PLEXIGLAS® molding compounds create black panel effect on the Linn Selekt DSM network music player

Secret until lit: The cover becomes a display

The Selekt DSM network music player, produced by the renowned Scottish hi-fi manufacturer Linn, allows digital music to be experienced with multiple senses. Its display with a multifunctional PLEXIGLAS® cover contributes to this: Only when the device is switched on does the high-gloss black panel on the front of the aluminum housing spring into life, showing the title and artist of the music that is currently playing. This is the “secret-until-lit” effect we are familiar with from smartphone displays and which is also known as the black panel or dead front effect.

“Multifunctional panels are not only in demand in home electronics, but are also ever more popular for displays in the interior of modern vehicles in automobile manufacturing. Here, the display and cover become a single unit. In order to accommodate this trend, we have developed neutral gray PLEXIGLAS® molding compounds specifically for these applications,” comments Christian Eberle, Technical Marketing Manager for Lighting, Extrusion, Optics at the Molding Compounds business unit at Röhm GmbH. These also include the PLEXIGLAS® 8N Gray molding compound, which Linn uses for the Selekt DSM display.

PLEXIGLAS® 8N with impressive black panel effect

Linn is known for its extremely high quality standards in terms of function, design and material. The high-quality hi-fi equipment is handcrafted at its company headquarters in Glasgow. Product Design Engineer Adrian Choong describes the aesthetic requirements when designing Selekt DSM: “The aesthetic we were trying to achieve on Selekt DSM was a seamless, polished onyx element stretching across the front of the product where the framing of the actual display panel would be imperceptible. This was achieved in part through the selection of a high-resolution AMOLED display panel, which does not use a backlight. To complete the dead front effect, we needed a suitable material, which is where the properties of the PLEXIGLAS® 8N Gray were beneficial.” According to Choong, tests with a different transparent material colored using a masterbatch did not produce the desired properties and vibrancy.

High-contrast display

Displays made of PLEXIGLAS® special molding compounds with neutral gray coloring can accurately replicate the entire color spectrum of the LEDs behind them. For the display of the Selekt DSM, however Linn opted for white text on a black background in keeping with the elegant, minimalistic design of the device. “The front of the Selekt DSM does not display the cover in color. Instead, there is a crisp AMOLED display that can also be read easily from the sofa,” was the verdict in a review by the German hi-fi magazine AUDIO.

PLEXIGLAS® reveals inner values

Linn also uses PLEXIGLAS® 8N Gray for a component inside the network player – the housing of a digital to analogue converter, which is designed as an upgradeable module available in different performance levels. “This DAC module features transparent gray PLEXIGLAS®, which allows users to see the circuit board inside and admire its technology, while reflecting the external design of the Selekt DSM,” says Choong.

He describes Linn’s product and design philosophy: “Selekt DSM is a modular hi-fi product, the performance and function of which can be configured and upgraded in line with the customer’s needs. This is in harmony with Linn’s philosophy of manufacturing products that last and that can be continuously upgraded as our technologies advance.”

This is where another property of the brand PMMA from Röhm comes into play: PLEXIGLAS® is a highly durable material with a stable product quality. “We have subsequently used this material in our recently launched next generation Majik DSM player,” announces the Linn designer.