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 5 responses by tbg

tbg
5,263 posts
 
For what you have in store, see my review on AA.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Al Porter buying digital???

Norm
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Al, I agree with you about the virtues of the Audio Note DAC and CEC transports. I had the CEC TL0 MkII Improved and the Audio Note DAC 4.1x Signature. Actually I still own the AN although I do not have it to compare with the Lindemann. The AN is in UK being repaired; a long story.

My Lindemann has been playing continually for the last 8 days. It will get better for about the first 6 days. You have to breakin both the cd and sacd portions.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
I cannot fully comply with your desired comparison. I have compared the Lindemann playing cds with a Accustic Arts Drive 1 and Zanden 5000 Mk II dac. It is very close contest despite the two divergent philosophies of these two companies. Zanden uses the old 16 bit Philip 1541 chip and no brickwall filter. The Lindemann on cds upsamples to 192 24 bits. The Zanden has smoother and sweeter midrange. The Lindemann has superior bass and much more extended highs. It is quieter and gives a much wider soundstage and more sense that you are in the recording studio.

All of this is for cds. When you put sacds on the Lindemann, there is no question either of the superiority of sacds or that the Lindemann far exceeds the sacd players of the past. It is not just better but eerily real. I have heard many sacd players, including the various Marantz, Sony, and Accuphase units. None even approaches the Lindemann. I bought this unit on the strength of a German review and comments that I heard from people who had heard it in Europe. It was the best decision I have made.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Isolate your analog power supply with either Aurios or Valid Points. Try different powercord for both analog and digital. They make a big difference. The Lindemann on the new Badboy from Neuance is spectacular. Your player will get better for the first three weeks. Great product!
More to discover