The Linn DS / DSM thread

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CnoEvil

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Neuphonix said:
It's funny though, as my system has improved I've been forcing myself to spread my musical horizons (still can't quite come at Jazz music yet) & loving it. Rediscovering old bands & live music again just sounds so great.

Can I make a couple of suggestions:

1. Dave Brubeck - Time Out.....start with the track "Take Five"*. Here is the CD I have that's well recorded: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Out-Dave-Brubeck-Quartet/dp/B000024F6I/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1354275238&sr=1-1

2. Jacques Loussier - Plays Bach (on Telarc Label): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plays-Bach-50th-Anniversary-Recording/dp/B001U1K4YU/ref=sr_1_17?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1354276667&sr=1-17

* Turn up the volume on this one!

If you like those two, then try this classic:

3. Getz/Gilberto: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Getz-Gilberto-Stan/dp/B000AXZCPU/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1354276981&sr=1-1

It helps that these are all superb recordings - let me know if you try them.
 

Neuphonix

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Roby said:
Intresting, an nice read.

( is this still the Linn ds treat? :? )

I know I feel a bit bad having hijacked Cno's thread, but I did ask him first :)

Why do you ask? Do you know anyone who might be thinking about buying a DS?! >)

We're here to help!
 

Neuphonix

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CnoEvil said:
Neuphonix said:
It's funny though, as my system has improved I've been forcing myself to spread my musical horizons (still can't quite come at Jazz music yet) & loving it. Rediscovering old bands & live music again just sounds so great.

Can I make a couple of suggestions:

1. Dave Brubeck - Time Out.....start with the track "Take Five"*. Here is the CD I have that's well recorded: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Out-Dave-Brubeck-Quartet/dp/B000024F6I/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1354275238&sr=1-1

2. Jacques Loussier - Plays Bach (on Telarc Label): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plays-Bach-50th-Anniversary-Recording/dp/B001U1K4YU/ref=sr_1_17?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1354276667&sr=1-17

* Turn up the volume on this one!

If you like those two, then try this classic:

3. Getz/Gilberto: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Getz-Gilberto-Stan/dp/B000AXZCPU/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1354276981&sr=1-1

It helps that these are all superb recordings - let me know if you try them.

Thanks for the suggestions,

I will check these out and let you know.

I have a copy of Dave Brubeks "We're all together again for the first time" which I might give a spin today when the household wakes up.
 

Neuphonix

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Helmut80 said:
CnoEvil said:
Neuphonix said:
I thought that sounded too good to be true. Of course you would then have to buy one more for your centre as well!

Happy to sit tight for the time being, hopefully they don't move & the dealer gets fed up & just wants to move them on. I might call him every few months & keep dangling the carrot!

Will give me some time to live with the sub. At least this time if I do go for a second listen I'll have a new perspective when comparing the Scalas to the Diablo/sub combination.

I think the dealer saw your enthusiasm and upped the price....surely he'd have known from the start if the Diablos would sell well or not! Either that or he was trying to push you in the direction of the Sophias.

Yup, time to play hard to get Neuphonix. Don't call too soon. Make yourself rare. Visit the competition across the street.

Haha, that didnt take long!

The dealer rang and left a message last night saying to call him, he may have some good news.

Think I'll let him do the chasing. After his performace the other day he derserves a bit of dangling time >)
 

CnoEvil

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Neuphonix said:
I have a copy of Dave Brubeks "We're all together again for the first time" which I might give a spin today when the household wakes up.

I see "Take Five" is on there (Track 4).....so hopefully it's as good a version, and well recorded.
 

Neuphonix

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Will let you know.

Do you think that the idea of an Akurate is floating around in Roby's head?! Maybe we should try to steer this back on track so you can get your Christmas bonus! :rofl:
 

CnoEvil

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Neuphonix said:
Will let you know.

Do you think that the idea of an Akurate is floating around in Roby's head?! Maybe we should try to steer this back on track so you can get your Christmas bonus! :rofl:

:shifty: :silenced:
 

CnoEvil

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Neuphonix said:
Haha, that didnt take long!

The dealer rang and left a message last night saying to call him, he may have some good news.....

Think I'll let him do the chasing. After his performace the other day he derserves a bit of dangling time >)

:poke: Well......... :quest:
 

acalex

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CnoEvil said:
Neuphonix said:
Haha, that didnt take long!

The dealer rang and left a message last night saying to call him, he may have some good news.....

Think I'll let him do the chasing. After his performace the other day he derserves a bit of dangling time >)

:poke: Well......... :quest:

yes, what was the good new? :)
 

Neuphonix

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Sorry to leave you guys hanging like that!

I let the dealer wait a few days before calling him back. He said that becuase my Diablos were so new that they were able to improve their trade in offer, so he knocked a couple of grand off the price. Basically he's about half way to where I need him to be.

So I'm going to hold off until early next year & work out exactly how I plan to pay for them! Then when everything is in place go in plonk the money on the counter & see what he says. Don't need them to do delivery or set up.

I guess if they sell between now & then it wasn't meant to be. But yes I have pretty much made up my mind it is happening.

I still have second thoughts about just buying another sub and being done with it. Certainly would be much cheaper.

What do you think about setting speakers up on top of subs? I was thinking about getting two massive thick granite tiles made up. Then placing the subs on these with isolation spikes. Then taking the diablos off their stands & placing them on top of the subs, again with isolation spikes. Can you think of any reason why this would not be a good option?
 

acalex

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Neuphonix said:
Sorry to leave you guys hanging like that!

I let the dealer wait a few days before calling him back. He said that becuase my Diablos were so new that they were able to improve their trade in offer, so he knocked a couple of grand off the price. Basically he's about half way to where I need him to be.

So I'm going to hold off until early next year & work out exactly how I plan to pay for them! Then when everything is in place go in plonk the money on the counter & see what he says. Don't need them to do delivery or set up.

I guess if they sell between now & then it wasn't meant to be. But yes I have pretty much made up my mind it is happening.

I still have second thoughts about just buying another sub and being done with it. Certainly would be much cheaper.

What do you think about setting speakers up on top of subs? I was thinking about getting two massive thick granite tiles made up. Then placing the subs on these with isolation spikes. Then taking the diablos off their stands & placing them on top of the subs, again with isolation spikes. Can you think of any reason why this would not be a good option?

I think the two subs solution is a good alternative. I saw once in a shop a dealer who put some bookshelves speakers on top of a sub using custom-made stands which were working perfectly and very pleasant effect in the end. If you achieve the same effect at a fraction of the cost, why not?

But I guess the bottom end of Diablos is not the only thing you are missing compared to the Scalas, right? :roll:
 
A

Anonymous

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Can only write from a Linn prospective. First a bit of back ground.

10 years ago when I bought a Linn ikimi Cd player was shown a digital streamer from Linn it was not for sale as it was being developed. You probably know Linn dropped the making CD’s Think it’s worth knowing how long Linn have been working on this project The knowledge Linn have learnt in this field have had them called in by iTunes for help. iTunes will be selling 24bit In the near future. Neil Young invited the owner of Linn out to LA to go over 24bit music. This can be found going into the Linn blog.

The reason Linn dropped the CD player was because of jitter from the CD it’s self and error correction. DS players don’t have this problem. So your copied CD’s sound better on a DS player than a CD player.

Have heard all the Linn DS player each one from the lowest to the highest sounds good with each step to the Klimax sounding better than the other. Within my system is the Akurate DS which is on par sound wise with a a CD12. The Klimax is just unbelievable never heard anything like it. However it comes with a large price tag price tag.

Always aim for the highest model you can afford. The Magic is a great machine.

Sitting in your arm chair with an iPad controller with your whole music collection in your fingers is a real bonus and just like an iPod you can make up play lists to last the whole day and night.

Lastly Linn products do tend to sound better with other Linn products.

Si
 

Neuphonix

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[/quote]

I think the two subs solution is a good alternative. I saw once in a shop a dealer who put some bookshelves speakers on top of a sub using custom-made stands which were working perfectly and very pleasant effect in the end. If you achieve the same effect at a fraction of the cost, why not?

But I guess the bottom end of Diablos is not the only thing you are missing compared to the Scalas, right? :roll:

[/quote]

No you're right, now that I have heard them it's hard to stop thinking about how good they were!

So much lovely clear midrange & yes more bottom end so tight & musical.

The sub solution works, but I can't ever manage to get it to integrate as perfectly as the Scala sounded. Having two will probably improve this but still won't be as good.

Mirrenboy,

I'm with you on the DS, the Akurate has been a welcome addition to my household. I'll be honest that the Linn amps & speakers aren't entirely my taste but to be fair I haven't gievn them a whole lot of time. More than happy with my MF amps, much warmer & fuller to my ears, a great match with the Akurate.
 

acalex

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I know what you mean about the Scala :)

Regarding Linn, whenever I have heard them in a full Linn system I never really enjoyed them...in a different system it is all another story...
 
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Fully understand why posters would say other amps will sound better , however only in passive mode. If you have a full Linn system the only way to go is Activ Think how your speakers would sound with a thick towel laid over you drivers when playing music. Then take the towel away that’s how much going active improves the system. Before outlaying on the Linn system I auditioned a lot from other manufactures to make sure the outlay was being spent on the right equipment. Nothing I heard from so called highend manufactures came close as a Linn active system pound for buck.
 

CnoEvil

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Neuphonix said:
No you're right, now that I have heard them it's hard to stop thinking about how good they were!

So much lovely clear midrange & yes more bottom end so tight & musical.

The sub solution works, but I can't ever manage to get it to integrate as perfectly as the Scala sounded. Having two will probably improve this but still won't be as good.

Going the sub route may not be that much cheaper, as imo. you would need a sub like the Velodyne DD 15, which not only has the necessary bass quality, but an EQ sophisticated enough for proper integration (complicated to set up).

Then even after all that effort and expense, I'm not sure that the Scala wouldn't still be much superior in terms of an overall cohesive sound.
 

CnoEvil

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Mirren Boy said:
Fully understand why posters would say other amps will sound better , however only in passive mode. If you have a full Linn system the only way to go is Activ Think how your speakers would sound with a thick towel laid over you drivers when playing music. Then take the towel away that’s how much going active improves the system. Before outlaying on the Linn system I auditioned a lot from other manufactures to make sure the outlay was being spent on the right equipment. Nothing I heard from so called highend manufactures came close as a Linn active system pound for buck.

All AB amps suffer crossover distortion (though I think Linn is a type of Class D), and the removal of it can also be a revelation. This is why well designed, full Class A amps sound so good. If you ever get a chance to hear the MF AMS amps, you'll see (hear) what I mean.

The downside is the amount of power they use to achieve this.

I have heard Linn active systems and would not swop, good and all as they sounded.
 

Neuphonix

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CnoEvil said:
Neuphonix said:
No you're right, now that I have heard them it's hard to stop thinking about how good they were!

So much lovely clear midrange & yes more bottom end so tight & musical.

The sub solution works, but I can't ever manage to get it to integrate as perfectly as the Scala sounded. Having two will probably improve this but still won't be as good.

Going the sub route may not be that much cheaper, as imo. you would need a sub like the Velodyne DD 15, which not only has the necessary bass quality, but an EQ sophisticated enough for proper integration (complicated to set up).

Then even after all that effort and expense, I'm not sure that the Scala wouldn't still be much superior in terms of an overall cohesive sound.

DD15!!! You really are trying to blow my budget! ;) I had another JL audio F110 in mind.

Before I bought mine I borrowed a velodyne DD10+ from the dealer for a test. It certainly had plenty of guts & a more sophisticated EQ system than the f110. But the F110 somehow sounded more musical(?) and at 2/3 the price was much better value.

I'm not a huge fan of auto EQ systems, I reckon for both the AV & sub set-up I get better sounding results by ear. The problem is that you dial it in for one track & then it doesn't quite work as well on another track. Different mastering I guess? maybe because the sub is coming from the Primo via RCA & the speakers via XLR.

Anyway I know in my head that it's not ever going to be the same as the Scalas but the money & physical size factors are appealing.

Asthetically theVelodynes are a perfect match for the Diablos, same curved tapering design, almost like they were made to go together.

The second sub would be a welome addition in the HT side of things as well. But then so would the Scalas! Hmmmm, do you think it would be too over the top to have Scalas sitting on subs!
 

CnoEvil

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Neuphonix said:
DD15!!! You really are trying to blow my budget! ;) I had another JL audio F110 in mind.

Before I bought mine I borrowed a velodyne DD10+ from the dealer for a test. It certainly had plenty of guts & a more sophisticated EQ system than the f110. But the F110 somehow sounded more musical(?) and at 2/3 the price was much better value.

I'm not a huge fan of auto EQ systems, I reckon for both the AV & sub set-up I get better sounding results by ear. The problem is that you dial it in for one track & then it doesn't quite work as well on another track. Different mastering I guess? maybe because the sub is coming from the Primo via RCA & the speakers via XLR.

Anyway I know in my head that it's not ever going to be the same as the Scalas but the money & physical size factors are appealing.

Asthetically theVelodynes are a perfect match for the Diablos, same curved tapering design, almost like they were made to go together.

The second sub would be a welome addition in the HT side of things as well. But then so would the Scalas! Hmmmm, do you think it would be too over the top to have Scalas sitting on subs!

I'm not familiar with the JL Audio sub....so you may well be right.

OTT isn't in my vocabulary :twisted: .....but you need the Scalas "in situ" before making any decisions. 8)
 

Neuphonix

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CnoEvil said:
Neuphonix said:
DD15!!! You really are trying to blow my budget! ;) I had another JL audio F110 in mind.

Before I bought mine I borrowed a velodyne DD10+ from the dealer for a test. It certainly had plenty of guts & a more sophisticated EQ system than the f110. But the F110 somehow sounded more musical(?) and at 2/3 the price was much better value.

I'm not a huge fan of auto EQ systems, I reckon for both the AV & sub set-up I get better sounding results by ear. The problem is that you dial it in for one track & then it doesn't quite work as well on another track. Different mastering I guess? maybe because the sub is coming from the Primo via RCA & the speakers via XLR.

Anyway I know in my head that it's not ever going to be the same as the Scalas but the money & physical size factors are appealing.

Asthetically theVelodynes are a perfect match for the Diablos, same curved tapering design, almost like they were made to go together.

The second sub would be a welome addition in the HT side of things as well. But then so would the Scalas! Hmmmm, do you think it would be too over the top to have Scalas sitting on subs!

I'm not familiar with the JL Audio sub....so you may well be right.

OTT isn't in my vocabulary :twisted: .....but you need the Scalas "in situ" before making any decisions. 8)

You don't say..... :rofl:
 

CnoEvil

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michael hoy said:
CNO,

Does your DS have the HDMI connection, just wondered what you use it for if it does.

Hi Michael

Mine is the simple DS, where there are no inputs at all.

IIRC The difference between the DSI and the DSM were the addition of HDMI connections (DSM).

The DSM makes sense if you like the sound of the integrated amp.
 

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