DAC/HEADPHONE AMP

Network-attached upsampler/DAC, outboard clock & headphone amplifier
Made by: Data Conversion Systems Ltd, Cambs
Supplied by: dCS Ltd
Telephone: 01954 233950
Web: www.dcsltd.co.uk; www.absolutesounds.com
Prices: £11,750 (Network DAC), £6750 (Clock), £8400 (Headphone Amp)

LEFT: Milled alloy cases each include ascreened toroidal PSU transformer. The DAC’s
glossy fascia/display has touch-sensitive‘buttons’ for navigation but the dCS Mosaic
app is slicker. Headphone amp [bottom] has
6.35mm, 4-pin XLR and dual 3-pin XLR outputs

dCS Lina systemsetting and operation of the Lina devices.
You can really dig deep into the Network
DAC’s settings via the app, including theselection of upsampling and filter modes.
There are neat touches too, like the ability
to reassign three shortcut buttons on the
app’s homescreen – for input, PCM filterand crossfeed settings – to functions you
think you’re going to use most.
Though the easiest approach is to use
this ‘stack’ as a complete ‘just add cans’system, the modular nature of the set-up
almost demands one looks at the various
components – and more specifically the
network player/DAC and the headphone
amplifier – as standalone units. After all,the former has the makings of an intriguing
streaming solution, while the latter isinteresting as dCS’s first all-analogue
amplification product. Until recently, it had
the combined streamer/DAC/headphone
amp market covered with its £17,750
Bartók [HFN May ’19], elements of whichseeded the Lina [see PM’s Lab Report, p43].

Aimed at very high-end headphone users, dCS’s Lina Network DAC, Master Clock andHeadphone Amplifier might also be the ideal compact system front-end for audiophiles
Review: Andrew Everard & Paul Miller Lab: Paul MillerHeadphone use has changed inrecent years, from something to
be endured through necessity toits own subset of hi-fi listening,with no shortage of ambitious andupmarket hardware currently available.
Now dCS is on that bandwagon, for whileit’s been busy launching its APEX DAC
technology for its ‘full-size’ offerings [HFN
Jun ’22] it’s also developed the Lina, which
is not so much a headphone amp as acomplete playback system.
The ‘stack’ comprises the £11,750 Lina
Network DAC, £8400 Lina Headphone
Amplifier and £6750 Lina Master Clock,all three units housed in identically sizedcasework of remarkable quality andweight. Each is just 22cm wide in its black
machined aluminium housing, with theweight hovering around 7kg per box. The
compact industrial design is something of adeparture for dCS, with the Network DAC’s
front-panel dominated by a large display,
and that of the Headphone Amplifier by a
big volume control and an array of output
sockets – a standard 6.35mm unbalanced,
plus balanced XLRs for stereo and separate
left and right channels.

The Lina Network DAC does what it sayson the box: it has an Ethernet connection
to link it to the outside Internet world, andcan play from local network storage as wellas online services including Deezer, Qobuz,
Spotify, Tidal and Internet radio. It also
supports Apple AirPlay 2 via that network
connection, and is Roon-ready. The
generous range of digital inputs includes
a USB-B for computer connection, plus
USB-A for storage devices up
to a suggested 32GB. Legacy
inputs include optical and fourelectrical – two S/PDIF and
two AES/EBU on XLRs.
Depending on the input
chosen, the Network DAC
can handle file formats up to
384kHz/32-bit and DSD128,
and offers selectable upsampling to DXD
or DSD, plus a choice of two digital filtersin PCM operation and four in DSD [seePM’s boxout, p41]. There are also threecrossfeed settings, achieved here in DSP
rather than in the all-analogue Headphone
Amplifier. The Network DAC has two extra
RJ45 sockets to link all the units together
for synchronised power on/off.

Streaming here is supported by
the S800 platform from Vienna-based
StreamUnlimited, dCS concentrating
instead on the audio section of the
Network DAC, which utilises its familiar
RingDAC technology. The Lina unit runs the‘standard’ iteration, rather than the new
APEX RingDAC version rolling out acrossthe company’s other separates, but thenthe development of this headphone system
predates its arrival. However,given the adaptable natureof dCS’s designs, don’t ruleout the possibility of future
upgrades… never say never!

‘The Mosaic
app provides
a smoothercontrolinterface’ Artful
Operation of the Network

DAC is possible using thirdparty UPnP apps running on a smartphoneor tablet, but the smoothest interface isprovided by dCS’s own Mosaic Control
app [HFN Sep ’19], available for iOS andAndroid. Not only does Mosaic allow
the user to stream music from local andonline sources, including Airable podcasts,
it also lets you browse music across therange on offer, and handles configuration,

simply irresistible
That temptation to consider the Lina units
as separates as well as a system proved too
hard to resist, with the result that, as well
as extensive listening to the stack with avariety of headphones, the Lina Network
DAC also saw service as a streaming frontend for my main system, in which role itproved itself to be highly accomplished.
As ever, the choice of filter setting
when using the upsampling facility of

You can go your own way...
Both the amp and DAC can be used inisolation if so desired, the latter offering
single-ended and balanced (XLR) outs
to run into any amplifier you wish. The
Headphone Amplifier has matchinganalogue inputs, plus a buffered option
with an extra gain stage that’s a little
easier to drive. Again, it could be fed
from any analogue source. And the Master
Clock with its oven-controlled crystal
oscillators? Well, that’s to be used with
the Network DAC, but could be used withother equipment featuring 44.1kHz or
48kHz-centric word clock inputs.
RIGHT: Inside the Lina headphone amplifier
with ALPs volume pot [top left], switched gain[centre right], op-amp ICs [top and right], eightpairs of surface mount transistors [centre] andtwo pairs of 8A (ON Semiconductor) bipolars perchannel [left] in the output ‘power amp’

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QUARTS INTO PINT POTS
It’s easy to overlook that the Lina Headphone Amp is dCS’s
first ‘all analogue’ product, and one not short on bipolarsilicon with its directly-switched and op-amp buffered inputs
feeding a 20kohm ALPs volume control, also with its own IC
op-amp gain stage. The main amp includes high/low gain(the two relays are visible in the centre of the pic, p40)
preceding a host of discrete devices for the biasing anddrive circuit, the latter feeding a beefy, complementary
output. Switchmode regulation is employed for this main
power amp with linear regulators for the input/line stages.
By contrast, the Lina Network DAC is a version of theVivaldi/Bartók, production-engineered into a new form
factor on a ‘flex-ridged’ PCB (multiple, ribbon-connectedboards). The digital filters are all linear phase types, varying
principally in tap/coefficient length, trading response andstopband (alias) rejection against distortion/ringing in thetime domain. This includes those deployed in the Lina’s ‘DSD

mode’ where the processing is executed in LPCM before theresampling/format conversion to a single-bit DSD stream.
For its flagship DACs, dCS offers a maximum of six digital
filters and while the same underlying code is embedded into
the Lina, only two of these are user-accessible as ‘F1’ and‘F2’. We’ve already explored these filters in our Lab Reports
for the Vivaldi One [HFN Feb ’18], Bartók [HFN May ’19]
and Vivaldi APEX [HFN Jun ’22] – it seems the Lina’s ‘F1’ isequivalent to the Vivaldi/Bartók ‘F1’ but the Lina’s ‘F2’ is theVivaldi/Bartók’s slow roll-off linear phase ‘F4’.
Possibly, dCS might choose to enable the Vivaldi/Bartók
filters F2, F3, F5 (minimum phase) and F6 within the Lina atsome future date, but that’s just supposition on my part.
Similarly, it could also update the RingDAC’s mapping toalign the Lina more closely with the latest APEX upgrades.
None of this is a block to purchase now because any futurerevisions would be achieved ‘over air’ via the network. PM

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Lab
reportdcs lina NETWORK dac
LEFT: The
Lina network
DAC employs aStreamUnlimited
800 series
platform [right,
sidewall]. Morefamiliar, the 96
current sources(a 2x48 matrix)
that comprise
the RingDAC
core [centre] areaddressed via
a Xilinx Artix-7
FPGA [lower left].
Note also the
48kHz/44.1kHz
clocks [bottom].
Fully balanced,
mixed op-amp
analogue output[top] has its own
regulated PSU

the Network DAC is going to be amatter of personal preference. Aftersome experimentation I was unable
to come up with a convincingly
consistent preference but typicallysettled on F2 when using the DXD
upsampling, before sticking to DSD
conversion with the default F1.
Of rather more concern wasthat harnessing the Network DAC
to the Master Clock failed to elicit
any significant uplift
to what was alreadya superb sound. Yes,
perhaps there was aminimal increase infocus with the add-on
clock in use, but theinternal clocking of the
DAC seemed alreadyto be doing an excellent job…
But first the headphone
experience, and whether playing
DSD files from my NAS or simply
streaming Internet radio,
upsampling the 320kbps stream
to DXD, the Lina system proved an
exceptional listen, especially withhighly revealing headphones like the
Oppo PM-1 planar magnetics [HFN
Jul ’14]. Playing the recent Houston
Symphony Orchestra/Orozco-Estrada‘EP’ release of Leonard Bernstein’sWest Side Story Suite [Pentatone
PTC5187014; DSD64], thecombination of the clarity and thecrispness of the Network DAC and

There are four key variables in the Lina DAC’s operation thatneed exploring, starting with the 0.2V, 0.6V, 2V and 6V output
modes in the device settings menu. The latter pair amount to2.05V and 5.91V, offering A-wtd S/N ratios of 109.1dB and
117.0dB, respectively, all from a usefully low 1.0ohm balanced
source impedance. There’s a little extra stress on the output at
6V so THD is just fractionally higher here at 0.0001-0.00025%[see Graph 1, below] vs. 0.00009-0.00017% at 2V output (allre. 0dBFs, 20Hz-20kHz), but this is of academic interest only.
Distortion falls to a minimum of 0.00003% over the top 20dB of
its dynamic range – lower than achieved in the dCS Bartók [HFN
May ’19] and jitter [see Graph 2] remains super-low at ~20psec.
Two digital filters come with the DXD upsampling modein the processing menu, ‘F1’ being a steep roll-off linear phasetype that offers a fine 123dB stopband rejection and very flat
response of ±0.01dB/20Hz-20kHz with 48kHz media, extending
to –0.1dB/40kHz with 96kHz files before cutting off slightly early
to reach –22dB/45kHz. ‘F2’ is a slow roll-off linear phase filter
with reduced time domain distortion (ringing) but also a reduced–7.3dB stopband rejection and increased aliasing IMD. It looks tobe equivalent to ‘Filter 4’ in the dCS Bartók where the response
also rolls away more ‘softly’ to –3dB/36kHz and –10.4dB/45kHz(96kHz media). With DSD64 resampling, the swell of ultrasonicrequantisation noise is ‘managed’ in the Lina by four alternative
filters, F1 to F4. These are all linear phase filters applied before
DSD conversion with –3dB limits set at 78kHz, 68kHz, 64kHz
and 28kHz, respectively. The impact of DSD resampling is easily
illustrated by the 96kHz jitter spectrum [red trace, Graph 2]. PM

the Headphone Amplifier’s weightand punch proved both thrilling andtotally compelling.

Setting the stage
There’s some serious power here,
even with demanding ’phones likethe PM-1s, revealed in the great
lyrical sweeps of the music and thetaut rhythms of the ‘Mambo’ and‘Cha-Cha’ sections. Dial in a littleof the crossfeed
available via the
DAC, and it’s possible
to create a very
‘un-headphone-like’sound, with all the
spaciousness oflistening to goodspeakers, from theslam of the rich bass to the sense ofa soundstage spread before you.
With the much more relaxed
tones of the Philip Clouts Quartet’s‘Nine Tales’ from the 2010 Sennen
Cove album [Point Records PCD025],
there was a lovely sense of spaceand ease about the presentation via
these dCS components, every noteof Clouts’ piano crystal-clear against
the restrained bass and drums, while
the sax had a solid presence amidst
the soundstage. I came to thisalbum having just heard a variationof this group from a front-row seatin a small jazz club, and the effectthe Lina package delivered, whether

ABOVE: Distortion versus 48kHz/24-bit digital signal
level over a 120dB dynamic range (black, 1kHz; blue,
20kHz). Note extended 0dB to –140dB Y scale‘The tripping
percussion
was delivered
impeccably’

ABOVE: High resolution 96kHz/24-bit jitter spectrumwith F1 filters (DXD upsampling, black; DSD, red)

HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
Maximum output level / Impedance

5.89Vrms / ohm (XLR out)

A-wtd S/N ratio (USB / Network)

117.0dB / 117.1dB

Distortion (1kHz, 0dBFs/–30dBFs)

0.00011% / 0.00013%

Distortion & Noise (20kHz, 0dBFs/–30dBFs)

0.00025% / 0.00045%

Freq. resp. (20Hz-20kHz/45kHz/90kHz)+0.0 to –0.0dB/–0.dB/+0.dB

Digital jitter (48kHz / 96kHz)

21psec / 10psec

Resolution (1kHz @ –100dBFs/–110dBFs)±0.1dB / ±0.2dB

Power consumption

22W (1W standby)

Dimensions (WHD) / Weight

360x320x530mm / 9kg

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Lab
report
DCS LINA HEADPHONE AMP
LEFT: Lina DAC[top] includes
LAN, USB-B and
USB-A (DSD128/
384kHz), dual-AES(384kHz), 2x coax
(192kHz) and opt(96kHz) inputs.
Analogue outs on
XLRs and RCAs arejoined by Word
Clock inputs forconnection to
the Lina Master
Clock [centre]. The
Lina Headphone
Amp [bottom] hasdirect (RCA/XLR)
and buffered (XLR)
inputs. All three
Lina components
may be sync’d via
dCS’s ‘Power Link’

via headphones or with the Network
DAC running into my amp andspeakers, was entirely persuasive.
Not that you need to go for
subtle jazz to hear the abilitiesof the Lina system in action. With
the bombast of Muse’s Will Of The
People [Helium 3/Warner Bros
0190296383731], complete with
operatic histrionics, buzz-saw guitars
and pounding rhythm section, thesound was opened up wide forinspection. Without any restraint
being applied, the touching ‘Ghosts(How Can I Move On?)’ and thedriving ‘Euphoria’, with its charging
synths and big choruses, blossomed
into their own, distinctive acoustics.

Up to scratch
The Headphone Amp consistently
delivered a big, bold high-energy
sound entirely suited to the grandvisions of Matt Bellamy’s little band.
However, just be careful with thevolume control or your ears may
well succumb to the fate promisedin the final track!
Mind you, that focused soundwas just as well suited to theskanking rhythm of Junior Murvin &Jah Lion’s ‘Police And Thieves’ fromLee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s King Scratchcompilation [Trojan/BMG TJDCD605],
the deep dub bass and tinkling,tripping percussion delivered
impeccably to underpin the vocals.

What’s more, with the Network
DAC upscaling to DSD into my main
system, even those live BBC Proms
relays sounded suitably open andatmospheric. The BBC SymphonyOrchestra performance of Holst’s
The Planets benefitted from themuscular delivery and tight handlingof rhythms, while the ethereal soundof ‘Neptune’ – with the voices of
the BBC Symphony Chorus fading
into the Royal Albert Hall acoustic– luxuriated in the sheer resolution
on offer here. It’s a scintillating
sound, whether played through alarge system or – courtesy of BBC
Sounds – experienced through the
Headphone Amplifier.

While the Lina DAC clearly inherits a deal of technology fromthe Bartók [HFN May ’19], the Lina Headphone Amplifier issubstantially more capable than the Bartók’s integrated Class A
preamp. There is some commonality, including the usefully low~0.7ohm single-ended output impedance, but this is a functionof good design practice as much as shared topology. Either way,it ensures there’s a minimal 0.16dB signal loss into a 32ohm
headphone load with a similar resilience over the system (amp/headphone) frequency response. The Headphone Amplifier’s
native response is almost unaffected by loading, running flat towithin a tight ±0.1dB (20Hz-20kHz), falling slightly thereafter to–2dB/100kHz, while the residual noise is low at –90dBV and the
A-wtd S/N a solid 96.2dB (re. 0dBV) via the SE output.
Distortion is influenced by loading, however, from a mere
0.00007-0.0005% (20Hz-20kHz) into high impedance loads to aslightly higher (but not ‘high’) 0.0003-0.004% at 10mW/32ohm
via the SE output [red trace, Graph 2 below]. Two levels of gain
are offered, amounting to +0.6dB (Low) and +11dB (High) via
the standard XLR input. Input headroom is in excess of 12V, but
the gain settings do influence the Lina’s maximum output which
is 760mW/32ohm in ‘Low’ and 1850mW/32ohm (1.85W) in the‘High’ setting. Maximum output into high 600ohm headphones
is 110mW while the complementary power amp [see pic, p43]
has sufficient current to support a huge 5.4W into very low 8ohm
loads [see Graph 1]. This Graph also confirms the steady increasein distortion when driving lower loads from 0.0002%/10mW/
600ohm to 0.0015%/10mW/32ohm and 0.015%/10mW/8ohm[blue, black, red traces, respectively], though these figures arestill well below that of a typical headphone. PM

ABOVE: Power output vs. THD into 600ohm (blue),
32ohm (black) and low 8ohm (red) headphone loads

HI-FI NEWS VERDICTThe price of the complete Lina
stack is a head-turner, so it
makes more sense if you view thecomponents as separates, andbuild accordingly. The Network
DAC is the star here, and will
surely find a role in high-end
streaming systems, while the
Headphone Amplifier is mighty
powerful, and will drive the mostdemanding of ’phones with realconviction. And the Master Clock?
Well, you pays your money…

Sound Quality: 89%
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ABOVE: Distortion versus frequency from 5Hz-40kHz(0.6V unloaded, black; 10mW/32ohm, red)

HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
Maximum output (<1% THD) / Gain(s)8.4V (SE) / +0.6dB / +11dB

Power output (<1% THD, 600/32/8ohm)

110mW / 1850mW / 5400mW

Output Impedance (20Hz-20kHz)

650-730mohm

A-wtd S/N ratio (re. 0dBV/32ohm)

96.2dB / 95.9dB

Distortion (20Hz-20kHz, 0dBV)

0.00007–0.0005%

Distortion (20Hz-20kHz, 10mW/32ohm)

0.0003–0.004%

Freq. resp. (20Hz-20kHz/100kHz)+0.0 to –0.1dB/–1.95dB

Power consumption

8W (1W standby)

Dimensions (WHD) / Weight

360x320x530mm / 9kg

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