[RustyGates]

I agree. I have now heard the Susvara out of the Lina stack several times. The Lina Amp drives the Sus very well with excellent bass and attack. However, I think others might be trying to say that other amps may be better for less money. In my brief listening I liked the overall presentation of the Zahl HM1 ( though this is not less expensive ) and then there is the Bliss which costs less. I never actually went past 12:00 on the Lina Amp.

I did also listen with someone who went all the way to 3:00 with the Sus on the Lina amp. I was unable to listen at that volume. He did say he liked it, but I have to believe he had hearing damage to require that volume level.

The Zahl HM1 is 8K USD, 7K GBP (5,832.50 GBP pre-VAT).

Lina Amp is now a whopping 9.75K USD, 9K GBP (7.5K GBP pre-VAT), 16.25K AUD after a recent price hike.

The biggest problem I have with the Lina amp, in my audition, was that although it can make the Susvara's "loud", it didn't have drive to it in the sense that is was dynamic, effortless, FAST... not nearly in the same way the AMP-23R could.

To top it off for the price, it doesn't have pre-amp functionality or speaker drive functionality, doesn't have any analogue signal processing functionality, doesn't have variable gain or precise relay-based volume control. It has a good build quality though...

Sorry if I'm ripping into this too much but I'm really scratching my head at this one.

If you were someone who was thinking about getting the dCS Lina DAC & Clock combo, which is a fantastic TOTL DAC, you are doing yourself and the DAC a great disservice by pairing it with the Lina Amp.

 

[jlbrach]

purely as an amp my CFA3 is head and shoulders better in terms of driving the susvara at about 1/3 the price...so there is that

 

[Frankie D]

The Zahl HM1 is 8K USD, 7K GBP (5,832.50 GBP pre-VAT).

Lina Amp is now a whopping 9.75K USD, 9K GBP (7.5K GBP pre-VAT), 16.25K AUD after a recent price hike.

The biggest problem I have with the Lina amp, in my audition, was that although it can make the Susvara's "loud", it didn't have drive to it in the sense that is was dynamic, effortless, FAST... not nearly in the same way the AMP-23R could.

To top it off for the price, it doesn't have pre-amp functionality or speaker drive functionality, doesn't have any analogue signal processing functionality, doesn't have variable gain or precise relay-based volume control. It has a good build quality though...

Sorry if I'm ripping into this too much but I'm really scratching my head at this one.

If you were someone who was thinking about getting the dCS Lina DAC & Clock combo, which is a fantastic TOTL DAC, you are doing yourself and the DAC a great disservice by pairing it with the Lina Amp.

I am not as critical of it as you, but I also agree, better exists and for less money. Not too sure a Lina buyer will care though. I’d be curious if Lina buyers skip the amp in 2023?

 

[SalR406]

LINA amp & Susvara: The Enigma Pairing. I do think most LINA buyers will be choosing the full stack. Much of its appeal over the Bartók lies with its form factor. I expressed skepticism about this pairing earlier in the thread, but after hearing it at CanJam NYC playing the Max Richter Four Seasons album... I don't really have any complaints about performance. The dCS room was pretty quiet at the time, so it was an unusually good audition for a show. Certainly, the price of the LINA amp invites challenges, but then I don't think dCS is trying to compete on price. It will be interesting to see if any customers choose the LINA amp without the LINA DAC. Will any photos appear in the Show Us Your Head-Fi Station thread revealing a LINA amp installed in an otherwise mixed system? Maybe some Rossini owners and Vivaldi owners will go that route. Time will tell...

 

[adrianm]

Certainly, the price of the LINA amp invites challenges, but then I don't think dCS is trying to compete on price.

Problem is it's not even competing on performance with some stuff that's 3 times cheaper. And I mean actual performance, not just "driving Susvara ". Even with Meze Elite, the Oor was comfortably ahead. I posted a comparison of the full Lina stack and Chord Dave + Oor on the Dave thread back in September.
In the end, I had to use the Oor just to be able to spot the differences easier, as it was more transparent. Initial Plan was to get the Lina Clock+ Dac with the Zaehl HM1. Ordered the amp, but decided to go with the Rossini eventually and Amp's still not here.
I know a few Bartok owners that got the Lina amp, but no Rossini/Vivaldi Owners. Imo demoing the full stack is a great disservice to the dac and clock.

 

[TDinCali]

Put me down as someone who purchased the Lina dac but not the amp.

 

[dCS James]

Introducing Lina 1.1​

We are pleased to announce the release of Lina 1.1.
Available for download on Tuesday 21st March 2023 10am GMT.

Like all dCS streaming DACs, Lina was designed with upgradeability in mind. Flexible firmware provides unlimited scope for future improvement, with new features and enhancements delivered via simple software updates.

With Lina 1.1, we have implemented dCS’s digital volume control. Users can access the volume control using Lina’s touch panel or via the latest version of dCS Mosaic.

Full release notes can be found here.

 

[xcluded]

Hello , good day all.

Would like to check what is this feature or function on the Lina Dac ? Can’t find any information on the guide or manual.

Thank you.

 

[adrianm]

Hello , good day all.

Would like to check what is this feature or function on the Lina Dac ? Can’t find any information on the guide or manual.

Thank you.

That enables you to feature on dCS' OnlyFans . Lookslike an Infrared port of sorts.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Finally able to have proper time with Lina Amp (and tonight got home demo too), the most "controversial" part of Lina stacks. While the DAC and Clocking in general receive good praise, somehow the amp failed to achieve the same result. Currently using ZMF Caldera and Rockna Wavelight/Chord TT2 as pairing.

For starter, no, I don't think Lina Amp could be beaten easily by typical $3-5K solid state amps, at least not from what I tried. A little background, I always prefer tube amps for high end amps, even though I can appreciate solid state too, but personal taste always lean to Tubes. For me something like Cayin HA-6A or HA300 Mk2, even with standard tube, are simply better than Ferrum Oor/Hypsos or Burson Grand Tourer. Formula S/Powerman is a great combo to drive Abyss TC, but losing a little bit of their magic when drive ZMF Caldera. I still prefer HA300 Mk2 in this case.

Lina Amp, in direct comparison with HA300 Mk2, is simply 1-2 levels above Cayin. Both amp I consider as Neutral with full body tone, and hint of sweetness that make everything have natural feel. HA300 Mk2, being 300B, still "push" more sweetness a little, but not much. Both amp perform smooth treble on top, slight forward in midrange area, with solid bottom bass.

Lina does have various advantages though, easily win in many technical areas such as detail, black background, macrodynamic, and surprise surprise, Lina also perform (significant enough) bigger soundstage image in all direction. Noticeably wider then HA300 Mk2, and perform much better Depth perception. Pin point imaging also more accurate, not by slight margin.

Ferrum Oor/Hypsos, with a little warmer tone (also a little warmer than Cayin HA300 Mk2), feel a little "smeared", less clean and less transparent sounding, combine with much smaller soundstage in width, depth and height (well, even smaller soundstage than Cayin HA300 Mk2 and Burson GT actually). Detail, separation and imaging quality also clearly below Lina Amp. Ferrum is more forgiving though, make it easier to play streaming file consist of modern recording songs.

That's all for my current impression now. I'm not sure 9K pound sterling is the correct price though, need to do more comparison with amps like Zahl or Silver Fox or Saeq Hyperion GE.

Btw, only by memories though, I still prefer Riviera AIC 10, but this amp is far from cheap either, and not pure solid state.

Just sharing my finding, so of course everything here is subjective opinion.

Addiitional notes: One thing that always impress me from Lina Amp is, how this amp able to give sensation of "dense" in each notes (treble/midrange/bass). HA300 Mk2 in comparison, felt a bit "hollow", and I never thought HA300 Mk2 as hollow amp. it's just Lina perform much better to infuse density in each notes.

 

[adrianm]

Ferrum Oor/Hypsos, with a little warmer tone (also a little warmer than Cayin HA300 Mk2), feel a little "smeared", less clean and less transparent sounding, combine with much smaller soundstage in width, depth and height (well, even smaller soundstage than Cayin HA300 Mk2 and Burson GT actually). Detail, separation and imaging quality also clearly below Lina Amp. Ferrum is more forgiving though, make it easier to play streaming file consist of modern recording songs.

My impression was the complete opposite with the Elites. Shame I didn't have rest of my headphones back then.
Are you using balanced out of the Oor?

 

[TheMiddleSky]

My impression was the complete opposite with the Elites. Shame I didn't have rest of my headphones back then.
Are you using balanced out of the Oor?

Nah, my Elite's cable (Norne) is not with me right now, so I still keep Elite in my shelf. I could always use Code 23 cable from my Caldera, but I think it wouldn't be optimal though. Perhaps tomorrow I will give it a try.

Yes, tried all amps use XLR out. My prefer Hypsos setting for Caldera is at 23V.

 

[TDHEAD]

The Zahl HM1 is 8K USD, 7K GBP (5,832.50 GBP pre-VAT).

Lina Amp is now a whopping 9.75K USD, 9K GBP (7.5K GBP pre-VAT), 16.25K AUD after a recent price hike.

The biggest problem I have with the Lina amp, in my audition, was that although it can make the Susvara's "loud", it didn't have drive to it in the sense that is was dynamic, effortless, FAST... not nearly in the same way the AMP-23R could.

To top it off for the price, it doesn't have pre-amp functionality or speaker drive functionality, doesn't have any analogue signal processing functionality, doesn't have variable gain or precise relay-based volume control. It has a good build quality though...

Sorry if I'm ripping into this too much but I'm really scratching my head at this one.

If you were someone who was thinking about getting the dCS Lina DAC & Clock combo, which is a fantastic TOTL DAC, you are doing yourself and the DAC a great disservice by pairing it with the Lina Amp.

I completely agree, I have until recently had the Lina stack with my Susvara and AB 1266. I have truly enjoyed it. I think the Lina DAC is outstanding and the showcase piece . But I was never fully satisfied with the performance of the Amp with the two headphones above. It was great until I heard much better. The Lina Day with say the EF 1000 made the Susvara come alive. After that there was no going back especially after spending 31K. So from IMHO dis Lina Dac and clock is A++ Lina amp does not match the same performance, that was why I sold my Bartok to get a better amp in the first place

 

[MAISONOBE AALAIN]

Hello

I was able to compare in June 2023 in Lyon (casques headphones) the Lina dac with my Meitner MA 3, the 2 dacs being connected to my Viva STX amp, the headphones being the Shangri Senior or the Stax 9000.
I must admit that I didn't hear any difference between the 2 DACs, it was the lina clock that made the difference.
This improvement brought by the clock is not significant enough for my taste to justify the price difference. However, I hesitated for a long time because the contribution is clear, even if the meitner is excellent
However, Lina's representative who was present during this comparison assured me that Lina had to release an update of great importance, and I admit that I would listen to this dac again with its clock after this update to see if Lina has widened the gap to the point of justifying the price.
Do you know if this update took place?

 

[TDHEAD]

The Zahl HM1 is 8K USD, 7K GBP (5,832.50 GBP pre-VAT).

Lina Amp is now a whopping 9.75K USD, 9K GBP (7.5K GBP pre-VAT), 16.25K AUD after a recent price hike.

The biggest problem I have with the Lina amp, in my audition, was that although it can make the Susvara's "loud", it didn't have drive to it in the sense that is was dynamic, effortless, FAST... not nearly in the same way the AMP-23R could.

To top it off for the price, it doesn't have pre-amp functionality or speaker drive functionality, doesn't have any analogue signal processing functionality, doesn't have variable gain or precise relay-based volume control. It has a good build quality though...

Sorry if I'm ripping into this too much but I'm really scratching my head at this one.

If you were someone who was thinking about getting the dCS Lina DAC & Clock combo, which is a fantastic TOTL DAC, you are doing yourself and the DAC a great disservice by pairing it with the Lina Amp.

I had the complete lina stack. It is really excellent. Dac TOTL yes. I tended to agree with you on the amp with Susvara which is what made me break up the stack. I purchased a HiFiman EF1000 amp which is made for the Susvara. It was a Major difference and i felt the first time I was really hearing Susvara's capability. I did initially feel the Lina amp was ok as I did get more headroom, but in the end it is not optinum for Susvara and its priced up there.