I know this is an old thread, but I agree with the OP @caphill that the current Linn digital gear is among the best even though it can be hard to take the Linn system approach, similar to Naim.
The only piece of Linn gear I have long experience with is the Akurate DS. My version is the ADS/1. It has always been an easy to use, natural sounding, digital streamer and was better sounding to my ears than my older Theta Miles CD player and a squeezebox linked to a Bel Canto DAC3. I divide my listening equally between digital, turntable and FM (Marantz 10b).
A friend of mine recently updated his ADS/1 to an ADS/3. This involves sending the unit back to Scotland through your Linn dealer and having the entire internal boards and power supply replaced with the latest Katalyst DACs. Cost is a little over $2000 for the ADS. My friend was immediately impressed by the update and he is usually a skeptic. He never liked his ADSM as he felt the preamp section was missing lacking. With the updated unit, he can hear improved resolution and dynamics in tracks that he is familiar with that was not subtle.
So I bit the bullet and sent in my ADS/1 unit today. Should receive the unit back in just a couple weeks. Will be fun to hear what 7 years of digital evolution sounds like.
-Karl
The only piece of Linn gear I have long experience with is the Akurate DS. My version is the ADS/1. It has always been an easy to use, natural sounding, digital streamer and was better sounding to my ears than my older Theta Miles CD player and a squeezebox linked to a Bel Canto DAC3. I divide my listening equally between digital, turntable and FM (Marantz 10b).
A friend of mine recently updated his ADS/1 to an ADS/3. This involves sending the unit back to Scotland through your Linn dealer and having the entire internal boards and power supply replaced with the latest Katalyst DACs. Cost is a little over $2000 for the ADS. My friend was immediately impressed by the update and he is usually a skeptic. He never liked his ADSM as he felt the preamp section was missing lacking. With the updated unit, he can hear improved resolution and dynamics in tracks that he is familiar with that was not subtle.
So I bit the bullet and sent in my ADS/1 unit today. Should receive the unit back in just a couple weeks. Will be fun to hear what 7 years of digital evolution sounds like.
-Karl