I have quite a bit of Linn experience so I'll give you my experiences.

I started out with a full Linn system (Unidisk SC, 2 5125 amps, full aktiv Espeks/Ekwal/Ninka).
I really liked the SC as it did everything I needed and never gave me a single issue.

The biggest weakness of the SC is the built-in passive pre-amp... but it's still not bad.

Since then I have completely re-tooled my system and still have a Unidisk - although now I have a 1.1 - and it's astonishingly good.

The 1.1 is feeding an 861 for movie duty - and it feeds an ARC LS-26 for 2-channel listening.

For an all-in-one box I think the SC is a great value. Yes they are known to be glitchy - but by now they have cured nearly all the issues with FW/SW upgrades. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend an SC.

Linn speakers truly transform themselves when you make them aktiv - its just an expensive process.

For the record my speakers were replaced with Aerial Acoustics - my amps are now Levinson.

Hope this helps!
Jim

M 861/ARC LS-26/Linn Unidisk 1.1/Levinson 336/Proceed HPA3/Aerial Acoustic loudspeakers (10T's, CC5, SR3's)