dcS Lina, Anyone?

[Zuman]

I have a dCS Lina coming next week. I've heard one, and I'm hoping it sounds as good in my system as it did in the demo room where I heard it.
I've been blown away by the effect of my current system. The digital side has been my Pachanko server into a HiFi Rose RS130 transport out to a Denafrips Terminator DAC, then on to a Modwright KWH225i amp into Von Schweikert Endeavor SE speakers. Quite frankly, I've never heard anything like it in terms of soundstage width and three-dimensionality. But while it's hugely entertaining, it's all a bit "unreal." It's a bit like how when you watch a 3-D movie, you're always aware of the 3-D effects. With a good regular movie, you forget actors and props and just get swept away by the story.
There is less wham!-POW!!!-kaBOOM! when I take the HiFi Rose out of the chain and just run Roon straight from the Pachanko to the Terminator, but I also lose more air than I'd like and there's a tiny bit of a veil that descends over everything.
From what I've heard from the Lina (and what I've read online), it brings a degree of voluptuousness to the overall presentation while maintaining clarity and air. I'll run dCS' Mosaic and keep the RS130 out of the system.
Does anyone here have a Lina, and if so, do you have any experience to share? I won't be adding the clock right away as I'll need to sell a few other things off first!

 

[V-Fi]

I spent some time with the Lina DAC and headphone amp recently, and didn't care much for it. Very open and spacious like you said, but to me it was not really convincing. Almost like artificially stretched out, as if using some kind of virtual surround sound processing on a stereo signal. It did a lot of things right too, but I couldn't get over the artificial feeling.

Not sure how much of this was the DAC or the headphone amp, since I didn't get to try them in isolation. I hope you are enjoying it more in your system though.

 

[Lee]

I have a dCS Lina coming next week. I've heard one, and I'm hoping it sounds as good in my system as it did in the demo room where I heard it.
I've been blown away by the effect of my current system. The digital side has been my Pachanko server into a HiFi Rose RS130 transport out to a Denafrips Terminator DAC, then on to a Modwright KWH225i amp into Von Schweikert Endeavor SE speakers. Quite frankly, I've never heard anything like it in terms of soundstage width and three-dimensionality. But while it's hugely entertaining, it's all a bit "unreal." It's a bit like how when you watch a 3-D movie, you're always aware of the 3-D effects. With a good regular movie, you forget actors and props and just get swept away by the story.
There is less wham!-POW!!!-kaBOOM! when I take the HiFi Rose out of the chain and just run Roon straight from the Pachanko to the Terminator, but I also lose more air than I'd like and there's a tiny bit of a veil that descends over everything.
From what I've heard from the Lina (and what I've read online), it brings a degree of voluptuousness to the overall presentation while maintaining clarity and air. I'll run dCS' Mosaic and keep the RS130 out of the system.
Does anyone here have a Lina, and if so, do you have any experience to share? I won't be adding the clock right away as I'll need to sell a few other things off first!

I've been very impressed with it. The local dealer Evolution Hifi has one paired with the Wilson Sabrinas. It has a lot of the dCS sound which I find to be highly resolving but very musical. The dynamics and pacing feel right on it. And you can stage the purchase by getting the clock later.

 

[lordcloud]

I heard one at the local dealership and it wasn't bad. But dealer systems don't really tell me much, as they're never great sounding in the first place.

An audio buddy I trust auditioned on in his system and didn't like it at all. To his ears out was detailed, but very processed sounding.

Another audiophile who's ears I trust, auditioned one of his system and much preferred the Bartok, stating "The Bartok has a midrange, clarity, and refinement that far surpasses the Lina.".

I'm still interested in hearing it in my system though.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

I heard the dcs Lina DAC & Headphone Amp with some Susvara Headphones a few years back. Didn't care for it much. To my ears, my Hifiman EF1000 Amp with my Chord Dave (with M Scaler input via my Chord Blu) with my Susvara Headphones is miles ahead in all of the key parameters for musical quality etc.
And I can also use my EF1000 as a speaker amp as well (which is also very good).

 

[Zuman]

Follow-up:
I've had my Lina DAC in my system for two weeks now, and it's only been over the past few days that I've begun to really love it. I've had the opportunity to compare it with a Denafrips Terminator, Lumin X1, Mola Mola Tambaqui, and even an Okto DAC 8 Stereo.
The breakthrough for me came when I switched to Hapa Audio balanced output cables rather than the Audience Au24se RCAs I had been using. I had assumed that for 1-meter cables good-quality RCAs would be fine, but it wasn't even close. The balanced interconnects provided a much fuller-sounding presentation with a clearly-defined and realistic soundstage, while the RCAs sounded dimensionally flatter and also harsher at the top end. The Lina is receiving data from my Pachanko server through an M101 LAN cable.
In my system, the Lina sounded airier and more three-dimensional than both the Lumin and the Tambaqui. One of my acid tests for components has been Diana Krall's "Like Someone In Love" from Turn Up the Quiet. In the line "Each time I look at you I'm limp as a glove," the attack on the word "Each" can sound harsh, strident, and grating (kind of like an old beryllium tweeter) if everything doesn't work well together. My friends and I did note that nails-on-a-chalkboard hit with the Terminator and Okto, but not with the Lina, Lumin, and Tambaqui. The Lumin sounded a bit more rounded and smoothed-over, though, while the Tambaqui didn't deliver the same soundstage. Importantly, my impression of the Lina's performance has remained consistent for several days now, with listening at varied times of day.
I don't recall experiencing quite the level of contentment ever before that I have now with the Lina quarterbacking my digital side. I've certainly had impressive sound, but what I'm enjoying now is realistic sound that can convince me that I'm at a live performance. No, I don't have the dedicated room, power system, treatment, and componentry that can deliver the equivalent of an Olympic gold-medal performance, but I do believe I have a 99% performer that will make me very happy for years to come. Thanks, dCS!

 

[Al M.]

Follow-up:
I've had my Lina DAC in my system for two weeks now, and it's only been over the past few days that I've begun to really love it. I've had the opportunity to compare it with a Denafrips Terminator, Lumin X1, Mola Mola Tambaqui, and even an Okto DAC 8 Stereo.
The breakthrough for me came when I switched to Hapa Audio balanced output cables rather than the Audience Au24se RCAs I had been using. I had assumed that for 1-meter cables good-quality RCAs would be fine, but it wasn't even close. The balanced interconnects provided a much fuller-sounding presentation with a clearly-defined and realistic soundstage, while the RCAs sounded dimensionally flatter and also harsher at the top end. The Lina is receiving data from my Pachanko server through an M101 LAN cable.
In my system, the Lina sounded airier and more three-dimensional than both the Lumin and the Tambaqui. One of my acid tests for components has been Diana Krall's "Like Someone In Love" from Turn Up the Quiet. In the line "Each time I look at you I'm limp as a glove," the attack on the word "Each" can sound harsh, strident, and grating (kind of like an old beryllium tweeter) if everything doesn't work well together. My friends and I did note that nails-on-a-chalkboard hit with the Terminator and Okto, but not with the Lina, Lumin, and Tambaqui. The Lumin sounded a bit more rounded and smoothed-over, though, while the Tambaqui didn't deliver the same soundstage. Importantly, my impression of the Lina's performance has remained consistent for several days now, with listening at varied times of day.
I don't recall experiencing quite the level of contentment ever before that I have now with the Lina quarterbacking my digital side. I've certainly had impressive sound, but what I'm enjoying now is realistic sound that can convince me that I'm at a live performance. No, I don't have the dedicated room, power system, treatment, and componentry that can deliver the equivalent of an Olympic gold-medal performance, but I do believe I have a 99% performer that will make me very happy for years to come. Thanks, dCS!

Very nice, congratulations! The cable change that you described shows that success is dependent on fine-tuning the system, and impressions of a component by different people may vary based on that or lack thereof -- apart from personal perceptions and preferences. In my system the Tambaqui works wonderfully, I am very happy with it.

 

[gadawg58]

Follow-up:
I've had my Lina DAC in my system for two weeks now, and it's only been over the past few days that I've begun to really love it. I've had the opportunity to compare it with a Denafrips Terminator, Lumin X1, Mola Mola Tambaqui, and even an Okto DAC 8 Stereo.
The breakthrough for me came when I switched to Hapa Audio balanced output cables rather than the Audience Au24se RCAs I had been using. I had assumed that for 1-meter cables good-quality RCAs would be fine, but it wasn't even close. The balanced interconnects provided a much fuller-sounding presentation with a clearly-defined and realistic soundstage, while the RCAs sounded dimensionally flatter and also harsher at the top end. The Lina is receiving data from my Pachanko server through an M101 LAN cable.
In my system, the Lina sounded airier and more three-dimensional than both the Lumin and the Tambaqui. One of my acid tests for components has been Diana Krall's "Like Someone In Love" from Turn Up the Quiet. In the line "Each time I look at you I'm limp as a glove," the attack on the word "Each" can sound harsh, strident, and grating (kind of like an old beryllium tweeter) if everything doesn't work well together. My friends and I did note that nails-on-a-chalkboard hit with the Terminator and Okto, but not with the Lina, Lumin, and Tambaqui. The Lumin sounded a bit more rounded and smoothed-over, though, while the Tambaqui didn't deliver the same soundstage. Importantly, my impression of the Lina's performance has remained consistent for several days now, with listening at varied times of day.
I don't recall experiencing quite the level of contentment ever before that I have now with the Lina quarterbacking my digital side. I've certainly had impressive sound, but what I'm enjoying now is realistic sound that can convince me that I'm at a live performance. No, I don't have the dedicated room, power system, treatment, and componentry that can deliver the equivalent of an Olympic gold-medal performance, but I do believe I have a 99% performer that will make me very happy for years to come. Thanks, dCS!

Congrats on a setup that should keep you happy for years to come!

George

 

[August]

@Zuman congratulations. I will say that the dCS balanced output stage is really the better sounding one compared to their single-ended output, this goes for all dCS DACs (I own a Vivaldi stack myself). Lina is a great DAC for the price, very musical and balanced, I've heard it multiple times now.

 

[Arif_in_Japan]

I run the Lina stack with my Susvara using Brise Audio cables. With Lina, cables (power, BNC, and XLR) and proper isolation make a major difference. HFS offers a custom rack (https://avisolation.com/product/exrh-headphone-stand-system/) that noticeably improves sound quality compared with stacking the units directly. My ideal pairing would be a Riviera AIC10-Bal, but I’m very satisfied with the Lina set-up for headphone listening.

 

[microstrip]

@Zuman congratulations. I will say that the dCS balanced output stage is really the better sounding one compared to their single-ended output, this goes for all dCS DACs (I own a Vivaldi stack myself). Lina is a great DAC for the price, very musical and balanced, I've heard it multiple times now.

I find hard to say that balanced XLR sounds better then single-ended. In order to compare them use usually connect it to the same balanced preamplfier in SE and balanced mode - most of the time the preamplifier itself sounds better in balanced than non balanced mode, making the comparison invalid. In the case of the Vivaldi APEX or the Varese I find difficult to say it sounds "better" in any mode!

Many DACs SE output is just connected to positive phase of the balanced output - but the Vivaldi or the Varese have a separate output stage combining the two dCS ring DAC phases.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

I run the Lina stack with my Susvara using Brise Audio cables. With Lina, cables (power, BNC, and XLR) and proper isolation make a major difference. HFS offers a custom rack (https://avisolation.com/product/exrh-headphone-stand-system/) that noticeably improves sound quality compared with stacking the units directly. My ideal pairing would be a Riviera AIC10-Bal, but I’m very satisfied with the Lina set-up for headphone listening.

You should try your Susvara headphones connected to the HiFiMan EF1000 Hybrid Headphone & Speaker Amp (not the DAC version) connected to a high quality source. It's an amazing combo (and rightly so as the EF1000 was purposely designed and built for the Susvara !). The EF1000 is a good with medium to high efficiency speakers too.

 

[August]

I find hard to say that balanced XLR sounds better then single-ended. In order to compare them use usually connect it to the same balanced preamplfier in SE and balanced mode - most of the time the preamplifier itself sounds better in balanced than non balanced mode, making the comparison invalid. In the case of the Vivaldi APEX or the Varese I find difficult to say it sounds "better" in any mode!

Many DACs SE output is just connected to positive phase of the balanced output - but the Vivaldi or the Varese have a separate output stage combining the two dCS ring DAC phases.

My experience has been that the balanced output stage sounds better and I hear the same thing from quite a few other dCS owners. All dCS DACs have different output stages for balanced and single ended. So it's not about it being balanced that is better, it's just a different topology/execution as I understand it.

 

[microstrip]

My experience has been that the balanced output stage sounds better and I hear the same thing from quite a few other dCS owners. All dCS DACs have different output stages for balanced and single ended.

My question was just on how they arrived to such conclusion. Probably it is not the case, but an old study found that most people prefer balanced just because in general it was more gain and they did not compensate for it when listening.

So it's not about it being balanced that is better, it's just a different topology/execution as I understand it.

The SE stage must internally subtract the phases, the output buffer topology is the same.

 

[August]

My question was just on how they arrived to such conclusion. Probably it is not the case, but an old study found that most people prefer balanced just because in general it was more gain and they did not compensate for it when listening.



The SE stage must internally subtract the phases, the output buffer topology is the same.

The gain (output voltage level) is independent of output mode (BAL/SE) in dCS DACs. It's not that.

 

[Arif_in_Japan]

You should try your Susvara headphones connected to the HiFiMan EF1000 Hybrid Headphone & Speaker Amp (not the DAC version) connected to a high quality source. It's an amazing combo (and rightly so as the EF1000 was purposely designed and built for the Susvara !). The EF1000 is a good with medium to high efficiency speakers too.

Thank you and I did think of it but unfortunately EF1000 is not sold in Japan, hence the Lina.

 

[Alpha121]

I have a dCs LINA and just love it.

I recently added the LINA Clock after listening for six months, and it was a substantial improvement. Everything just snapped into focus, it was amazing.

I think the better your system the more benefit you will get out of the Clock. But even without it, I found the LINA to be heads and shoulders above everything else that I borrowed or tried, or had in the system.

I highly recommend the LINA, it's Fourth Generation dCs, has a lot of Varese technology in it. This video is useful in understanding the dCs line:

 

[lordcloud]

I have a dCs LINA and just love it.

I recently added the LINA Clock after listening for six months, and it was a substantial improvement. Everything just snapped into focus, it was amazing.

I think the better your system the more benefit you will get out of the Clock. But even without it, I found the LINA to be heads and shoulders above everything else that I borrowed or tried, or had in the system.

I highly recommend the LINA, it's Fourth Generation dCs, has a lot of Varese technology in it. This video is useful in understanding the dCs line:

What other dacs have you tried in your system?

How would you describe the sound of the Lina in your system?