There’s a growing digital divide in streaming audio. On one side, you’ve got budget-friendly workhorses like the WiiM Ultra and Bluesound NODE giving listeners an impressive bang for under a grand. On the other, you’ve got dCS casually dropping components like the Lina DAC X that cost more than a used Honda Civic — $15,500 USD. But here’s the thing: dCS doesn’t play in the same sandbox.
They build for the top shelf—the kind of audiophile who alphabetizes their power cables and hears existential truths in a hi-res piano note (which we can all agree is slightly weird but ok) The Lina DAC X isn’t just a streamer or DAC—it’s digital command central for those who demand best-in-class sound, seamless hi-res integration, and zero compromises.
The Lina DAC X is built for listeners who want the convenience of hi-res streaming without giving up even an ounce of sonic soul. It takes the already excellent Lina Network DAC and adds a few creature comforts—like a physical volume dial and IR remote—for those who still appreciate a bit of tactile control in their digital lives.
It’s not just a DAC, either—this is a fully loaded network player that can stream from just about anywhere: TIDAL, Qobuz, Spotify, QQ Music, Roon, Audirvana, JPLAY—you name it. It also plays nicely with everything from TVs and computers to CD transports and high-end dCS SACD rigs.
You can run it into a preamp, straight into power amps, or even active speakers for a minimalist but no-compromise system. And thanks to dCS’s modular thinking, the Lina DAC X has plenty of runway for future upgrades, all delivered through over-the-air updates—no shipping it back or fiddling with firmware nightmares.
Sonically, it’s unmistakably dCS. The Lina DAC X delivers excellent clarity and resolution, driven by the company’s in-house Ring DAC and digital processing platform. It’s precise and clean without drifting into clinical territory, and natural without smoothing things over too much.
And yes—it all fits into the same tightly packed, impeccably machined Lina stack. So tight, in fact, it makes a Blackadder-style codpiece look roomy.
The DAC X comes wrapped in a full-width chassis carved from a solid block of aluminum—because if you’re spending this kind of money, plastic just won’t cut it. That milled shell isn’t just for show, though; it helps with performance and houses flex-rigid circuit boards designed to squeeze every last ounce of reliability and fidelity out of your digital signal.
It’s low-profile enough to disappear next to the houseplants in your living room, but built like it’s ready to survive a siege in your listening bunker—whether you’re chasing Coltrane’s ghost or trying to figure out what Nigel Godrich buried in the last Radiohead mix.
Specifications
- Product Dimensions
- Height: 122mm / 4.80″
- Width: 444mm / 17.48″
- Depth: 356mm / 14.02″ (allow extra for cable connectors)
- Weight: 14KG / 30.86 lbs
- Analogue Outputs
- 1 stereo balanced pair (XLR, electronically balanced and floating)
- Output impedance: 3Ω
- Recommended load: 10kΩ – 100kΩ
- 1 stereo unbalanced pair (RCA)
- Output impedance: 52Ω
- Recommended load: 10kΩ – 100kΩ
- Output Levels: 0.2V, 0.6V, 2V, or 6V RMS (selectable)
- 1 stereo balanced pair (XLR, electronically balanced and floating)
- Streaming Services & Support
- UPnP
- Internet Radio
- Qobuz
- Spotify
- Deezer
- TIDAL
- Roon Ready
- QQ Music
- Digital Inputs
- 2x AES/EBU (XLR), supports up to 192kS/s each; Dual AES up to 384kS/s
- 1x S/PDIF (BNC), 44.1–192kS/s
- 1x S/PDIF (RCA), 44.1–192kS/s
- 1x Toslink, 44.1–96kS/s
- 1x USB Type B, asynchronous, supports 44.1–384kS/s PCM, DSD, DSDx2
- 1x USB Type A (for mass storage playback)
- Audio Format Support
- PCM: 44.1–384kHz, up to 24-bit
- DSD: DSD/64, DSD/128 (native & DoP)
- File Types: FLAC, WAV, AIFF, MQA
- Upsampling
- Multi-stage DXD oversampling
- Switchable DSD Upsampling (1-bit 2.822MS/s or 3.07MS/s)
- DSDx2 Upsampling (1-bit 5.644MS/s or 6.14MS/s)
- Frequency Response (Filter 1)
- Fs = 44.1 or 48kS/s: ±0.1dB, 10Hz–20kHz
- Fs = 88.2 or 96kS/s: ±0.1dB, 10Hz–20kHz, -3dB @ >38kHz
- Fs = 176.4 or 192kS/s: ±0.1dB, 10Hz–20kHz, -3dB @ >67kHz
- Fs = 352.8 or 384kS/s: ±0.1dB, 10Hz–20kHz, -3dB @ >100kHz
- DSD64: ±0.1dB, 10Hz–20kHz, -3dB @ >90kHz
- DSD128: ±0.1dB, 10Hz–20kHz, -3dB @ >100kHz
- Residual Noise (6V output setting)
- 16-bit: Better than –96dB0 (20Hz–20kHz unweighted)
- 24-bit: Better than –113dB0 (20Hz–20kHz unweighted)
The Bottom Line
Like everything from dCS, the Lina DAC X is hand-assembled and tested in Cambridgeshire, because robots aren’t quite good enough to meet their standards yet. It’s part of a modular system that lets you mix and match components in the Lina series—build a full stack, go solo with just the DAC, or slowly piece together your dream setup like a medieval armor set from Blackadder II.
Shipping kicks off in June 2025 at $15,500 USD, assuming the world doesn’t melt first. Check with your local dCS dealer, and maybe start clearing some shelf space. And buy some lottery tickets. 10% tariffs still apply regardless of what they announced this morning on Pennsylvania Avenue.
For more information: lina.dcsaudio.com
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