TEMPTATIONS

EXPENSIVE, YES. BUT YOU KNOW YOU WANT THEM

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dCS Lina DAC

DAC/Network streamer 
£12,500 (₹13 lakhs. Approx)

If the words ‘dCS’ and ‘entry-level’ spark thoughts of a truly affordable digital product that embodies the qualities that have made the brand so dominant at the top end of the market, you are in for a disappointment. While buying a new Lina Network DAC is indeed the cheapest way into owning something new that incorporates the brand’s trademark Ring DAC digital conversion circuitry, this product certainly doesn’t fall into what most people would consider the ‘accessible’ category.

What your money does buy you, though, is a generous dose of dCS technology and a product that puts all but the very best of its rivals firmly in the shade when it comes to performance. The company calls this product a Network DAC, while we would usually describe something with its capabilities as a music streamer.

QUALITY OF CONSTRUCTION

Either way, this is a UPnP streamer that packs most of the usual features and inputs we would expect. Specifically, that means Spotify, Tidal, Deezer and Qobuz are on the menu, as is Apple AirPlay 2. This unit is Roon Ready and has the usual trio of digital inputs – USB Type B, optical and coaxial (both RCA and BNC) – alongside a pair of AES/EBUs that are a reminder of the brand’s beginnings in the professional world.