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Linn Numerik DAC

Just been thinking for a while .....

I currently use a Wakonda pre so it might be worth looking at the AV5103DTS to replace it. By all accounts it is a better pre than the Wakonda.

I'll eventually be going down the home cinema route in the room so the preamp would need changed or an additional processor added.......

It features an optical input so might very well kill two birds with one stone !!
 
Sorry II, I tend to look at things from my perspective.
Didn't wanna step too close.

& yes, the AV5103DTS looks like a good idea, as with numerik I still feel one part of either item would be kinda superfluos.

;-)
Doing that, the pre change might be the bigger kill of the stone.
 
Interesting to read over this thread, since I've (at long last) got hold of an mint, late model Karik/Numerik (both slimline brilliant).

It made me smile to read DJSRs comments about them being 'ancient technology now' :)

Seriously, this combo is providing some of the best music I've ever heard from CD. Ancient technology my arse!

IMG_1530.jpg


Mr Tibbs
 
I use a Numerik SPS with my Media PC, makes the TV / Iplayer / Spotify sound good is it

DS
 
The karik/numerik is still a gem of a player and has the bonus of a secong spdif input which you could use with anything with a coax digital output

To the op, I would seriously consider looking at the 5103! it will reap benefits all round in your system!
 
I also use the Numerik as a DAC for the optical out of my Macbook (optical/co-axial converter widget needed) and it sound great is it :)

Not as good as when playing CDs from the sync-linked Karik, though.

Mr Tibbs
 
I did use a numerik with my pc untill the akurate DS arrived and was pretty impressed with it, the DS repaced my cd12 and the pc/numerik as it souned better than both and cost a lot less than i raised from the sale of my cd12, I even had change after buying a cyrus cd player to keep a cd spinner in my system!
 
Your thought was correct.

However, in keeping with the now retro-ness of the rest of my system, I fancied a Karik Numerik.

Mr Tibbs

Just to clarify, Mr. Tibbs. You're saying you downgraded the sound quality of your system to maintain its retro look?

regards,

dave
 
LOL @ dave

Trust you to read that into what I said :)

No, there is no downgrade to my ears.

BUT, I'm not going to slag off the Benchmark now that I no longer have it, if that's what you (and muzzer) are looking for! It's a great bit of kit for the money IMO.

The Karik and Numerik have a couple of advantages. They sinc-link together, neatly solving the clocking issues that a separate DAC/digital source normally has. In effect, the Numerik has 'remote control' of the data flow, ensuring that the bitstream from the Karik is fed to it at precisely the correct rate. Not even the new Naim DAC is capable of doing that with any existing Naim digital source! I think the K&N have a unique sound -- highly detailed and dynamic, yet very easy to listen to over extended periods.

The other advantage is that the Numerik is pretty capable in stand-alone mode too, so it can serve as a DAC for the Mac, when the mood takes me. In this respect it has a different (rather than better/worse) sound to the Mac > DAC-1 for sure, but both are great IMO.

There are some big disadvantages to running a K&N;

Both are no longer supported by Linn, should something go wrong. In particular, the Karik is prone to various transport-related failures, though the later models do seem to fare a bit better in this respect. Also, the SMPS in both the K&N seem to be failing on older models. The Numerik is not able to process anything above 16/48, so 'studio master' type files are not playable.

The negatives don't bother me, but I imagine they'd be deal-breakers for many other people.

Mr Tibbs
 
Thats quite a claim- you really are saying the DS sounds better than the CD12?

It does I'm afraid ! In a way I really didn't want it to but the chance came to buy a lightly used akurate ds for a shade over £2k and I had a buyer waiting for the cd12 willing to pay £5k so I gave up the cd12:(

However though the ds sounds better it isn't the same, you don't seem to have the same level of involvement when using the ds and you need to use a computer of some sort to operate it !

At first I really loved the ds because it does sound amazing but I am missing the cd12 now.
At least I proffited from the cd12 as I sold it for more than I paid for it :)
 
BTW, 'going retro' for me, has nothing to do with how the kit 'looks'. By retro I mean kit that is no longer made, but is not old enough to be considered 'classic'.

Since the Gales have returned, I've wanted to go the whole hog and front the system with a K&N, because I had a hunch the old Linn player would perfectly compliment the sound of the 401s, and it can do the computer audio thing too. I think my hunch has paid off.

Also, going retro is a great way to avoid the temptation of wanting to try the 'next big thing', because new kit has no place in a retro system :)

Mr Tibbs
 
Mr T
I was not waiting for you to slag off the Benchmark, what concerned me was that up to a few weeks ago you championed the macbook/dac1/iTunes as the dogs bollox as a digital source but you have now ditched it for a 1990s cdp. I just wondered if you thought the mac solution was not really as good as you thought.
 
LOL @ dave

Trust you to read that into what I said :)

No, there is no downgrade to my ears.

BUT, I'm not going to slag off the Benchmark now that I no longer have it, if that's what you (and muzzer) are looking for! It's a great bit of kit for the money IMO.

The Karik and Numerik have a couple of advantages. They sinc-link together, neatly solving the clocking issues that a separate DAC/digital source normally has. In effect, the Numerik has 'remote control' of the data flow, ensuring that the bitstream from the Karik is fed to it at precisely the correct rate. Not even the new Naim DAC is capable of doing that with any existing Naim digital source! I think the K&N have a unique sound -- highly detailed and dynamic, yet very easy to listen to over extended periods.

The other advantage is that the Numerik is pretty capable in stand-alone mode too, so it can serve as a DAC for the Mac, when the mood takes me. In this respect it has a different (rather than better/worse) sound to the Mac > DAC-1 for sure, but both are great IMO.

There are some big disadvantages to running a K&N;

Both are no longer supported by Linn, should something go wrong. In particular, the Karik is prone to various transport-related failures, though the later models do seem to fare a bit better in this respect. Also, the SMPS in both the K&N seem to be failing on older models. The Numerik is not able to process anything above 16/48, so 'studio master' type files are not playable.

The negatives don't bother me, but I imagine they'd be deal-breakers for many other people.

Mr Tibbs

Slagging never crossed my mind sir.

Whew...you had me worried. I was concerned you had turned into a trendy fashion slave there for a minute willing to substitute flash for substance;-) Glad the K&N does it for you. I think it's a phenomenal player by any standards.
 
muzzer,

I still think the Mac > DAC-1 is great sounding 'digital audio'. I thought I'd made that abundantly clear. I would have no hesitation in recommending it as a seriously competent source.

Don't be to too quick to write off the K&N as '1990s' technology - IMO Linn nailed it with the K&N back then, but subsequently lost the plot when they introduced the Ikemi.

Whew...you had me worried. I was concerned you had turned into a trendy fashion slave there for a minute willing to substitute flash for substance;-) Glad the K&N does it for you. I think it's a phenomenal player by any standards.

dave, you should know me by now - I'm a slave to nothin' or nobody!

Mr Tibbs
 
Squeezbox + late Brilliant Numerik III are a nice combo.
Not quite as pristine as my Ikemi but aesthetics are good and great utility and warm and detailed sound (as with my Pekin) are excellent for background ambience and party functions.
 
mr tibbs, in my case the benchie is unlistenable (induces sleep, lol) where as i still hold a fondness for the numerik. glad u are enjoying it. it's got a certain charm to the sound, ie kans.

i agree about the ikemi, altough i liked the mimik b4 that, was more silky and less enthusiastic than the numerik (as in more natural sounding), reminds me of a thicker sounding meridian 506.
 
panda,

Comments I've read about the Benchmark vary so much I'm beginning to think there must have been significant changes to it since it was first introduced. I wouldn't describe mine as 'sleep inducing' at any rate!

I've already recently mentioned this on another thread, but years ago I made a blunder and bought an Ikemi instead of adding a Numerik to my (then) Karik. Now that Ikemi WAS 'sleep inducing' -- to the point of bringing me to a near comatose state :(

cheviot,

Assuming you have tried running your Numerik off the Ikemi with sinc-link, what did you make of the sound compared to the bare Ikemi?

Mr Tibbs
 


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