dCS Lina Silver – dCS Lina Collection now also available in silver finish
Until now, the dCS Lina Collection solutions from the dCS Audio brand have only been available in black. Now, starting in 2024, the English HiFi manufacturer Data Conversion Systems Limited intends to offer this exceptional product line as an alternative in the form of dCS Lina Silver with a particularly elegant silver finish.
- The solutions of the dCS Lina Collection, dCS Lina Network DAC, dCS Lina Master Clock and dCS Lina Headphone Amplifier are now offered in the new silver finish as dCS Lina Silver.
dCS Lina Network DAC, dCS Lina Master Clock and dCS Lina Headphone Amplifier – these are the three components that make up the dCS Lina Collection, which the English High-end HiFi manufacturer Data Conversion Systems Ltd. now offers not only in black, but also in a particularly elegant silver colour. The company calls it the dCS Lina Silver.
This is in response to the wishes of numerous customers, as the company explicitly emphasises, as this opens up the possibility of combining the dCS Lina Series solutions with other systems from the dCS Audio brand.
The dCS Lina Collection – Spectacular performance in a compact form
The solutions in the dCS Lina Collection are products that guarantee the highest level of audio performance in a compact form, according to the promise made by manufacturer Data Conversion Systems Limited.
The product line is designed in such a way that it can be used to realise a hi-fi chain that concentrates on the essentials, starting with a two-channel system in conjunction with active loudspeakers, for example, or a simple headphone setup for intimate music enjoyment as a desktop audio system.
dCS Lina Network DAC
The focus is of course on the dCS Lina Network DAC, which can play music from a wide variety of sources, be it TIDAL, Spotify, Deezer, Qobuz or Internet Radio, and which is compatible with Apple AirPlay 2 and is labelled as Roon-ready. The StreamUnlimited S800 is used as the basis here.
In terms of inputs, this solution offers two AES/EBU, three S/PDIF interfaces, one BNC, one coaxial and one optical, as well as a USB-B for direct connection to a PC or Mac and a USB-A for corresponding storage media.
The dCS Lina Network DAC is integrated into the network via an RJ45 Ethernet interface and analogue signals leave the device via either balanced XLR or unbalanced RCA connections.
Based on the dCS Ring DAC and a DSP realised by a proprietary FPGA architecture, the dCS Lina Network DAC processes signals in Linear PCM with up to 24 bit and 384 kHz as well as DSD up to and including DSD128, allows oversampling and upsampling and provides six filters for Linear PCM and four filters for DSD.
dCS Lina Master Clock
If desired, the already impeccable clock of the dCS Lina Network DAC can be optimised by an even more precise external signal. The dCS Lina Master Clock is responsible for this as part of the dCS Lina Collection.
The manufacturer refers to this as a Grade 1 Master Clock based on particularly precise quartz oscillators, two of which are used as Dual Crystal Oscillators for 44.1 and 48 kHz.
dCS Lina Headphone Amplifier
The dCS Lina Headphone Amplifier is ultimately responsible for the finest sound on the ears, whereby it is characterised by a discrete, purely analogue design in Class A. A pair of RCA sockets and two pairs of XLR connections are available as inputs, one pair as unbuffered analogue in with an input impedance of 16 kOhm, the second as buffered analogue in with an input impedance of 96 kOhm, as the data sheet reveals. A pair of 3-pin XLR, a 4-pin XLR and a 6.3 mm stereo mini-jack are provided for connecting headphones.
All three systems have compact housings made of aluminium, with the special feature that these are not anodised but actually painted.
Housing in a particularly elegant finish – black or silver
This applies not only to the previously available black versions, but also to the new dCS Lina Silver product variant. The manufacturer even speaks of a particularly elaborate paint finish for a smooth, long-lasting and also haptically pleasant surface.
Flexible combination options with other solutions from the dCS Audio brand
This is particularly relevant as the new dCS Lina Silver was realised not least with the intention that customers can now flexibly combine these solutions with other products from the dCS Audio brand, such as the dCS Lina Master Clock with the dCS Bartók APEX DAC, or the dCS Lina Headphone Amplifier with solutions from the dCS Rossini APEX or dCS Vivaldi APEX collections.
Prices and availability
It should be emphasised once again that the dCS Lina Silver is being offered in black as an alternative to the existing product line, so you can now choose between black and silver. The prices are the same as before.
Getting to the point
The dCS Lina Collection is an extremely exclusive product line offered by Data Conversion Systems Limited. The dCS Lina Network DAC, dCS Lina Master Clock and dCS Lina Headphone Amplifier systems were previously only available in black, but are now all being offered as the new dCS Lina Silver. According to the English company, this is in response to numerous customer requests.
| PRODUCT | DCS LINA SILVER |
|---|---|
| Price | dCS Lina Network DAC € 14.750,- dCS Lina Master Clock € 8.750,- dCS Lina Headphone Amplifier € 10.750,- |
| BRAND | DCS |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Data Conversion Systems Ltd. |
| Distribution | Audio Reference GmbH |
| More about this manufacturer at HIFI BLOG |
