If the words ‘dCS’ and ‘entry-level’ spark the thought 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 £12,500 / $13,650 / AU$22,000 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.
