Just had to finally get around to listen to some of the DS range, just to see what all the fuss was about. So yesterday I setup a dem at Infidelity in Kingston. Have to say that they were a very nice and helpful bunch. The dem room was setup with a pair of the more expensive stand mount Focal labs (not sure which), driven by some bloody huge Classe power amp. I'd requested something with balanced inputs, and it was one of the few amps around that had the connectivity. Don't ask me which model, it was around 20cm tall and simply dwarfed the kit around it. For a pre-amp, I took along my Thule PR250b, which is actually an AV processor. Before you wonder what I'm doing mixing this in, just bear in mind that it's actually pretty good, and for stereo duties is acting as a DAC/pre-amp on the back of my SB+. When using balanced connections, I prefer it's more open and expansive sound to that of the SB+. So the tests were to compare the following sources: Linn magic DS (digital output) to my Thule processor as a DAC. This was the benchmark for the test. Linn magic DS analogue (unbalanced, no balanced option) Linn accurate DS analogue (balanced) Linn klimax DS analogue (balanced) Have to say that it took more than a few mins to get used to the different style of presentation from the Focal speakers, which certainly don't do things like my Impulse horn loaded 3 way speakers. In short the Focals are a more upfront, and not necessarily in a particularly nice way. I could see them being quite unpleasant on the backend of the wrong system. As was, they were simply forward, and with a bass that seemingly had no defined point of origin. It just stretched right across the front of the room. At least they showed up the detail well. Switching to the Magic was actually very similar to switching to my SB+ whilst at home, i.e. a little more fleet of foot, with better bass control, but less natural and with almost a feeling that the various vocals and instruments have received some compression. So with the right music, I could see it having the edge, but overall, I preferred the more open Thule. Moving to the Accurate, now that was certainly a good jump. A definite improvement in every area, i.e. the best bits of both the magic and the Thule. It was more open, bouncy, better detailed and simply more involving to listen to. Lastly we tried the Klimax. Have to say that the differences really weren't that marked over the Accurate, though being fair, my Thule acting as pre-amp might well have limited things. In the defense of the Klimax, it hadn't had anything like as much burn in or warm up time, so I don't know if it was a genuine reflection of it's capabilities. With regard to the functionality of the DS units, Infidelity were showing it being controlled by a Nokia N800 (available for around £160 from the right places). A few things came to mind though: - During the dem, the network dropped out several times. I've no idea whether was common on not with the software in use, but it certainly didn't appear to be as robust as the Slimserver software. Maybe DS owners can comment more on that. - I couldn't see an easy way to browse a music collection using the Linn remote than comes with each of the DS units. - The combination of the N800 with the DS seemed to be VERY cool and would certainly impress friends you get over. A complete doddle to use. However, I couldn't see an obvious way to control the rest of my system with the N800, as it doesn't appear to have an IR sender unit. The implications being that by buying into it, you'll be adding another remote to the coffee table, which IMO is not a good thing. So overall, was I impressed? The Magic seemed to be roughly on par with my existing SB+ (based upon comparisons to my Thule). To me that suggests that the SB+ is a bit of a bargain as it's half the price. The Accurate really is a genuine step up if your system fully supports balanced operation. Having said that, it does cost a cool £4k, and having thought about it overnight, I really don't think that I can justify that right now. I don't really feel capable of commenting on the Klimax, as I really don't think that the test was anything like representative, so I'll pass on that. One final thought came to mind this morning. A thread I read on another forum implied that the motherboard dealing with system control and data gathering from the network was common to the Magic and Accurate. The implications being that all the benefits were added in the PSU, DAC and analogue output sections. That to me suggests that maybe a REALLY good DAC with balanced outputs might be worth trying to track down. The problem with that is that I'm not sure it exists at present. I've dem'd a Bel Canto DAC3, and that didn't float my boat, and more recently heard an AS DAX Decade. That was probably better than my Thule, but IMO, not massively so. Guess the search goes on...
