Article: A Visit To Linn And Glasgow, Scotland

[The Computer Audiophile]

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[The Computer Audiophile]

Maybe its just me, but there seems to be a dearth of CA equipment reviews as of late. Rut ro....I feel a post coming from Chris stating that my membership fee can be refunded if I am not happy with the site....:-).

CA is about much more than product reviews.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Minimalism. I do not want a pc, vortex box, UPNP server, an NAS, or anything similar to have to be active to play music. I want to plug in a USB drive, my turntable, BR/SACD player (for my two SACDs :-)) , and my TV sound and use a tablet/phone to control.

 

Is it the best way? Probably not. But with the music files being digital all the way to the speaker, how much can the file be mucked up? Of course, with the turntable....hmmmm.

 

It's not a matter of being "mucked up" by a specific connection method. It's a matter of usability and practicality. Many people think a solution that is easier to understand or involves a "simple" USB drive is the best. This is not the case is many instances. Your idea of minimalism if a bit shortsighted because it's minimal with respect to hardware, but the opposite when it comes to usability, practicality, and the time you will spend to keep such a system functioning.

 

If you connect a USB drive directly to a Linn DS, how are you going to add new music to the drive? Unplug it, walk it over to a computer, add music, walk it back to the Linn DS, reindex the library, etc...

 

If you connect a USB drive directly to a Linn DS, would you keep a manually backed up copy of the music on another drive? Then you're adding new music to two drives.

 

If you connect a USB drive directly to a Linn DS this music isn't available to any other systems like it would be if you use a NAS.

 

There are several items that could be brought up along these lines.

[The Computer Audiophile]

The major problem with this Exakt approach is it binds the audiophile to the "Linn way" of Digital to analog conversion...

 

And right now they are very much anti DSD...

 

DAC separates can't be used right?

 

Therefore a very expensive upgrade is required if Linn ever embraces DSD or multichannel DACs...???

 

How do you use this setup in the daily rough and tumble of life with say a Home theatre receiver? Can you use a preamp with HT bypass? And which preamp! ??

 

Can someone please tell me if there is upgrade potential later on with this gear?

The DS and the speakers are software upgradable.