Following from a 35+ yr. two-channel music lover (not tweaker):
Yesterday I auditioned all Linn DS units at same time in the same system and you get plenty of what you pay for as you go up the line. You just decide how much you can shell out. You're +/- 85% of the way there with the Akurate DS but, if the rest of your system is revealing (and it doesn't have to be a megabuck rig), the Klimax DS is wonderful.
Haven't heard the squeezebox or transporter recently but friends with good ears say they sound like boxes of cotton compared to like-priced Linns.
Linn still designs using the philosophy that your sound doesn't get any better than your source. Supposedly Ivor is now back running things and has rationalized the performance level/pricing of their line, plus has started to standardized the model naming convention across their product range (about time).
Yesterday I auditioned all Linn DS units at same time in the same system and you get plenty of what you pay for as you go up the line. You just decide how much you can shell out. You're +/- 85% of the way there with the Akurate DS but, if the rest of your system is revealing (and it doesn't have to be a megabuck rig), the Klimax DS is wonderful.
Haven't heard the squeezebox or transporter recently but friends with good ears say they sound like boxes of cotton compared to like-priced Linns.
Linn still designs using the philosophy that your sound doesn't get any better than your source. Supposedly Ivor is now back running things and has rationalized the performance level/pricing of their line, plus has started to standardized the model naming convention across their product range (about time).