Could it be possible to use an external USB CD drive with Lina DAC, to play CD’s?
Using the Lina screen interface/ Mosaic App as a control point (play, stop, next track, etc…)
Just asking for a friend 
You cannot control a non - dCS CD player with Mosaic. I am only aware of Vivaldi Transport being supported in this way. The dCS IR remote (the plank) will control dCS silver disc transports but not those made by third parties.
Of course a third party CD player will usually have its own dedicated remote control.
It is ideally necessary for the DAC and CD transport to be synchronised. I am unaware of Lina having a wordclock output to allow this ( needs to be checked).Likewise the transport needs a wordclock input. Or use an external wordclock source if given the correct connectivity.
USB drive? It needs a CD or DVD drive. Some recent Chinese transports have USB output. Being asynchronous this may obviate the synchronisation requirement but that needs further investigation.
Edit:
When you ask if you can use a USB drive to play CDs do you mean can you copy CDs to a USB drive ( e.g. HDD or SDD or some other server) and play them with Lina? The answer to that is yes.
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Hello Pete,
My idea was to use the external CD drive as a cd transport, to play cd directly to the Lina, since the Lina clock only does its “magic” via the network and USB inputs.
I was looking around for cd transports with usb output, and noticed that ROSE, Auralic and Eversolo can do that (use external cdrw drives), and I was left to wander if that can be a way for the Lina user.
Of course, the Lina software would have to be updated to make that possible.
Maybe the ideal would be a Lina transport, with usb audio out
Cheers,
not sure if using a usb cd will work but the SMSL PL200T CD transport has a 44.1 word clock input which will allow one to use it with a dCS clock. You’ll need a Rossini clock however because the Lina clock only has a single 44.1 out
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Hi
The SMSL is the CD transport I am about to order
I am not fully sure it needs / can be sync’ed with the internal clock of my Lina DacX through their respective clock ports. Can someone confirm?
My understanding is both these ports require an external clock (it could/should preferably be the same clock for both devices, the CD drive and the Lina), correct ?
Side question @Urbanluthier are you satisfied with this transport so far? Which DCS DAC are you using it with?
Lina DAC X only has wordclock inputs not outputs. The SMSL transport requires a 44.1kHz wordclock input. Hence you need a wordclock output somewhere to supply this. Lina Dac X does not provide one.
You therefore may need a master clock to provide wordclock signals to both Lina Dac X and tue CD transport ( they need to be synchronised). The Lina clock manual indicates that unfortunately the Lina Master Clock only has enough wordclock outputs for Lina X ( one 44.1 and one 48kHz).
If you connect the SMSL transport without a wordclock input you will still hear music but it will not be optimal. you my risk glitches as the transport and DAC are not synchronised.
Vivaldi clock does supply sufficient wordclock outputs but I doubt that this would be an economic choice. Rossini clock may be an answer as @Urbanluthier says. Wordclock outputs are 44.1 a 48kHz for the Lina dac X and wordclock output 3 is to connect a CD transport ( according to the manual).
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gotcha, i thought the 2 clock outputs were each capable of 44.1 and 48.
re the sync’ing between drive and linaX, I understand the theory, but DCS is renowned for having high quality clock recovery circuits through AES/EBU, and high performance jitter control … so I’m hoping not to have cracks and glitches, as you described
Hi @DanB I’m using with my Bartok + Rossini Clock and the results are excellent. I did a little write up here
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You are confusing accuracy with synchronicity. They are not synonymous.
See the dCS FAQ linked:
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Hello Dan,
I use a Denon DCD-2500NE SACD/CD player with my Lina DAC+ Lina Clock.
I use the Denon as a cd transport, with the S/PDIF2 (BNC) input on the Lina.
In Mosaic, I chose Sync Mode and set it to Audio sync. Everything plays perfectly, no glitches or any kind of strange sounds.
The reason that I’m researching SACD/CD transports with USB audio out, is as follows:
-Can I get good sound with USB audio from a transport? If yes, does the fact that the USB takes advantage of the Lina Clock makes it better than using the S/PDIF input, which does not take advantage of the LINA Clock?
-Are there any SACD/CD transports with USB audio out that can output the SACD layer (DSD) to the Lina DAC? At least in DOP format.
That said, I would love a Lina SACD/CD transports with USB audio out. Same form factor. Like a mini Varese transport ( hello Santa Claus 
, are you hearing me? 
)
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Thanks for clarifying @PMCerqueira
So your Lina clock only connects to your Lina DAC, correct ? Not to your Denin transport?
If this is correct, then what @PAR was saying is not accurate (regarding glitches when both transport and DAC aren’t tied to the same clock)… 
I think I am going to order the transport and see by myself (on my Lina DAC X - no clock).
Thanks all for your contributions
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I gave you the correct information. Did you not read the FAQ from dCS that I linked? The opening sentence is :
“ The first rule for using a Master Clock is that the source equipment MUST be locked to the Master Clock. If you just lock the DAC to the Master Clock, there will be 2 independent clocks in the system running at different frequencies – one in the Master Clock, the other in the source equipment (probably a CD player or sound server). Each time the clock edges drift past each other in time, the DAC will either gain or lose a sample, resulting in a click or transient “phasey” distortion.”
The issue is the same if you run a DAC and a separate transport with no master clock at all. You still now have two different clocks in the system rout of synch which will drift apart
That isn’t me speaking. It is dCS themselves.
I suggest looking for advice and not for confirmation of an incorrect opinion that you may hold.
.Pedro, I am not going to write an extensive post about timing. However I do suggest that you take some time to read the dCS FAQs on clock timing which you will find in the Support section of Only The Music web pages. As I have said, you will still hear music using a CD transport and dCS DAC without a wordclock. However it will not be optimal.
@PAR this is not personal, keep cool
If you imply there will be some level of jitter, then yes I get it. Even though I expect it to be minimal given how the RingDAC handles jitter.
But glitches and cracks, as you said, I doubt it. And this is confirmed by @PMCerqueira
Or, as I didn’t say. Where do I say you will get cracks?
dCS say:
Perhaps they too are incorrect?
I am afraid that you may be trying to convince yourself that you can get away without a shared wordclock for both tCD transport and DAC? That certainly may save money. However it is not not simply bout subjective opinion ( after all anybody can like anything) but for straightforward engineering reasons.
Unfortunately there appears to be none in the market that do that. All of the SACD/CD Transports that do output DSD layer do so over I2S and/or AES or S/PDIF.
The most recent example that’s been discussed before is Shanling’s Onix branded Zenith XST20; it outputs DSD as DoP over AES or S/PDIF (along with I2S). It doesn’t come cheap though at about US$1,800.
That said, since the unit doesn’t support a Word Clock input, setting the dCS to “Audio” sync, as you do with your Denon, should work fine with playing back SACDs as DoP over AES or S/PDIF.
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[/quote]
Here
Perhaps the conversation could progress , and I could learn and be convinced, if you explained better
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the technicalities of what is going to happen without an external clock : i understand « drifting » but there are mechanisms in the dac to resynch the received signal (PLL). Correct me if I am wrong ?
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How those « glitches » will materialize sonically : jumps, cracks, pops, fuziness, spatial chaos, stop reading…?
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Clarify what you mean by Accuracy vs Synchronicity, very precisely
I am convinced there are millions of listeners of a « separate drive vs dac » system…. Who dont own a clock. This is why I am skeptical to their explanation (which is not exactly my use case by the way).
Have a great day
quote=“DanB, post:16, topic:9082”]
I am convinced there are millions of listeners of a « separate drive vs dac » system…. Who dont own a clock.
[/quote]
Indeed there are. They will hear the music and it will sound fine. However it could sound bettet which, I would think, is why we have chosen to use dCS equipment. The whole basis of the dCS approach is to use advanced engineering which takes account of potential issues. This involves a slightly different approach to other brands but the need to use master clocks is found with other very high end contenders in multi box systems where synchronous interfaces are involved. For example, Esoteric and MSB.
I will try. Accuracy is the degree of adherence to a standard ( in this case timing). Synchronicity is concerned with the the similar time occurrence of events taking place two separate systems ( in this case two clock generators).
I will attempt a couple of crude metaphors. If the required time requires a frequency of 44.1KHz it should not be 44.15 kHz but 44.10kHz. It also needs to be stable so that the next sample is not another ,albeit close, frequency.
I will try to expalin synchronicity by imagining you or I counting to 10. I will leave a gap of half a second between saying each number. You will leave a gap of a third of a second between each. You will finish the count before me. If we repeat the counting over and over we will rift further and further apart eventually one finishing the count before the other has started. I said it was crude .
No, there is nothing to synchronise one clock with another. Hence the solution is to feed both clocks with the same reference signal . Which is what a master clock does.NB: the clock circuitry otherwise remains in use for both components. Selection of synch “A” means that the clock for the source is recovered from the recording. The issue of synchronicity where a second clock is used remains. So no issue with Rossini Player then where CD mechanism and DAC are using the same clock.
Although what you ask about might happen depending on the circumstances, for normal listening the issue will more likely be what dCS describe in their FAQ as phasey distortion. Fuzziness ( as you say). If you are hearing this all of the time you have no comparator and will likley first realise that it has been happening when corrected by installing a master clock. So many queries have been made here where clocks have been installed and the user posts that he can not hear any difference until he removes it and discovers that the sound is then degraded.
Is that helpful?
That is correct, Dan. The Lina clock only connects to de DAC.
I followed the dCS instructions regarding the connection of a cd transport. Everything works fine.
Is it optimal? No. But then again, life is often not optimal.
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Thanks Anupc, I’ve been looking on the Onix, but seems to have problems on playing SACD’s gaplessly. There are conflicting reports about a possible firmware update.
It was the Onix XST20 that started the “ball rolling” on a possible USB out transport for me.