Probably the silliest question ever asked. We have an Akurate DSM going to an Exaktbox 10 then to Kudos S20s via an Akurate 4200 amp. I’m very happy but the management can’t cope with streaming from NAS or Qobuz. Could I get a CD player with a digital output (I.e avoiding the DAC) which would give an appropriate input to the Exaktbox please?
A digital out via S/PDIF should work. I recall having an ARCAM disc player with a digital out, and connecting via S/PDIF to a Rega DAC.
I did the same thing as a test also with an Arcam CDP CD192 IIRC, both analog via Linn silver and digital via run of the mill cable sound quite good, I was positively surprised. So yes it works and the results aren’t al to bad.
Makes you wonder about the results if you put a really high end CDP or transport in front of the DSM.
Makes you wonder about the results if you put a really high end CDP or transport in front of the DSM.
When you say "appropriate input to the Exaktbox", is that a typo and you meant "appropriate input to the Akurate DSM"?
The only input the Exaktbox will accept is Exakt, such as is provided by the Akurate DSM. I'm not aware of any CD player that has an Exakt link output.
However the DSM has a plethora of inputs - both analogue and digital - which, when you select that source, will send the output to the Exakt link. You can use either Konfig or the online Linn Account to hide or rename the sources, which will help to make it simple to select the CD player as source.
I'd be tempted to get any CD player (if not Linn then maybe one that uses the same IR remote control commands as Linn) and see how that suits - if it has a digital out it'll just be serving as a transport, so the quality of the DAC in it won't matter. It'll be the Exaktbox that's providing the Digital to Analogue conversion.
The only input the Exaktbox will accept is Exakt, such as is provided by the Akurate DSM. I'm not aware of any CD player that has an Exakt link output.
However the DSM has a plethora of inputs - both analogue and digital - which, when you select that source, will send the output to the Exakt link. You can use either Konfig or the online Linn Account to hide or rename the sources, which will help to make it simple to select the CD player as source.
I'd be tempted to get any CD player (if not Linn then maybe one that uses the same IR remote control commands as Linn) and see how that suits - if it has a digital out it'll just be serving as a transport, so the quality of the DAC in it won't matter. It'll be the Exaktbox that's providing the Digital to Analogue conversion.
If you find a cd player with a coaxial spdif out then even better. Get a 75 ohm coaxial cable. Ce digital out to Adsm coaxial in (digital)
Yes, a CD player with a digital output, either coax or Toslink, will work. If you are looking for new there are also CD transports with no DAC inside made specifically to use with units that already have a DAC in them. Cambridge Audio has a good unit that is about $600 in the US. Simaudio Moon makes a couple that are at significantly higher prices. If you are looking for budget but decent both Cambridge Audio and NAD have CD players under $400 US that have digital output and would work fine.
Whoops, I was intending to bypass the DSM. Very silly in retrospect.
I should have waited before the original post. The management has now remembered that I put a load of music on her iPad.She is quite happy with that plus ear plug thingies. Domestic harmony restored!
Many thanks to all for the help anyway.
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