2. member-reviews
  3. 1034966257

Review: Lindemann D680 CD Player

Category: Digital

I recently purchased through Audiogon a Lindemann D680 CD/HDCD/SACD player that upsamples CD/HDCD and also plays SACDs. This German-made player is truly reference. I compared vinly to regular CDs and am amazed at how closely the Lindemann out of the box gets to vinyl ("Muddy Waters folk singer" -CD and 180 gram vinyl, Oscar Peterson - "We Get Requests"-- CD and vinyl). Red Rose "Live at Sandy's
"SACD, you could hear individual ice cubes clinking in the background at times. On opera and classical, massed voices and strings are clearly articulated with lots of air and space and "hair raising palpability." Extended highs, full, controlled bass. Male and female voices life size and without any hint of distortion, contraction, or emphasis -- just natural with the correct articulation and projection of a live performance. Red Rose "The Art of the Fugue" SACD as reproduced on the Lindemann D680 brought the listener into the entire venue. I listen to pipe organ very Sunday, and the Lindemann is the closest yet to that experience. I have only been listening for a few days! I just wanted to let other music lovers know of this great player.

Associated gear
Pass Labs X-1 preamp
Music Reference RM9MKII-newly retubed
Sota Comos V5, Graham 2.2, Benz Ruby2
HMS Gran Finale Top Match, Nordost Quattro Fil, SPM speaker cables, Accoustic Zen interconnects

Similar products
Sony DVP9000ES, Wadia 830
jdsaudio

Showing 3 responses by jdsaudio

jdsaudio OP
8 posts
 
I may be new to Audiogon, but I have been listening and tweaking for a long, long time. My statements were not made lightly nor without some experience and reference points. I only wanted to share with others, who must make their own choices and decisions. I had the privilege last Friday to hear Vivaca Genaux in live recital and later listed to her newest CD "Arias for Farinelli." The Lindemann did not disappoint, and was amazingly accurate in reproducting her voice, timbre and phrasing. My speakers are Snell Type A, which I purchased new in 1977 from one of Peter Snell's first dealers. They have been "maintained" by the factory, and earlier this year the woofers were again reconed and revoiced. I also use Furman Power Conditioning, their AR1215 voltage regulator and IT1210 Balance Power conditioning units.
jdsaudio OP
8 posts
 
Yes, break-in does improve on overall musicality, dynamics and liquidity (if there are such words). Upgrading factory-provided power cords also makes some sonic improvements, even with power conditioning and balanced A/C power, which I didn't expect. Sound reproduction by the Lindemann D680 now defies words or descriptions. You must experience it for yourself.
jdsaudio OP
8 posts
 
Yes! It is even better now with CD and HDCD with upgraded power cables when compared to vinyl. SACD is extremely close, and while vinyl is very involving, I don't have to jump up every 20 minutes. I only got into CDs in the last four years or so, so most of my collection is well recorded at 20 bit or higher. I prefer some CDs and HDCDs to multichannel SACDs, as the mixdown to two channel doesn't seem to work as well as a well recorded two channel. The Lindemann is an absolute joy, and I still put on familar CDs and find new enjoyment and music that I didn't recall from even a couple of months ago. My only problem now is finding enough time to listen to all the music I have. By the way, another fun tweak for my listening room was the Shakti Hallographic Soundfield Optimer, which seems improbable but does work.
More to discover