FWIW I am no fan of dcs but I did recently hear the Lina in an unfamiliar system. Without the master clock I thought it had a more natural tonal balance than the internal Sabre DAC in the Simaudio 791 preamp. I did not find it bright and mechanical as I had in the past with dcs, even the Vivaldi. The Sabre DAC suffered from the same sibilance and unstable imaging issues that have bugged me with all but a couple DACs I’ve heard that employ ESS chips. The Lina was better (as it should be) and its sound opened up considerably with the addition of the master clock - less digital haze, much better sense of ambiance, altogether more natural and detailed. I can’t say it was as good as my Mola Mola Tambaqui, but I liked it better than any of the prior dcs DACs I’ve heard, granted most of my experience is from several years ago. I trust the Apex upgrades should sound similarly improved. I was admittedly a bit of a dcs hater before but I would definitely give the latest models a listen starting with the Lina.
