Linn or T+A

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

agisthos: Yes, you have it correct. I was surprised at the difference between them. In retrospect, I think this makes sense. Those who purchased the new KDSM as a system hub (no included dac since this is for active speakers with dac included in the speakers) have also reported a significant improvement once installed. So there is more than just the organik dac going on here with the newer Linn.

mgrif104: I used the preamp, streamer and dac in both the previous Linn and with the current T+A. With the Linn I used their app until just a few weeks before I traded it in. I had moved to Roon in preparation for using it with the T+A, as the dealer said the T+A app was nowhere near as polished as the Linn app. That turned out to be true. It works, but it is rather crude and limited relative to the Linn app or Roon.