component tolerances, thermal drift, and the accumulated noise of passive and active analogue stages into the equalisation process, the Urika II performs RIAA mathematically — in the digital domain, where the correction is exact, repeatable, and immune to the physical variables that analogue circuits cannot escape. Once the signal is in the digital domain, it does not degrade. The Urika II converts at the earliest possible point — inside the plinth, before any analogue signal has travelled a meaningful distance — and the signal that departs via Exakt Link is as close to the original groove information as current engineering allows.

Individual Device Optimisation — Precision That Analogue Cannot Match

Every Urika II is individually measured during manufacture. The analogue input stage — the circuit that receives the signal from the moving coil cartridge before digital conversion — contains components whose values vary from unit to unit, as all real components do. In a conventional phono stage, these tolerances are accepted as inevitable and the design target is used as the reference. In the Urika II, Linn measures the actual component values of every individual unit on the production bench, characterises the deviations from the design target, and stores the corrections as device-specific data within the unit itself.

Every Urika II therefore carries its own optimisation — a precision correction that accounts for its own actual component values, not an ideal. The result is a phono stage whose performance is not limited by component tolerance but corrected for it — individually, precisely, and permanently. This is a level of manufacturing discipline that no analogue phono stage, however expensive, can replicate, because the corrections that matter in an analogue stage cannot be applied with this precision in the analogue domain.

Software-Configurable Cartridge Loading

Cartridge impedance and capacitance loading are configured in software via the Linn app — a provision that eliminates physical modification from the cartridge optimisation process entirely. The correct loading for a moving coil cartridge is not a universal value. It varies by cartridge design, by generator impedance, and by the sonic character the owner prefers within the range of technically correct settings. With a conventional phono stage, loading changes require physical access to the unit — resistor swaps, DIP switch adjustments, or returned-to-factory operations. With the Urika II, loading is adjusted in the app. When the cartridge is upgraded, the loading setting is updated. Nothing physical changes inside the LP12.

This is a practical advantage with a direct engineering consequence: cartridge loading can be explored and optimised by listening, not by specification sheet, without commitment to a single setting or the inconvenience of hardware modification.

How the Signal Travels — The Exakt Chain from Stylus to Speaker

The Urika II mounts inside the LP12 plinth on the same integrated Trampolin base as the original Urika. It connects to the tonearm via Linn's T-Kable — a fully screened differential cable — and receives power from the Radikal power supply, either the Standard or Klimax variant. A Radikal is required: the Urika II will not operate without Radikal power, and this is not a constraint to be worked around. It is the correct system configuration — the Radikal's precision power supply is part of the engineering environment in which the Urika II was designed to operate.

After conversion inside the plinth, the signal travels over Exakt Link — a digital connection — to a compatible Linn Exakt DSM. At the DSM, the full power of Linn's Space Optimisation is available: mathematical modelling of the room's acoustic behaviour, applied to the signal with a precision that passive room treatment cannot approach, and with the LP12's signal fully integrated into the Exakt processing chain alongside every other source. The signal path from stylus to speaker — in a complete Exakt system — is controlled, measurable, and optimised at every point.

What an Exakt LP12 Requires

The Urika II requires three things: a Linn Radikal power supply (Standard or Klimax), a compatible Linn Exakt DSM — Series 5, Selekt DSM with Exakt module, or Klimax DSM — connected via Exakt Link, and a moving coil cartridge. Moving magnet cartridges are not compatible with the Urika II. The Linn Klimax LP12 and Linn LP12 Selekt Turntable pages set out the broader system context, and the Linn Klimax System Hub is the natural Exakt DSM partner at reference level.

If you are running a Linn Exakt system and an LP12, the Urika II is the only phono stage that closes the loop between them. If you are not running an Exakt DSM — and have no clear intention to — the analogue Urika is the correct internal choice, and the Linn Uphorik Phono Stage remains the external alternative for any LP12 at any specification level.

Technical Specifications

Who Is It For?

The Urika II is for LP12 owners who are running, or committed to building, a Linn Exakt system — specifically one with a compatible Exakt DSM and Radikal power supply on the LP12. If both of those conditions are met, the Urika II is the only correct phono stage for the installation: it is the component that integrates the LP12 into the Exakt chain, delivers the lowest possible noise and the highest possible accuracy at the point of conversion, and enables full Space Optimisation processing for the vinyl source alongside every other input. It is not a marginal upgrade in this context. It is a fundamental architectural component whose absence means the LP12 is operating outside the system it was designed to inhabit.

For those considering the Exakt LP12 path from an existing analogue setup, the conversation about Radikal, Urika II, and compatible DSM is one to have in full before any orders are placed. The components are interdependent, and the correct sequence of upgrades matters — as does the DSM choice, which determines the Exakt capability available to the LP12 going forward.

Buying from Martins Hi-Fi

Martins Hi-Fi has been in Norwich since 1968. Elizabeth Gould runs the business today, and we stock only brands we have heard properly and stand behind.

The Urika II requires professional fitting inside the LP12 plinth and correct Exakt Link commissioning — this is not a component to self-install. We carry out the complete installation and system setup as part of our LP12 servicing work, including Exakt Link configuration and Space Optimisation calibration for your specific room. If the Urika II is part of a broader system build — alongside a Radikal installation, a DSM upgrade, or a move to active loudspeakers — we will manage the complete process from a single conversation.

When you get in touch, you'll be speaking with Dave, Chris and Tim — experienced specialists who can advise on this product and your whole system.

Contact us at info@martinshifi.co.uk, call 01603 627010, or WhatsApp on 07554 687137. You can read more about how we work on our Why Martins Hi-Fi page. We are at 85–91 Ber Street, Norwich, NR1 3EY.