Danzig

@austinpop i had a chance to listen to the Bartok Apex and the 3-stack Lina system with an HD800s (balanced). I listened to classical music (solo piano, cello and violin, as well as orchestral pieces). With this type of music, I had a clear preference for the Bartok. In (very brief) summary I found it to be noticeably more refined and effortless in its delivery/presentation of the music I listened to. I became so immersed in listening to the music that I lost all track of and ran out of time to test Bartok with the Lina clock.

@austinpopinteresting line up of gear tested & contrasted here. As you already had the Lina clock and Lina headphone amp to hand, the Lina dac was most definitely conspicuous by its absence. Was it this deliberate? I ask only because I'm wondering whether if one was starting all over again with headphone listening as one's primary use case whether the Lina 3 component stack might be a better option than the Bartok Apex even when combined with the Lina clock. Any thoughts? If you ever get another bite at the cherry would love to see your assessment of the Lina stack vs Bartok Apex with & without the clock vs Dave (stock power supply) + mscaler + music server. Btw your first review of the Bartok 2.0 in my view set the absolute benchmark for how reviews should be done. Many of the professionals who review gear for a living do not come anywhere near close to that standard. Keep up the great work (which i assume you do out of your love/passion for music::::ie not professionally?).