It is a pity that Linnenberg has received so little attention. I have been surprised by the sound quality of its ARIOSO quite some time ago. Recently I have tried out its flagship combo, the VIVACE and the MAESTRO, and they are one of the very few possible upgrades/replacements that stay in my radar.
I am a user of the Violectric V800+V200 combo and while they serve as a good starting point to getting some decent head-fi experience I am afraid all they offer is 'sound' instead of music. Violectric is decent and good for its price and is a good reference point and I would describe the combo as 'functional' and 'mechanical'. I'd say there is nothing wrong in the Violectric set but it is merely a 'nothing-wrong' pair.
Linnenberg VIVACE+MAESTRO, on the other hand, offers 'music'. I do not mean that it is neutral or musical. I don't think making use of jargons is appropriate. In my opinion what Linnenberg does is different - it tackles head-fi from another perspective. It is gracious. My feeling is that it puts less emphasis on the so-called sound quality. It gives more of a big picture than good sound qualities/traits.
The combo drives the demo unit beyerdynamic T1 (balanced) with ease - music flows effortlessly, smoothly, cohesively and coherently. When compared to my Violectric set-up the Linnenberg duo may appear to be less powerful, bass is somehow less prominent, body/texture is not as pronounced/solid. My impression is that Linnenberg sounds less functional and less mechanical than Violectric, but I find the Linnenberg experience more enjoyable.
A few considerations put the Linnenberg combo on my radar instead of on my desk. First, it is expensive as, considering that Linnenberg has recommended the use of a power supply, the bill can end up to some 3,000 EUR even with the discount. Second, I think figuring out what cables to pair with the system is an ordeal and I am sure that my Furutech power cables have to be replaced. But of the recent try-outs the Linnenberg combo ranks at the very top. The tip, to be exact.
