DAC Shootout Starts This Weekend

Thank you, and to clarify I agree there is no absolute best, just a personal “best” that varies from person to person and system to system. What you say about the character of Playback and Weiss makes sense.

So, it has been a while since an update.  I have had a lot of units in and generally I am observing the rule of, "if you can't say something nice."  I have had a lot of underwhelming competitive devices in.  Just because something is produced with inexpensive labor justifying lower cost, does not mean the product was produced at a standard that means the price is fair.  

That said, I have some updates with more to come as there is a LOT of new news in my product offerings and I do have a competitive product that I have been waiting to hear for a while and was quite good.  

I am going to write up four separate entries for the Linn Klimax DSM, Bricasti M21 and then one post writing a contrast of the Mola Mola Tambaqui vs the Linn Selekt DSM w/ Katalyst DAC. We also have a series of new Rockna Products on the way, Acoustic Arts is a brand I am seriously considering adding ad a myriad of other devices from some excellent and new partners. 

First unit to write up is the Linn Klimax DSM. This is a $45.5K device leveraging Linn’s first ever FPGA DAC called the Organik, has Linn’s on-board streamer/roon endpoint and and uses their proprietary Space Optimization system.

Linn reached out to me last year as they were looking to add a dealer in NJ which was a gap in their territory. I thought this was odd as I am not a big analog retailer and I show products from my home. Given the LP12s reputation and the fact that most big companies (McIntosh, Dynaudio, etc...) will not entertain dealers without a brick and mortar location.

They shared that they believed their digital products were competitive with anything in the market and were far more concerned with who was the dealer and how they engaged their customers rather then where they displayed product. We vetted the line, placed an opening order and a LOT of boxes and tools arrived with an on-boarding in terms of training, technical support via brand ambassador AND a planned ambassador visit made me wonder what I was getting myself into.

It is clear that Linn is not a small, boutique manufacturer. Linn is a large technology company that reinvests heavily into their products and provide 21st century tech support. It is a very different experience dealing with a company like Linn vs most of the other manufacturers I deal with.

One box was the Klimax DSM and there were like 9 boxes of tools and parts for the Selekt LP12 and tools to set it up. I did not touch any of the analog stuff and set time with the ambassador team to execute the build together. Alternatively, the Klimas DSM was out of the box and playing within 15 minutes. Embarrassingly, 10 of those minutes were spent trying to figure out how to power on the unit. The mains switch is on the underside of the unit toward the front.

This unit is Linns ultimate expression. It is milled from a solid billet of aircraft grade aluminum. Placement is optimized to minimize cross talk and interference and te parts used are the best available that they can fit in the box.

Through my reference preamp (CANOR Hyperion P1) and power amps (CANOR Virtus M1) into my Wilson Benesch Discovery 3Zeros the sound was immediately excellent. My Oladra was out on loan so I was running straight into a range extender via ethernet.

Over the next hour or so I played with configuration and landed on top performance of Klimas DSM direct into my power amps. This is a first. I have not had a DAC or even DAC & Pre in that performs as well as my Hyperion or other preamps I have had in like the VAC Master and ARC Ref 6 SE.

Performance was good and I ran all my tests and walked away thinking nice but not sure it is worth $45.5K. Then I set up space optimization. This is not an easy thing to setup and I was starting to understand Linn’s thinking about who was the dealer rather than the physical location and it began making sense.

Space Optimization is a system that requires you to physically measure your room, map speaker placement and even defined the materials in the walls, etc... This was not brutal in my space but can be.  I have a simple 14 x 20 room with speakers in pretty optimal location. I processed the Space Optimization quickly and incompletely and performance leaped forward. I ordered a digital laser measurer and went through my SO trainings. I put together a precise model and performance leaped forward so much that I needed to rethink my evaluation.

Normally I talk about DACs in terms of detail, image width, height, depth and stability. Once SO was completed, the listening experience was so immersive that I was struggling to discern depth vs width. The image surrounds you almost like the BACCH SP. There are several variables that allow you to fine tune for decay vs punch and a myriad of other factors. I was able to dial this in to my taste perfectly.

I then chose to run myu test tracks for this post. First up, John Coltrane and Duke Ellington’s in a Sentimental Mood. Top and sparkle and air around Duke Ellignton’s piano is stunning. The drum rolls are detailed and precise. No sibilance in the brass at all but the sound was still forward enough to not be called laid back and extremely immersive.

Be Sill My Beating Heart from Sting. Incredibly immersive. The image surrounds you and it was literally impossible to judge image width as it feels like you are sitting in the middle of the studio. No sibilance from stings voice. Excellent separation and structure within the image and the noise floor was absurdly low.

Liberty from Anette Askvik sounded amazing. Wonderful separation. The effects are clear and well placed in the distance. Her voice was not remotely sibilant.

The opening of Duende was crisp. Tony Levin’s bass did not break up and i did not get any digital artifacts. Air around the guitar and high hats is amazing and there is a presence and dynamism I am unused to.

The Berg piece was very interesting. One of the ongoing challenges of many of these DACs is that if they play big, they play everything big. The BACCH was one of the few devices that properly scaled chamber piece that I have heard while also giving the size and scale of songs like Be Still My Beating Heart. This seemed intimate and well sized. String separation was excellent and no sibilance, yet gain.

Performance on this unit is elite and rivals anything I have ever heard. At $45.5K it should be. Although a steep price, the on-board streamer is excellent, the Linn Software works very well and this is the first preamp in a DAC I like. If you view this as a substitute for 2-3 components that price seems less unapproachable.

Later on I did test with Roon both via a Nucleus+ and the Oladra. I found bass was slightly better via Roon at the expense of a little mid-range magic. I can’t say which is decidedly better as it is a matter of taste.

All that said, this is not a device that can be handled or setup without assistance. I sold my Klimax (ordered another that is in production) to a customer in California and the first thing I did was ask for measurements to build out his Space Optimization and we have required Linn Tech Support. This is not a casual device and is technologically as advanced of a device I have seen.

It is painfully obvious why Linn picks and chooses its dealers carefully. This is not a low maintenance, set it and forget it type line. You need dealer support and even for digital products, it is best to have on-site installation to get Space Optimization dialed in. If you have a good Linn dealer near you or have one that you know and can work with remotely, this thing is a really great unit.

The final aspect that is interesting about Linn is that it is hardware upgradable and they are committed to making sure that their devices are perpetually upgradable. If you have an older Klimax with Katalyst DAC and older PS, new modules can be ordered and installed.

I think the Linn supports fibre optic like the Lumin X1. If so, have you tried that input? I have heard this unit before in an all-Linn system. Maybe I am wrong about the fibre since I do not see it listed.
Next-generation Klimax DSM | Network Music Players | Linn USA

I think for a non-technical person having the DSP on the hardware (Space Optimization) is a simple choice than what I use, which is Convolution filters running on my ROON Core. Though I have turned this off in my current setups since the rooms have changed.

@yyzsantabarbara I am 99% certain you are correct that it has a fiber ethernet input like the Lumin.  I have not tested that as I don’t have a device to convert my signal to fiber and one I bought failed within two weeks.  If you have a suggestion I am open.

There is definitely something with an all Linn system.  They lent me the 360 Active speakers and the Exakt system is pretty cool tech.  That whole system with the Klimax is obscenely good.  It is $136,500 but is legitimately competitive in terms of quality at that level and has a higher WAF factor than anything I can put together in that price range with other gear.  My wife literally said I could put it in the living room assuming the line justifies what is a VERY chunky spend, even for a dealer. 
 

I also have since built my Selekt LP12 and with their cartridge into a modestly price phono (Uphorik is like $3450) and it is beating much more expensive setups.  The phono is excellent but doesn’t stand out as much with the Ortofon and Dynavector cartridges I have.  I also have the Moonriver 505 ($6k) and the Linn Kendo into Linn Uphorik beats Linn Kendo into Moonriver.  My Dynavector and Ortofon sound better through the Moonriver.  Synergy is magical when it saves money.  
 

More than anything, this is a brand that if you choose to buy it, plan on staying with it for a long time.  This is not a good product for equipment rollers.