Over the past few years we’ve been fortunate to work with some wonderful headphone manufacturers who share our commitment to making outstanding products.
When we designed the Lina Headphone Amplifier – part of the dCS Lina series – our aim was to create an amp that could drive a vast range of headphones to their full potential.
Inspired by the growing number of high-performance headphones available to music listeners, we set out to build an amp that could showcase the sonic capabilities of these products whilst preserving the unique sound of a listener’s music.
We tested a wide range of headphones when developing the Lina amp. During this process, we were excited to learn more about a group of manufacturers who we felt were setting new standards in headphone design – in particular Abyss, Audeze, Meze and ZMF. These companies have developed a distinct approach and ethos, but all share a passion for creating innovative products and providing a great musical experience for their customers, and we felt their headphones made great companions for the dCS Lina amp.
We spent a lot of time speaking with each of these manufacturers while developing Lina to learn more about the needs of their listeners, and we’ve continued to collaborate – sharing insights and learning more about each others’ products and approach.
We have also spent time with them at various CanJam events around the world. CanJam visitors have been able to experience dCS Lina in Abyss, Audeze, Meze and ZMF’s dedicated listening spaces and we’ve featured some of their headphones in the dCS Lina Lounge. We’ve had a great time working alongside them at CanJam and meeting the amazing community of music lovers and professionals who use their products.
Earlier this year, we invited our partners to embark on a creative collaboration celebrating our partnership and shared commitment to creating a great musical experience. Each partner was invited to create a custom design for the Lina Headphone Amplifier’s fascia. Companies were given an open brief and provided with detailed measurements from our design and engineering team.
There were no restrictions in terms of colours, finishes, or styling – all we asked was that their designs could be fitted to existing fascias without impacting sound or performance.
We began with sending out three unpainted fascias and volume dials to each partner, allowing them to test out different designs and finishes. We then invited them to speak with our industrial designer Harry Sawyer to talk through their proposed ideas and any questions they might have. After that, each partner was free to move on with applying their chosen design. The finished designs were then returned to dCS, where they were inspected and fitted by our specialist technicians.
The resulting designs vary in style, with some partners providing a nod to specific headphone models, and others looking to their history and branding.
Abyss opted for a striking blue abalone fascia to match their new Diana DZs:
Audeze took inspiration from their distinctive logo and the grill design seen on their headphones, adorning the amp’s volume dial with a striking geometric pattern:
Meze referenced their Romanian roots, creating a graphic pattern inspired by the Romanian knot:
And ZMF applied a dark wood finish.
Designs will be on show at CanJam SoCal, which takes place at the Irvine Marriott, Orange Country, California from September 28-29. Visitors will be able to see each partner’s custom design up close and experience the full dCS Lina system within their dedicated listening space. See CanJam’s website for visiting times and event details.
We’ll share more information on our creative collaboration over the next few weeks – follow our social media pages for videos offering a closer look at each design.
We won’t be taking the dCS Lina Lounge to CanJam this year, as our event team will be on the road supporting the launch of our new system, dCS Varèse, but we hope visitors enjoy listening with Lina in Abyss, Audeze, Meze and ZMF’s audition areas.
The dCS Lina series is available to demo at select retailers around the world. Find out more about Lina here or use our Global Dealer Locator tool to find your nearest dCS Dealer or Distributor.
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