dCS Lina: 30k USD Headphone/Network DAC/External Clock Stack

[nopants]

I guess dCS decided that headphone-based systems are now worthy of their time: https://shop.dcsaudio.com/products/lina-system

Figured most people would be interested in the amplifier so I put it in this section:

DAC includes crossfeed EQ (didn't look into whether it was software/hardware), compute module on the side for either Roon or whatever dCS decides to do in-house. Looks like a scaled down version of their ubiquitous Ring DAC

External clock lets you use the DAC with OCXO's instead:

Full system cost seems to total 29,150 USD. Price aside I think the casework is pretty cool, I saw esoteric do similar things with some of their new offerings.

At this price point though I feel like it'd be more cost-effective just to pick up one of their older offerings (like the Debussy) and hook up a Roon endpoint to that...

[Iron_Dreamer]

DCS and cost-effective in the same sentence 🤣

[johnwmclean]

 

Edited May 27, 2022 by johnwmclean

[Knuckledragger]

I expect someone who knows about amplifier topology and construction to show up in this thread and say something pithy and rude about the resistors on that main board.

[spritzer]

Well it is certainly not something brilliant but we'd need better pics of the amp section to be sure.  I'm certainly not impressed by the 9$ Alps RK27 volume control... 

[n_maher]

3 hours ago, spritzer said:

I'm certainly not impressed by the 9$ Alps RK27 volume control... 

Saw this and literally thought, "God bless them for having the sense to use the best parts available." 

[Torpedo]

Why would they use a balanced expensive pot if almost none of their wealthy moronic customers is going to notice?

[Long Way Around]

I thought the idea that a fancy external clock would have any impact on simple DAC playback has been thoroughly debunked by now. I guess dcs decided it's been long enough and current generation of cashed-up audiofools can't care less about actual sound. Hard to argue I suppose.

[nopants]

clocks make a difference but it's definitely some last-mile stuff, it's marketed as such I don't see the issue there (other than the nosebleed price)

speaking of nosebleed apparently dcs also upgraded their ring dac modules, supposedly costs like 9k to swap them out in existing products

Edited May 30, 2022 by nopants

[flecom]

On 5/28/2022 at 4:45 AM, spritzer said:

Well it is certainly not something brilliant but we'd need better pics of the amp section to be sure.  I'm certainly not impressed by the 9$ Alps RK27 volume control... 

hah that was my first thought, I hesitate to use those in my DIY projects that cost a couple hundred bucks, but for a $30k product? oof

 

but you know what they say about opinions ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[MASantos]

I haven’t read through the tech specs of the amp, but is the volume actually controlled by the alps pot or is it done in the digital domain with the pot only acting as a controller?

[mrjayviper]

for $30+K, I expect it to be using something more than an Alps blue pot.