I had the Bartok with headphone amp and upgraded to the full Lina stack. The sound quality improvement was quite noticeable but not dramatic. I did not get to hear the Bartok going to the Lina amp.
In my insatiable and irresponsible quest to continually improve sound quality I’m considering upgrading the Lina DAC+Clock to the Rossini+Clock. If I do, I would get the Apex upgrade later so for this question assume the Apex is not involved. This would be just for headphone use.
Has anyone compared the Lina DAC+Clock to the Rossini+Clock with headphones and can you share your impressions? If the sound quality improvements were similar to the jump from Bartok to Lina I would skip it. If there is a significant improvement I will likely move up to Rossini.
I appreciate your thoughts, especially from anyone who has heard both setups. Thanks.
My upgrade path is: Bartók HDAC → adding Rossini Clock → replace Bartók with Rossini DAC → adding Benchmark HPA 4 headamp/ line amp → replace HPA4 with Lina headamp → replacing Focal Utopia with Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC and Hifiman Susvara cans → upgraded XLR interlinks to Audioquest Fire → ordered the Apex upgrade of my Rossini DAC, and waiting.
To me, every step was a significant upgrade.
This is not exactly what you asked for, but rest assured that the Rossini DAC + clock is way better than the Lina DAC + Lina clock.
Coming from a Dave + Ferrum Oor + Meze Elites i auditioned the Lina stack and found the amp lacking. The dac+clock were an upgrade for sure, but nothing like the Rossini (non-Apex)+ clock which I landed on. So to mirror @Ermos , the Rossini is a big upgrade. However if you guys think it’s great with the Lina amp, I suggest you shop around. To me that was a huge bottleneck compared to the Oor for the Lina stack. I currently have a Zahl Hm1 on order to use with the Rossini
I think Lina+Clock vs Rossini+Clock might be a close call.
Couple of things favoring Rossini: It runs v2 software, Lina runs v1; Is upgradable to Apex; possibly beafier power supplies.
Lina betters the Rossini in that it includes Expanse.
Apex was a very large upgrade for Rossini - I continue to be surprised when I listen to pieces I have listened to extensively for a few years, the difference hasn’t faded away.
FWIW I got the clock and would prioritize it over Apex, even without having heard it, for the simple reason that, just like the Lina, dCS dacs sound veiled to me without the clock. Even now, with the Rossini and Dave side by side, taking the clock out, there are situations where I prefer my old Dave. With the clock, that never happens. I might have even taken the Lina + clock over the non clock Rossini, but that might just be me . That said, add the clock to both and it’s not even close between the 2. Expanse isn’t that much of a factor.
I agree, but from what i’ve heard so far from Lina and the Rossini, a lot of the magic comes from the clock. While the Rossini is clearly better than the Lina, the upgrade doesn’t account for some of the upgrades the clock brings, like PRAT and clarity. Soundstage size, imaging, layering, all also take a hit when taking the clock out. More so than they did on the Lina imo. I’m sure Apex will be a worthwhile upgrade, but coming from a dac that did clarity very very well, I’m not sure I could’ve enjoyed the Rossini as much without the clock. At least I couldn’t with the Lina stack for the 5 days i had it here. Headphone context. YMMV with speakers.
Not suggesting the clock doesn’t help, it does. But as I said, in my system to my ears, Apex is a bigger change than the clock. And I am saying this after three months with Apex and 5 years with Rossini+Clock.
Not disputing you have more experience, it’s just that I’m not sure what Apex improves vs what the clock improves. And having heard what the clock does, it was mandatory for me. It’s not like it’s either/or For me personally though my amp upgrade will also have priority over Apex.
. That said, add the clock to both and it’s not even close between the 2. Expanse isn’t that much of a factor.