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Your guide to LINA

This User Guide is designed to help you experience the full
potential of your dCS LINA Network DAC.

Inside, you’ll find advice on how to set up, install, use and care
for your system. We ask that you read it carefully before
getting started. If you require further information or support,
you can contact us at

dcsaudio.com/contact

.

We hope you enjoy listening, and are delighted to welcome
you to the dCS community.

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Summary of Contents for LINA

Page 1: ...LINA Network DAC User Guide DCS321671 Rev1 0 ...

Page 2: ...you ll find advice on how to set up install use and care for your system We ask that you read it carefully before getting started If you require further information or support you can contact us at dcsaudio com contact We hope you enjoy listening and are delighted to welcome you to the dCS community LINA Network DAC User Guide ...

Page 3: ...ames may be trademarks or registered trademarks of other companies and are the property of their owners They are used only for explanation without intent to infringe Intended purpose This document advises users how to set up use and configure the product Conventions in this document This document uses the following safety notices and tips WARNING Indicates a hazardous situation which if not avoide...

Page 4: ...g Power Link 25 dCS Mosaic 26 Using the LINA Network DAC 27 Changing the source input 27 Playing music with Apple AirPlay 27 Playing music with Spotify Connect 28 Playing music from streaming services 28 About MQA files 28 Using Roon 29 Playing music from a USB storage device 29 Settings 31 Navigating the menu 31 Menu overview 32 Changing the shortcut buttons 33 Changing the crossfeed setting 33 C...

Page 5: ...ation about the unit 40 Updating the software 40 Maintenance 41 Replacing a blown mains fuse 41 Cleaning the unit 42 Specifications 43 Support 45 Limited warranty 46 General information 46 Warranty exclusions 46 Obtaining service 47 Operating conditions 47 Compliance 48 Product label 48 FCC compliance statement 49 EU Declaration of Conformity 49 Korea Class B compliance statement 50 Made for iPhon...

Page 6: ... grounding prong which is provided for safety If the provided plug does not fit into your outlet contact a qualified electrician Do not use the power cable if it is damaged If this unit is not being used for a long period of time disconnect the unit from the power supply During lightning storms disconnect the unit from the power supply to prevent power surges CAUTION The safety covers on the unit ...

Page 7: ...your local voltage Set the frequency to either 50Hz or 60Hz Do not change the output voltage of the mains generator while it is connected to the unit NOTICE If the unit is cold and is moved into a warm room condensation may form inside the unit Condensation may interfere with the normal operation of the unit If the unit has been kept somewhere cold remove all packaging and leave it for 1 2 hours b...

Page 8: ...ere to place the LINA Network DAC To get the best sound quality You can stack units vertically or place them next to each other Ensure you can easily connect LINA Network DAC to other units of your system If units are stacked vertically place the bottom unit on a firm vibration free base To prevent overheating we recommend that you leave some space around the units to allow for ventilation Recomme...

Page 9: ...itted with BNC connectors SPDIF RCA 75 Ω coax cables fitted with RCA phono connectors Toslink Toslink fibre optic cables Network RJ45 Ethernet cable USB Standard screened USB 2 0 cable fitted with one type A connector and one type B connector The internal screen must be connected at both ends The Word Clock sockets require a simple DC coupled connection If you use capacitor coupled cables or cable...

Page 10: ... go to the previous page 4 Power button To switch on or enter sleep mode press briefly To switch off press and hold until POWER OFF is displayed 5 Touch button Tap to select the option shown in the display above the button On the home screen tap to use the assigned shortcut In a menu tap to go to the next page 6 Touch button Tap to select the option shown in the display above the button On the hom...

Page 11: ...ta rate word length and sample rate for PCM or DSD or DSDx2 4 Track title 5 Play Pause icon and track elapsed time 6 Artist name 7 Menu settings and shortcuts To select the option tap the relevant touch button If an option is not available the icon is greyed out Displayed only when streaming from network or USB2 Overview LINA Network DAC User Guide 11 ...

Page 12: ...erted Rear Item Description 1 UNBAL LEFT UNBAL RIGHT Stereo unbalanced RCA analogue outputs Connects the unit to an integrated amplifier or preamplifier 2 BAL LEFT BAL RIGHT Stereo balanced XLR analogue outputs Connects the unit to an integrated amplifier or preamplifier 3 SPDIF 1 RCA digital input Connects the unit to a digital audio source 4 AES 1 AES 2 XLR digital inputs Connects the unit to a ...

Page 13: ...io data 12 SPDIF 3 Fibre optic Toslink input Connects the unit to a digital audio source such as a satellite receiver 13 Power socket fuse and power switch Power is connected via a standard IEC320 connector with a power switch and a fuse holder Analogue outputs The balanced and unbalanced outputs on the unit are independent which allows you to connect each output to a different amplifier Connect b...

Page 14: ...or s Update No additional driver needs to be installed on Apple desktops and notebooks running macOS 10 6 3 or above The USB 1 socket has been tested with various PCM streaming programs on Windows 10 Windows 8 1 and macOS 10 11 However the socket may not work with all devices operating systems or software For more information see Setting the USB audio class on page 36 The USB 2 socket is an A type...

Page 15: ...ams music files at up to 24 bits 384 kS s or DSD 64 or DSD 128 The network interface runs in asynchronous mode and is galvanically isolated NOTICE The metal contacts of the NETWORK socket can be damaged by accidentally inserting the wrong connector When the socket is not in use replace the dust cover Overview LINA Network DAC User Guide 15 ...

Page 16: ...r socket 2 Connect the plug to a power supply Switching the unit on and off At the rear of the unit there is a power rocker switch next to the power cable There is also a power button on the front panel To switch on the unit 1 On the rear of the unit press the power rocker switch to the I position 2 On the front of the unit press the Power button Setting up LINA Network DAC User Guide ...

Page 17: ... connect the LINA Network DAC LINA Master Clock and LINA Headphone Amplifier together 1 Position the LINA range 2 Connect the LINA Network DAC to the LINA Headphone Amplifier 3 Connect the LINA Master Clock to the LINA Network DAC 1 Positioning the LINA range You can position the units in one of the following ways Place the units side by side Stack the units vertically in the following order LINA ...

Page 18: ...ts 1 Using two balanced XLR cables connect the BAL LEFT and BAL RIGHT outputs on the LINA Network DAC to the BAL LEFT and BAL RIGHT inputs on the LINA Headphone Amplifier 2 On the LINA Headphone Amplifier choose the unbuffered XLR input If the status indicator is not white press the Power Input button until it changes to white Setting up LINA Network DAC User Guide ...

Page 19: ...clocking sync mode on page 35 The LINA Network DAC selects the appropriate clock input and locks to it If you lock an AES or SPDIF input on the LINA Network DAC to the LINA Master Clock the source equipment will not be locked to the Clock resulting in periodic clicks dropouts or distortion To use the LINA Network DAC in this way use source equipment that has a word clock input and a Master Clock w...

Page 20: ...input on page 27 After you have selected the input the display shows the bit rate and format of the current music Connecting a Dual AES input Some audio equipment for example upsamplers or sound servers can output in Dual AES Dual AES features lower jitter than single AES or SPDIF Some audio equipment has two single AES outputs that carry identical data This is not the same as Dual AES and will no...

Page 21: ...ay be labelled CD or AUX 4 Select the chosen input on the amplifier and play some music For more information see Using the LINA Network DAC on page 27 5 While music is playing slowly increase the amplifier volume to the desired level Connecting to your network If you connect your LINA Network DAC to a network you can stream content from local sources such as a music server on your network or from ...

Page 22: ...erate in two audio classes Class 1 which accepts data at up to 96 kS s No additional drivers need to be installed on the connected computer Class 2 which accepts data at up to 384 kS s or DSD 64 or DSD 128 in DoP format A dCS USB Class 2 driver needs to be installed on computers running Windows versions before Windows 10 Creator s Update No additional driver needs to be installed on Apple desktops...

Page 23: ...se button to select dCS Lina Network DAC 4 Select Set as Default Communication Device 5 To get the best sound quality a Select Properties b Select the Advanced tab c Select 24 bit 384000 Hz Studio Quality d In the Exclusive Mode options select both options 6 Close the Sound window Clocking Clock jitter is variation in the digital audio clock frequency which can cause a loss of fine detail when lis...

Page 24: ... choose the input you want to lock For more information see Changing the source input on page 27 4 Set the clocking sync mode on the unit to Audio For more information see Setting the clocking sync mode on page 35 Locking the unit to a Master Clock To minimise jitter you can lock the unit to a Master Clock If the Master Clock has an available output you can use it to also clock another audio sourc...

Page 25: ...units on and off at the same time or put the LINA Network DAC and LINA Master Clock in and out of sleep mode at the same time To enable Power Link use two RJ45 cables to connect the POWER LINK sockets on each unit Setting up LINA Network DAC User Guide 25 ...

Page 26: ...osaic Control is an app for your iOS or Android mobile device With the Mosaic Control app you have access to a vast library of music through a simple yet powerful interface You can use the app to Browse media from various streaming services Manage settings and configuration options for your dCS products To download the Mosaic Control app visit the app store on your iOS or Android device and search...

Page 27: ...s not shown in the list of inputs For more information see Enabling and disabling Dual AES on page 36 Streaming a track from the network automatically selects the network input Playing music with Apple AirPlay Use Apple AirPlay to wirelessly stream music from Apple devices For more information see www apple com airplay 1 Connect your Apple device to the same Wi Fi network as your LINA Network DAC ...

Page 28: ...rom online streaming services such as Spotify TIDAL Qobuz and Deezer You can also listen to Internet Radio and podcasts via Airable For more information see dCS Mosaic on page 26 About MQA files MQA Master Quality Authenticated is an award winning British technology that delivers the sound of the original master recording The master MQA file is fully authenticated and is small enough to stream or ...

Page 29: ...MQA encoded CD the files will not be recognised and decoded To fix the metadata of MQA files use the MQA Tag Renaming application The application reads the MQA markers in the bit stream and applies the appropriate metadata tags to the files For more information on the MQA Tag Renaming application see https www mqa co uk customer tag435sdf43te The MQA logo is a trademark of MQA Limited and is used ...

Page 30: ...it connect the USB storage device to the USB 2 socket 2 Open the Mosaic Control app and access the USB storage device 3 Choose a song to play on the LINA Network DAC For more information see dCS Mosaic on page 26 Using the LINA Network DAC LINA Network DAC User Guide ...

Page 31: ...ngs for the unit using the Mosaic Control app select from the left of the screen on your mobile device Navigating the menu To navigate the menu on the unit tap the buttons below the display Source Open the main menu Move to the previous item Move up a level or exit the menu Move to the next item Enter or select Settings LINA Network DAC User Guide 31 ...

Page 32: ...nse 1 Expanse 2 Filter Filter 1 Filter 2 Filter MQA DSD Filter DSD F1 DSD F2 DSD F3 DSD F4 Upsampling DSD DXD Phase In phase Inverted Device Settings Sync Mode W Auto Audio Master W C 1 W C 2 Dual AES Off On Auto USB Class Class 2 Class 1 Buffer Off On Line Output 2V 6V Display On Off Brightness 1 15 Factory Reset Test Channel Check Burn In Information Settings LINA Network DAC User Guide ...

Page 33: ...uitable for you and the music you are listening to may vary so we recommend testing the different settings dCS Expanse Expanse is the new patent pending crossfeed processing algorithm developed by dCS It applies different processing filters to give two different responses E1 and E2 With Expanse there is a unique headphone listening experience for all listeners that stays true to the original recor...

Page 34: ...s filter in addition to the other PCM filters Changing the DSD filter The DSD filter is active when you are playing DSD files or upsampling PCM data to DSD If you are playing a DSD file or upsampling to DSD and the level of hiss at the output is high your amplifier may not work well with wideband DSD signals Try setting the DSD filter to Filter 2 or 3 1 Tap 2 Tap to select Processing 3 Tap 4 Tap t...

Page 35: ...ts When listening to music if the character of the instruments sounds wrong then it may be because the track was recorded with both channels phase inverted You can correct the absolute phase of the outputs 1 Tap 2 Tap to select Processing 3 Tap 4 Tap to select Phase 5 Tap to change between normal phase and inverted phase This setting is reset when you next switch the unit on Setting the clocking s...

Page 36: ...rd Clock In 1 The unit locks to an external clock connected to WORDCLOCK IN 1 Word Clock In 2 The unit locks to an external clock connected to WORDCLOCK IN 2 If the unit can t find a word clock that is synchronous with the data on the current AES or SPDIF input it defaults to audio sync The incorrect clock icon is displayed Enabling and disabling Dual AES You can set the AES inputs to be used toge...

Page 37: ...o www dcsaudio com search results q driver 5 Download the Windows USB Class 2 driver 6 Unzip the file to a temporary directory 7 Run the file 8 Follow the on screen instructions 9 After the driver is installed restart the computer Enabling and disabling the buffer By default there is a buffer delay in the unit This delay gives the unit time to mute before you hear audible clicks caused by changes ...

Page 38: ...on to turn on the display briefly The display stays on while the menu is open 1 Tap 2 Tap to select Device Settings 3 Tap 4 Tap to select Display 5 Tap to change the display setting Display is on Display is set to turn off when you close the menu Changing the display brightness You can change the display brightness 1 Tap 2 Tap to select Device Settings 3 Tap 4 Tap to select Brightness 5 Tap 6 Tap ...

Page 39: ...p to select Channel Check 3 Tap 4 Tap to start the test The unit outputs a tone on the left channel and then the right channel If what you hear does not match what is shown on the display check the connections and other equipment for swapped channels Conditioning the unit You can run a procedure to condition the unit The system outputs modulated pink noise that increases and decreases NOTICE Condi...

Page 40: ...status including Serial number The frequency detected on each word clock input The sample rate detected on each input USB 1 audio class IP address Version Displays the control board version and Mosaic processor version Updating the software You can update the software on the LINA Network DAC using the Mosaic Control app 1 On your mobile device open the Mosaic Control app 2 Select SUPPORT Versions ...

Page 41: ...re is a fault in the unit Fuse type 20 x 5 mm T 1A L 250 V WARNING Replace the fuse with one of the same type and rating If you use a fuse of a different type or rating it may damage the unit and there is a risk of fire or electric shock It also invalidates the warranty To replace a blown mains fuse 1 Unplug the power cable from the unit 2 Next to the power rocker switch push the two tabs of the f...

Page 42: ...sty or dirty you can clean it with a lint free cloth To remove fingerprints and loose dust use a clean and dry lint free cloth To clean any other surfaces such as the display use a small amount of glass cleaner containing ammonia and a lint free cloth Do not spray glass cleaner directly onto the connector contacts Maintenance LINA Network DAC User Guide ...

Page 43: ...rs Single AES Supports PCM data up to 192 kS s or DSD 64 in DoP format Dual AES Supports PCM data from 88 2 to 384 kS s or DSD in DoP format up to DSD 128 1x SPDIF on 1x BNC connector Supports PCM data up to 192 kS s or DSD 64 in DoP format 1x SPDIF on 1x RCA connector Supports PCM data up to 192 kS s or DSD 64 in DoP format 1x SPDIF on 1x TOSLINK connector Supports PCM data up to 96 kS s Supporte...

Page 44: ...data Better than 113 dB0 20 Hz 20 kHz unweighted Upsampling Multi stage DXD oversampling with switchable DSD upsampling 1 bit 2 822 or 3 07 MS s Spurious responses Better than 105 dB0 20 Hz 20 kHz L R crosstalk Better than 115 dB0 20 Hz 20 kHz Line outputs 1 stereo balanced pair on 2x 3 pin male XLR connectors pin 2 hot pin 3 cold These outputs are electronically balanced and floating the signal b...

Page 45: ...t your fulfilment centre for assistance quoting the serial number of your unit Manufactured by Data Conversion Systems Ltd Unit 1 Buckingway Business Park Anderson Road Swavesey Cambridgeshire CB24 4AE UK www dcsaudio com Support LINA Network DAC User Guide 45 ...

Page 46: ... add your contact details to our customer database dCS will use this information for warranty purposes only we will not contact you directly for reasons relating to sales and marketing This warranty applies to the original owner it is not transferable Warranty exclusions The warranty does not cover wear and tear The warranty on this product will be void if the product is misused in any way any una...

Page 47: ...rning a unit the original packaging should be used to avoid transit damage Replacement packaging sets may be purchased from dCS Operating conditions The supply voltage must remain within 10 of the A C voltage specified on the back panel The supply frequency must be in the range 49 Hz to 62 Hz Ambient temperature range 0 C 32 F to 45 C 113 F non condensing Do not install the unit near heat sources ...

Page 48: ...t be referred to a qualified service technician The product is compliant with UK standards The crossed out wheelie bin WEEE symbol is the European symbol for indicating that this equipment must not be disposed of in general rubbish You are liable to dispose of all your electronic or electrical waste by relocating to the specified collection point for recycling of hazardous waste Collection proper ...

Page 49: ...the equipment into an outlet that is on a different circuit from the television or radio That is make certain the equipment and the television or radio are on circuits controlled by different circuit breakers or fuses USA only If necessary consult dCS Americas LLC or an experienced radio television technician for additional suggestions Changes or modifications not expressly approved by dCS America...

Page 50: ...iPhone 7 iPhone SE iPhone 6s Plus iPhone 6s iPhone 6 Plus iPhone 6 iPhone 5s iPhone 5 iPad Pro 10 5 inch iPad Pro 12 9 inch 2nd Generation iPad Pro 12 9 inch 1st Generation iPad mini 4 iPad mini 3 LINA Network DAC supports iOS 7 or later for setup using Wireless Accessory Configuration Works with Apple Airplay Use of the Works with Apple Airplay badge means that an accessory has been designed to w...

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