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
sponte's avatar
sponte
4 posts
 
I just got my Lindemann D680 yesterday, have only had about four hours to listen to it. But it is spectacular. I have replaced the Sony SCD-1, itself a wonderful player, but quite honestly it can't touch the Lindemann. Before the Sony, it was a Meridian 508-24, again a wonderful player but not in the same universe with the Lindemann. The bass extension is as wonderful as I've ever heard from any front end, including vinyl, and the articulation and rhythm of the thing has to be heard to be believed.
Redbook CDs sound like SACD's, SACD's sound just glorious. Aside from my Headroom Blockhead headphone amp, I've never experienced any audio equipment that made it so easy to hear what the composer/conductor/musician was thinking.
As for associated equipment, for what its worth, its a Red Rose Affirmation integrated amp, Revel F-50 speakers, Nottingham Hyperspace turntable with VandenHul Colibri cartridge, HMS Grand Finale speaker cables, Monster HTPS Reference Power Source, Headroom Blockhead headphone amp and Sennheiser 600 Clou cabled headphones.
The most astonishing thing about the Lindemann is the naturalness, the solidity, the ease of its presentation, so different from anything else I've heard. And that's why my Sony SCD-1 is for sale. DJM
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!
Ag insider logo xs@2x
logenn
91 posts
 
Are still as impressed with the sound quality of your Lindemann compared to vinyl, now that you've lived with it for a few months.

Louis
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.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
logenn
91 posts
 
I have been away and didn't check Audiogon for a few days so please accept my apology in responding late.
It's shouldn't be so difficult to find good digital, but apparantly it takes work. I've heard about a Meitner DAC based system recently, where an audiophile liked the digital almost as much as vinyl, but I don't have first hand experience with that component.
Nevertheless, it is encouraging to hear your comments. I am enjoying my vinyl, but woulds love to add great digital.

Regards.

Louis
More to discover