Perhaps a quick response to the original post in this thread. I’ve had the full Lina stack for about 7 months now sitting right next to my Bartok (non-Apex) + Rossini Clock.
Pre Lina 2.0, in many hours of side-by-side listening comparisons, subjectively, I felt that the Bartok edged the Lina out ever so slightly; it had a slightly more relaxed sound, and a slightly more 3-dimensional soundstage. This was with the Bartok in Map 1 (IMHO, the best sonically), and the Lina pre-2.0 in its default mapper.
Post Lina 2.0, all else being equal, I would put money down that people will not be able to tell the difference in sound quality between the Bartok and the Lina (albeit, I haven’t spent as much time in close listening comparisons, work’s been busy).
I’m sure Apex possibly changes that equation. No knock on the Bartok, but in my personal opinion, the Lina stack is the best value for money state-of-the-art Streamer/DAC/H-Amp in the market currently, few others come close. And I will sell-off my Bartok when time permits 