Linn or T+A

I had the opportunity to do some side by side listening, and the different units were very easy to tell apart.  First up, my old style Klimax DSM with Organik upgrade.  Driven by Luxman M10-x and Sonus Faber speakers (sorry, didn't catch the model).  

Listened to that set-up long enough to get acclimated to the dealers system/room, then switched to the new version of the Klimax DSM.  A rather surprising difference between them.  From the upper mid-range and up the new unit was a marked improvement.  More detail, less veil, less digital.  The bass tightened some, but the primary changes were in the top end.

Switched to the T+A unit (SD 3100 HV into the T+A integrated, but still using the M10x for the amp).  It completely matched the new Linn on the top end, but now there was a much fuller, more foundational level of bass.  Not big and boomy, but just enough to really complement the high end.  You could easily change the amp and build on the unit's bass.

While I've always enjoy the Linn sound, I also have found it a touch lean.  The T+A resolves that completely.  So I made the change to T+A.  Highly recommended and worth a listen.

My impression is T+A HV electronics sonically punch above their price point. I took a serious look at the HV integrated but went with Constellation separates.

I’ve been deeply researching the latest high-end audio components for the last 7 years to piece together my analog and digital audio chain and Linn didn’t cross my radar until the recent Stereophile review here  which led to my purchase- seemed like a sonic bargain. Until then I was unaware Linn was heavily into digital in addition to their long established turntable line.

@kennyc 

+1

Yes. I was surprised as well. I never thought of Linn - digital… but they seemed to have gone all in and done a very good job of it. 

@lldd  are you saying the older style Kimax DSM with Organik upgrade was not as good as the new Klimax DSM? I prefer the look of the old Klimax, and its price+ upgrade is a LOT cheaper than the new DSM.

Linn have properly worked on the network board size of things for the new series, not just the DAC side.

@lldd 

thanks for sharing your observations. As I noted before, I would like to audition the T+A SD3100 against the Linn Klimax DSM/3 but have no way of doing so - so you’re findings are very interesting to me.

Question: the Klimax DSM is an integrated streamer and DAC. Did you also use the streaming client built into the T+A unit or did you source it with something else? And, were you using T+A music app or using Roon on both units?

Best,

mgrif104