This is the dawning of the age of an ADS!

quote:

There speaks a man with an old Troika...

It seems I hurt you in one of the previous posts.

Sorry -- I definitely didn't mean to.

FYI: my Troika is rebuilt by ESC this year.

quote:

Originally posted by glevethan:
...Is it my impression or does it seem that many forum members are migrating over to the DS boxes?
...

Good question. I tend to doubt that the numbers are very large. Clearly the ones who have done so are pleased, and have not been shy about sharing their opinions!

There is no doubt that Linn has stong products. Whether they sound better than Naim will likely depend on the rest of the setup. But I do think that to dismiss all of the Naim DAC's positive reviews as merely "hype" is absurd.

Also, for most people, I think the Naim DAC was a rather large purchase. I doubt that too many would be interested in flipping it for a Linn with a year or less of run-in time.

Hook

I believe that KDS is a strong competitor to the best Naim sources including CDS3 and DAC/XPS.

ADS is more marketable as it sells at substantially lower price point.
I have a feeling that in terms of jitter both KDS and ADS are equivalent as they reveal the same amount of details. Both share the same Dynamik PS. I believe the main difference between them is the output gain stage and isolation/casework. Possibly the die-cast case carries 70% of the price gap.

KDS sounds smoother and more analogue than ADS -- closer to LP12 in this aspect.
The difference is similar to moving from CDX2/XPS to CDS3/XPS.
KDS is also more open and spacious than ADS.

If KDS had been more articulated in bass section I would call it the best digital source I have ever heard. But even now it sounds amazing and deserves the best amplification possible.

quote:

Originally posted by AllenB:

quote:

Originally posted by jlarsson:
My uncle bought a B&O. Same number of boxes as an ADS but much prettier.

His eyesight must be better than his hearing then

I rather suspect that the NDX will give the ADS a serious smack around the chops, but it is interesting that some folk are mooting to migration from Naim equipment to the Linn units when considering this new field of music replay. Especially following Naim's recent releases. Are they (Naim that is) perhaps missing the mark in some way? Or are people just fed up with box counts, i know I am?

Good point, combination of all three really. Sound and ease of use with iPad is a main driver. Reduction of boxes is no bad thing either. The real clincher for me though was hi-res music downloads and the sound from them. Linn's approach is IMHO more future proof and less restrictive.

But at the end of the day as hi-fi enthusiasts, it must come down to sound. I spend 6 hours listening to the ADS against CDS3/XPS/555PS/250/300 combinations both ripping cd's and comparing hi-res to ripped cd's.

CDS3 was and is very very good but the cd format is limited, no matter how it has been remastered/reinvented back in the studio.

Finally as I mentioned earlier in the thread, oh boy is it good controlling your music with an iPad. Works even with my poor eyesight and it already has a massive WAF.

ttfn

Rooster

I last listened to an ADS against a Rega Isis.

The ADS was a well contained sound, quite polite and good levels of information and had slightly better timing but the Isis was a lot more dynamic, open and spacious and ultimately a fair bit more involving and analogue sounding.

The KDS needs to be quite a few steps on IMO to be a genuine music maker on the level of an ISIS, CDS3, CDSII or CD555.