LINN just released major upgrade Katalyst

[GuillaumeB]

Here's an example of the kind of thing I would love to see Devialet do on this forum:

http://forums.linn.co.uk/bb/showthread.php?tid=34417

Guillaume

[LBameule]

Here's an example of the kind of thing I would love to see Devialet do on this forum:

http://forums.linn.co.uk/bb/showthread.php?tid=34417

Guillaume

That would be great, G, but clearly we are light years away from it...


L


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MBPro 2008 > Dev 120 > KEF LS50. Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina.

[markush]

That's exactly what I have been looking for on the mentioned pro improved areas. Maybe we can add that to the petition info / CEO?

[GuillaumeB]

It gets even better... last night one of their engineers was answering questions openly and in some detail. Here's an extract:

And why you chose DAC AK4497 for Katalyst? You consider it the best?

Choosing a new DAC to base your entire product range on is not a decision to be taken lightly. Our previous generation of DAC has served us well since the original Klimax DS, and we expect to be using Katalyst for a similar length of time.  

At the beginning of the Katalyst project, we decided to do a bake-off between our current DAC and three of the best available alternatives. We had access to some early silicon samples from some of the leading silicon vendors, and we set about designing what we thought would be the best implementation for each one. Circuit boards were constructed and thoroughly tested to ensure that each was given a fair chance. At this point we could simply have picked the one with the best measured results, but we chose instead to take them into the listening room and do some blind listening.  

The listening tests were a revelation. There was clearly one DAC that shone above all the rest: The AKM4497. It was relaxed without being laid-back, confident without sounding brash. It sounded real. (OMG, I should totally be a hifi journalist).

This wasn't a totally unexpected result. The AKM part is a multi-bit switched-capacitor DAC like the Wolfson part that preceded it, so we knew it would have all the qualities we like to see in a DAC: low sensitivity to clock jitter, low out-of-band noise, etc. But the AKM part takes switched capacitor DAC performance to a new level - it has extremely low levels of distortion, very low out-of-band noise, and most importantly it gives us access to all the internal reference voltages and supply pins that make the Katalyst architecture possible.

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Now in contrast you have members of this forum that have been asking questions directly via email and weeks later still don't have any answers... the polar opposites could not be any further apart!

This isn't about which technology platform is the best, it's about communications, a spirit of openness, transparency and ultimately putting the customer first. It's about making us feel part of the Devialet journey...

Guillaume

[GuillaumeB]

Alan Sircom has just reviewed the latest KDS 3 in the latest issue of Hi-Fi Plus and says it's basically the best DAC he has ever heard. Great to see Linn bouncing back. When I bought the original KDS in 2007 it was at the time one of the best digital sources available. Unfortunately at the time UPnP control points could be a little challenging to set up and operate but the SQ of the unit was never in question. Linn's new Kazoo platform is however a joy to use and fully integrates Tidal and Qobuz in a modern looking and ergonomic interface.

I've attached a screenshot of the final paragraph of the review.

Guillaume

[Borgen]

Alan Sircom has just reviewed the latest KDS 3 in the latest issue of Hi-Fi Plus and says it's basically the best DAC he has ever heard. Great to see Linn bouncing back. When I bought the original KDS in 2007 it was at the time one of the best digital sources available. Unfortunately at the time UPnP control points could be a little challenging to set up and operate but the SQ of the unit was never in question. Linn's new Kazoo platform is however a joy to use and fully integrates Tidal and Qobuz in a modern looking and ergonomic interface.

I've attached a screenshot of the final paragraph of the review.

Guillaume

Really cool to see that both Linn and Naim are bouncing back, they've always had a special place in my audiophile heart.

[Confused]

Alan Sircom has just reviewed the latest KDS 3 in the latest issue of Hi-Fi Plus and says it's basically the best DAC he has ever heard.

I'm guessing Alan Sircom is another guy who has never heard a 1000 Pro. 

(I am only half joking here, because I think the 1000 Pro does have the best DAC of anything I have heard, OK, there are many I have not listened to, but I would put the Pro ahead of the Chord Dave and dCS options, so it's at least a contender)