The translation below was provided by our friends & partners at Taiyo International Inc, Japan.
dCS technology and sound quality in a compact package
SS: Here onward, digital gears are in a row. The first one is the British dCS product, Lina Network DAC.
O: The Lina series includes a network DAC, a master clock generator that supplies a word clock, and a headphone amplifier.
W: In recent years, dCS has been promoting high-quality headphone listening, so the Lina Network DAC was initially marketed for headphone listening, but what we evaluated in the Grand Prix was its sound quality as a DA converter when used for speaker listening.
O: yes, that is so.
W: Therefore, we hope that readers will take this as a D/A converter that can also be used as a compact, high-performance digital file player.
As you know, dCS is one of the best-positioned manufacturers in this field, and they have brought out a product that is so compact, yet lives up to the dCS name. That makes me happy.
M: I think the Lina project was focused on two things, as you just mentioned, the headphone listener and how can put the company's technology fully in a compact chassis. As Mr. Wada said, I greatly admire dCS’s ability to achieve this size without sacrificing sound quality at all.
Y: To accomplish that, electrical circuits that are normally placed on only two or four sides of the chassis are developed on all sides of the chassis using flexible joints, which is an unusual approach for high-end audio equipment. I feel dCS's passion for miniaturization and never compromising performance.
M: The fact that a dCS product can be used on a desktop is attractive in itself, and the sound, as I just said, has the wonderful appeal that only dCS can offer, which is second to none on the higher-end models.
Y: The sound of Lina DAC is quite natural but very informative in many ways. It is a lovely product worthy of dCS's latest equipment.
O: The current dCS products are now APEX, where the sound quality has been further improved, but Lina DAC does not advocate APEX.
F: Yes, I think APEX and Lina were influenced by the overlap in development time. The sound is APEX-like, clean, highly resolute, and lively.
W: And what can I say, the sound has nobility. I think that is the main attractiveness of dCS. This characteristic is expressed clearly through Lina.
M: The sound quality is further improved by connecting a clock that was released at the same time. The clock is one of the most important digital elements, and it is wonderful that the Lina series has not neglected the clock. This is great, and that is what we have come to expect from dCS.
O: Koji Onodera
W: Hiromi Wada
M: Takahito Miura
Y: Tadashi Yamanouchi
F: Nobu Fu
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