Honestly, I think we may be at a point with DAC design where we are pushing up against only the limits of the recordings and digital formats themselves, and the original analog to digital converters used.
dCS Bartok versus MBS Discrete DACs?
- Thread starter Alpha121
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- dcs bartok mbs discrete
@Ian B Same here and agree with your assessment. Owned a Chord Qutest and then a Dave for a few months. Fast and good with transients but too much on the colder side for my taste and too analytical-sounding for my system.
I listened to the Mola Mola Tambaqui for a while too. It seems like a better sounding version of the Dave with thicker midrange but still too lean and analytical for me.
To be fair, the Dave at this stage is probably pushing over 15 years old (?) so many other DACs could have caught up or surpassed it in terms of technical specs.
Hey guys,
I can get either a dCS LINA 2.0 or a Weiss 204 Mk 2 for $8,500. Both have streamers.
What do you think the sound differences are between these two in terms of the usual considerations, but particularly tonal balance, soundstage depth, transient response, detail, warmth?
Thanks. I think I am finally closing in on something.
I can get either a dCS LINA 2.0 or a Weiss 204 Mk 2 for $8,500. Both have streamers.
What do you think the sound differences are between these two in terms of the usual considerations, but particularly tonal balance, soundstage depth, transient response, detail, warmth?
Thanks. I think I am finally closing in on something.
Between the two I would trust the Weiss as they are more dynamic and also I've liked their pro-audio products...
Hey guys,
Thank you for all your kind a assistance. Recall that my current setup is (was) a Schiit Yggy OG with Analog 2 driven by a dCS Network Bridge.
I read everything I could find, and went thought quite a few YouTube videos, the latter, not for listening purposes but commentary which included Steve Huff, an Absolute Sound piece, as well as the written Stereophile piece by Herb Reichert. In his second paragraph, he makes perhaps the most salient observation regarding appearance, cost, and technical content of the LINA further elucidated upon in the review. Steve Huff's written review was right on, I would add.
So here is how the story ended:
I picked up a used dCS LINA and I am extremely happy beyond words. I am not a professional reviewer, and don't have the vocabulary or really a framework to use here, I'm just a guy who has always loved music and listens a few times a week for a few hours, late into the night. That said, I offer the following key sound points and strengths, in my own words:
1) Bass response is incredibly deep and tight, with nuanced decay and full but crisp body. As Steve Huff said in his review, it's like getting another octave. The dual 11" woofers in my Maestros never sounded so beautfully impactful.
2) The detail, microdynamics: The previously unheard little things that emerge on almost every recording I know so well and have listened to for so long, and so many times. You hear the guitar string plucked and every harmonic of the subsequent decay. It's just incredible. This is just nuts. Steve Huff used the term 'density' and I think that captures it. It's just a dense and fully fleshed out harmonic event with everything. Timbre, truly.
3) The staging and imaging. Wider than what I was used to hearing, but more importantly, much, much deeper front to back. I would say this is the second biggest area of improvement. Images are there in space, the bass player especially, or a Gibson 335 during a jazz piece where you can follow all the lines. You hear not just the stage and the performers, you hear the sound bouncing off the rear walls and side walls. The reverb on certain recordings is unbelievable.
5) Macrodynamics in spades. I won't go further as you all know what that means.
Overall, I was struck by the immediacy and presence of the LINA. It's remarkable, and entirely consistent with what was said in the above mentioned reviews which I found spot on; it's the closest I have heard to a performer in your living room. I cannot imagine that I capable of hearing more even if it was presented somehow.
The LINA has a lot of Bartok and even Vivaldi in it, and the dCS familial sound post 2.0 and APEX updates is hard to fault in my humble opinion. Your mileage may vary, as they say, but I came to the conclusion that I was far better off with the bottom of the line, entry point unit, from a dedicated D/A company with outstanding engineering than the top of the line from a company that offers substantial value and does a lot of things really well.
The Money:
I got a great deal on the LINA at $7,600 used in excellent condition from a local seller. There are quite a few of these floating around used these days, and I think they are a phenomenal 2 Channel value. I hope to get $5,500 for the Bridge and the Yggy together, so this significant step up in sound will cost me maybe $2,100 or so. Quite the deal, thanks to you guys and WhatsBest.
With respect to that, in closing I want to thank the WhatsBest community for walking along side me on this journey after I have lurked here for years. There was some very thoughtful advice and insights offered here, which were quite helpful. Particularly, I appreciated a comment stating there is a question if you can hear a difference, and even if you did could, would you be willing to pay for it, and how much?
I also want to remark upon, and express gratitude for, the civil and well considered discourse here, unlike many other forums where irrelevant postings by the unqualified zoom off-topic and have little utility. Thank you, Ron Resnick, this is largely your doing and your efforts are appreciated by guys like me.
Happy listening guys! I am done with things for a very good while, but will report on the difference between the Maestros and the incoming Orions when the time is right.
Thank you for all your kind a assistance. Recall that my current setup is (was) a Schiit Yggy OG with Analog 2 driven by a dCS Network Bridge.
I read everything I could find, and went thought quite a few YouTube videos, the latter, not for listening purposes but commentary which included Steve Huff, an Absolute Sound piece, as well as the written Stereophile piece by Herb Reichert. In his second paragraph, he makes perhaps the most salient observation regarding appearance, cost, and technical content of the LINA further elucidated upon in the review. Steve Huff's written review was right on, I would add.
So here is how the story ended:
I picked up a used dCS LINA and I am extremely happy beyond words. I am not a professional reviewer, and don't have the vocabulary or really a framework to use here, I'm just a guy who has always loved music and listens a few times a week for a few hours, late into the night. That said, I offer the following key sound points and strengths, in my own words:
1) Bass response is incredibly deep and tight, with nuanced decay and full but crisp body. As Steve Huff said in his review, it's like getting another octave. The dual 11" woofers in my Maestros never sounded so beautfully impactful.
2) The detail, microdynamics: The previously unheard little things that emerge on almost every recording I know so well and have listened to for so long, and so many times. You hear the guitar string plucked and every harmonic of the subsequent decay. It's just incredible. This is just nuts. Steve Huff used the term 'density' and I think that captures it. It's just a dense and fully fleshed out harmonic event with everything. Timbre, truly.
3) The staging and imaging. Wider than what I was used to hearing, but more importantly, much, much deeper front to back. I would say this is the second biggest area of improvement. Images are there in space, the bass player especially, or a Gibson 335 during a jazz piece where you can follow all the lines. You hear not just the stage and the performers, you hear the sound bouncing off the rear walls and side walls. The reverb on certain recordings is unbelievable.
5) Macrodynamics in spades. I won't go further as you all know what that means.
Overall, I was struck by the immediacy and presence of the LINA. It's remarkable, and entirely consistent with what was said in the above mentioned reviews which I found spot on; it's the closest I have heard to a performer in your living room. I cannot imagine that I capable of hearing more even if it was presented somehow.
The LINA has a lot of Bartok and even Vivaldi in it, and the dCS familial sound post 2.0 and APEX updates is hard to fault in my humble opinion. Your mileage may vary, as they say, but I came to the conclusion that I was far better off with the bottom of the line, entry point unit, from a dedicated D/A company with outstanding engineering than the top of the line from a company that offers substantial value and does a lot of things really well.
The Money:
I got a great deal on the LINA at $7,600 used in excellent condition from a local seller. There are quite a few of these floating around used these days, and I think they are a phenomenal 2 Channel value. I hope to get $5,500 for the Bridge and the Yggy together, so this significant step up in sound will cost me maybe $2,100 or so. Quite the deal, thanks to you guys and WhatsBest.
With respect to that, in closing I want to thank the WhatsBest community for walking along side me on this journey after I have lurked here for years. There was some very thoughtful advice and insights offered here, which were quite helpful. Particularly, I appreciated a comment stating there is a question if you can hear a difference, and even if you did could, would you be willing to pay for it, and how much?
I also want to remark upon, and express gratitude for, the civil and well considered discourse here, unlike many other forums where irrelevant postings by the unqualified zoom off-topic and have little utility. Thank you, Ron Resnick, this is largely your doing and your efforts are appreciated by guys like me.
Happy listening guys! I am done with things for a very good while, but will report on the difference between the Maestros and the incoming Orions when the time is right.
Last edited:
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