i wanted to post this somewhere, but I compared the 430 to the Lina stack from dcs. The Lina has proven to be polarizing, specifically with the amp itself. And I can see why.
Compared to the 430,The low end was more forward than I wanted at times. In Up The Mountain by Regina Spektor, the bass hit throughout the song didn’t feel as natural and seemed to take center stage, even over Regina’s voice.
It’s also not the last name in soundstage, it presented not as an intimate, but not ambient, a healthy spot in between. But although this approach has its pros, it wasn’t as resolving in the most complicated of pieces. In Don’t Wanna by Haim, the last third of the song is a buildup of introducing multiple layers of vocals, individual instruments etc all happening at once. The Lina made it half way through this build, then the rest was, by comparison, a blob of sound. The 430 keeps all layers going through the whole piece.
The Lina also felt a bit too liquid at times. In Up From a Dream by Haim, the electric guitar at the 1:30 mark came across as quite too digital/polished, and not that full for me. On the 430, it sounds down right physical, the texture is supposed to pop on this piece, and this is coming from an amp that many argue is too polite for their tastes.
For the good, I do feel the Lina had a bit going for them.
The crossfeed was some of the best I’ve heard. It’s notably better than the 430s
I had a stronger sense of focus, a solid idea of what I was focusing on with the rest of the song accessible, but a slight step back.
The layers the Lina did present were all more prominent. You could argue this is more because the lack of soundstage. But as I said earlier, this presentation has its pros.
I also had a few moments noticing some new micros details. And at the end of the day, straight up, I think the Lina had a sound that will satisfy the majority… we are talking a $30,000 setup though.
Now my listening session wasn’t perfect, I went off of the shops recommended setup including filters, so I’m sure people can dismiss my claims here. But I walked away with more questions in the end. The Lina is being described as dead neutral, but so is the 430HAD, by Tyl himself from Inner Fidelity. And I would have to say that in comparison, the 430 makes the Lina sound colored.
But ive kept the 430had in the end. Differences was tiny when there was a difference. And not always for the better either. Wonder if they will release a new 430had any time soon. I asked if moon would upgrade the internal dac any time soon, they said it’s no need to. So guess it’s nothing happening in near future.
