Linn Akurate DSM

[Stigmater]

But taking into account the fact that Akurate DS is not only transport, but also DAC with high-quality internal volume control, it is possible to use it with a pure two-channel power amp. Why do you need Devialet then?
Triple-convertion (from digital to analog and then analog to digital and then again digital to analog) is not good for SQ.

I really don't know , but I see your point. 
 Akurate has very good DAC , it's functions as AIR but doing   segnifictly better job, it has volume control. So I assume I can start looking for replacement ?

[Stigmater]

Stigmater - For comparison, have you tried using the Akurate's digital output direct to the Devialet.  Hence by-passing the Linn's DAC, and going direct to the Devialet DAC.  Might be interesting?  This is certainly more of a "purist" approach, than using an external DAC.

Indeed could be very interesting , logically speaking I'm expecting it to be as Aurender
Unfortunately I don't have BNC digital cable in my possession.

BNC?  I think you just need an ordinary RCA digital cable.  (SPDIF)

Carefully look on digital out and see if you can recognize the connection type

[GuillaumeB]

Indeed could be very interesting , logically speaking I'm expecting it to be as Aurender
Unfortunately I don't have BNC digital cable in my possession.

BNC?  I think you just need an ordinary RCA digital cable.  (SPDIF)

Carefully look on digital out and see if you can recognize the connection type

It's an RCA connector - I've also tested the Akurate DS here. 

Guillaume

[dubselect]

It's my first experience with LINN products, 
Linn has interesting approach to build  streamer with DAC but without option to connect external devices and actually use it as a conventional DAC. 


The most expensive DAC that I tried ( before I had Devialet) its Luxman d06 and after not hearing much difference ( by the way just like with speaker cables)  I thought to my self that all DAC's is pretty much the same and as long as you have something decent you should set it and forget it. 
If you don't like something about  your setup , you shod probably purchase a more expensive speakers or very expensive power Amp or pre, for sure not DAC, That's what I thought at least. 


Now I understand how wrong I was, and if I'll look at my self from a side I can't blame my self, there is a million products with weird names in HiEnd market , some more exotic then others , if you not a millionaire you just can't try them all  and come to conclusion by your self what is sound better and whats not, 
You  probably can't trust  audio magazines reviewers that they telling you the truth, and we all know why. 
Some time it's taking whole life to get to that step where you like what you get from your audio system, but looking back you realize how much Money, years, sweat and experience it took. 

So what I'm trying to say is that I'm so enjoying LINN Akurate that I couldn't believe that such relatively small change in the chain of my  system can do so much impact to sound quality and overall enjoinment,
I find my self listening to albums that I simply refused to listen with Aurender connected because of unpleasant sound that I got from my system, I of course blamed the recorded quality of the album and just moved on, 
yesterday night I found my self listening to Guns n Roses and Adel Live at Royal Albert Hall,  maybe there are worse albums in recorded quality speaking but with  Akurate and by the way my Devialet 250 that I upgraded not long ago and as well found much better then D200 (tried d200 x 2 and found d250 better, but that's another story) , it's just a joy to listen to music now. 

Dubselect, for your question regarding version of Akurate , it's DS/1 but with 4 RS232 in the back.
You know what version do I have ? And what are the difference between this and newer ?

Just form curiosity, does someone knows what DAC can compete with Akurate DAC ?

Actually Linn has a line of streamers with internal preamps and digital inputs - DSM.
I have Klimax DSM. It is streamer, preamplifier and DAC - it has several digital inputs.
There is also Akurate DSM - streamer, preamp, DAC and phonostage.

A DAC is heart and the most critical part of a any digital-based system. The overall soundquality of a system depends a lot on the qualty of a DAC. Luxman DA-06 is a good but not extra-high quality DAC so there is no surprise that there is not much difference between it and Devilet's DAC.
Linn Akurate internal DAC is much better quality - that is why you hear a significant improvement. And in addition I2S connection inside Linn instead of USB connection between Aurender and Devialet also did it's bit for the SQ (sound quality).
Don't forget that with Linn SQ of your system will depend a lot on the quality of analog interconnect cables (which you did not use with Aurender).

DS/1 is a previous model (second generation). The new model - DS/2 (with 2 Exakt outputs) - has better clocking system and different board, thus new DS/2 sounds better than DS/1 while it costs almost the same price. Some people even claim that Akurate DS/2 is very close to the Klimax DS/1.
If you will have a chance to try DS/2 in your system - do it. I doubt you will regret about it, especially takng into account the fact that you liked DS/1.
BTW, you can also upgrade DS/1 to DS/2 if you wish.

As concerns DAC which may compete with Akurate's - in my experiecne MSB Analog DAC with Aurender X100s sounded better than DS/1. But I am not sure about DS/2 - it may be very close (if not equal) to Analog DAC + X100.

[dubselect]

Stigmater - For comparison, have you tried using the Akurate's digital output direct to the Devialet.  Hence by-passing the Linn's DAC, and going direct to the Devialet DAC.  Might be interesting?  This is certainly more of a "purist" approach, than using an external DAC.

The problem is that Linn digital output's quality is not very good. Linn knows about and does nothing, because they just want people to buy their streamers, not tranports. This is their policy.

It could however be that in the end it is still sounds better than the digital output of the Akurate. Not saying it does but I've learned one simply can't generalize based on textbook knowledge/theory alone. In the end it's the real world result that matters.

True. But if you could connect Akurate DAC straight to Devialet amp it will probably be even better. Unfortunately it is not possible to try such a confguration with Devialet.

[GuillaumeB]

FWIW in this discussion I came from an all-Linn Klimax system.

At first I held onto my KDS/1 as I found it more convenient to stream through the KDS (all my music on a NAS etc). The KDS had no digital outputs so I used a couple of analogue RCA cables to connect to the Devialet master.

I was very happy with this setup from a SQ perspective.

However I started experimenting with other transports and soon realised that the Devialet DAC (without preceding ADC stage) was equally good. It was a no-brainer to sell my KDS and use to proceeds to invest in better cables.

I believe Rufus had a very similar experience also coming from a KDS/1.

The KDS definitely had a more velvety presentation, quite pleasant actually. But I do think the Devialet DAC (being fed by a transport or AIR) is ultimately more detailed and transparent.

Ultimately it all comes down to personal preference. More recently I have been amazed at the results when feeding a Trinnov Amethyst into my master, via analogue cables! Even with room optimisation switched off it is a very different presentation than the Devialet on its own. In some ways I prefer it! 

Guillaume

[dubselect]

I really don't know , but I see your point. 
 Akurate has very good DAC , it's functions as AIR but doing   segnifictly better job, it has volume control. So I assume I can start looking for replacement ?

You can try Akurate DS with any external power amplifier, maybe Linn Akurate, maybe some other. There are many many power amp models - Vitus are great, Burmester etc.

FWIW in this discussion I came from an all-Linn Klimax system.

At first I held onto my KDS/1 as I found it more convenient to stream through the KDS (all my music on a NAS etc). The KDS had no digital outputs so I used a couple of analogue RCA cables to connect to the Devialet master.

I was very happy with this setup from a SQ perspective.

However I started experimenting with other transports and soon realised that the Devialet DAC (without preceding ADC stage) was equally good. It was a no-brainer to sell my KDS and use to proceeds to invest in better cables.

I believe Rufus had a very similar experience also coming from a KDS/1.

The KDS definitely had a more velvety presentation, quite pleasant actually. But I do think the Devialet DAC (being fed by a transport or AIR) is ultimately more detailed and transparent.

Ultimately it all comes down to personal preference. More recently I have been amazed at the results when feeding a Trinnov Amethyst into my master, via analogue cables! Even with room optimisation switched off it is a very different presentation than the Devialet on its own. In some ways I prefer it! 

Guillaume

This is interesting. Did you try Klimax only through Devialet or through any power amp in comparison with Devialet?
I also wonder do all Devialet models have the same DAC quality? And the only difference is power amps?

I am afraid that all this result may be due to Devialet ADC, which just does not let Klimax DAC show it's full potential.

I heard only Devialet D-Premier and D240. And I can say for sure that Klimax DSM with Linn power amps sounds a bit more transparent, has significantly better resolution and much much better soundstage quality (excellent imaging and separation of instruments).
Moreover I have not heard any streamer or transport+DAC combination which can compete with Klimax in soundstage quality (which is Linn's strongest side).

But Linn streamers demonstrate all their ablities only if you provide them with a very clean power. In my case it is a combination of power regenerator and power conditioner (at the same time).

[Confused]

Ultimately it all comes down to personal preference. More recently I have been amazed at the results when feeding a Trinnov Amethyst into my master, via analogue cables! Even with room optimisation switched off it is a very different presentation than the Devialet on its own. In some ways I prefer it! 

Guillaume

Do you plan to report further on the Trinnov Amethyst?

[petrik]

This is interesting. Did you try Klimax only through Devialet or through any power amp in comparison with Devialet?

Please take a look at here:
http://devialetchat.com/showthread.php?t...40#pid2940
and
http://devialetchat.com/showthread.php?t...41#pid2941

[Confused]

Ultimately it all comes down to personal preference. More recently I have been amazed at the results when feeding a Trinnov Amethyst into my master, via analogue cables! Even with room optimisation switched off it is a very different presentation than the Devialet on its own. In some ways I prefer it! 

Guillaume

Do you plan to report further on the Trinnov Amethyst?

Obviously not !