Headphone Amplifier

LINA

Our powerful solid state amplifier is designed to drive even the most demanding headphones to their full potential

Drives a vast range of headphones, including IEMs and planars

Complements virtually any headfi setup

Unique design offers exceptional sonic and measured performance

LINA Headphone Amplifier Key Features

Low output impedance ensures optimal sound with a huge range of headphones – including highly sensitive models

Solid state design provides consistent, clean performance

Choice of inputs caters to a variety of digital sources and audio setups

Class AB design with DC servo system delivers high power efficiency and excellent linearity

Billet aluminium chassis reduces risk of electromagnetic interference

Transparent performance faithfully mirrors the sound of your chosen music and headphones

LINA Headphone Amplifier Specifications

Dimensions / Weight
121.5mm (H) x 220mm (W) x 356mm (D) / 7.5kg

Headphone Outputs
• 1 x dual 3-pin balanced XLR, right and left channel
• 1 x single 4-pin balanced XLR
• 1 x single 1⁄4” (6.35mm) headphone jack

Signal to Noise Ratio
110dB 20Hz-20kHz A-weighted
(referenced to 6V rms balanced input and output)

Analogue Inputs
• 1 x stereo pair unbalanced RCA, input impedance 48kΩ
• 1 x stereo pair unbuffered balanced XLR, input impedance 16kΩ
• 1 x stereo pair buffered balanced XLR, input impedance 96kΩ

THD+N
<0.005% @ 1kHz 6V rms balanced output into 30Ω (80kHz bandwidth)

Frequency Response
1Hz-100kHz Better than +0/-3dB

2023 Price

£9,000

Whether you’re listening with custom IEMs or reference-level over-ears, the Lina Headphone Amplifier will ensure you experience the full impact of your chosen headphones, and your music. With its ultra-low output impedance, it confidently drives a vast range of designs, and adapts to suit their unique requirements and characteristics for optimal performance.

Our first ever standalone amplifier, its design builds on learnings gained from our experience working at the forefront of audio design and engineering, and developing a custom Class AB headphone amplifier for the award-winning dCS Bartók Headphone DAC. Following the Bartók’s release, we set out to further our work in headphone amplification, and engineer a standalone component that could be used separately or as part of a complete dCS headfi system.

Through exhaustive development, extensive testing, and creative thinking, we developed an all-new design that combines tried and tested features with novel innovations engineered to further enhance performance and efficiency.

The result is an exemplary headphone amplifier that delivers plenty of power and grip, while maintaining complete neutrality. With its low noise floor, wide dynamic range and excellent linearity, it delivers a compelling, dynamic experience that reveals the true sound and character of your music and headphones.

About the Lina Headphone Amplifier

Choice without compromise

Different kinds of headphones require differing amounts of voltage and current, depending on their efficiency and impedance. The Lina Headphone Amplifier is specifically designed to cope with widely varying loads and deliver an outstanding performance with a huge range of headphones – whatever their individual requirements or characteristics. This is achieved through a range of features and factors, including a low output impedance design, low noise floor, wide dynamic range, and an adjustable gain switch which removes the risk of hiss when listening with highly sensitive equipment.

Perfect neutrality

All dCS products are carefully engineered to provide the highest level of transparency, and the Lina Headphone Amplifier is no exception. We’ve gone to great lengths to create an amplifier that drives your headphones to the best of their ability, while honouring their unique character – be it neutral, warm, bright, cool, or anything in between. Developed and tested with a variety of headphones, it is an amplifier that preserves and celebrates the sound of your chosen equipment, so you can experience your headphones exactly as the designer or manufacturer intended.

Ambitious engineering

A truly ‘ground up’ design, the Lina Headphone Amplifier is engineered to deliver the highest levels of performance, quality and reliability. This is reflected in everything from the arrangement of internal components, to the design of its circuitry, electronics, and billet aluminium casework (selected for its excellent acoustic and electromagnetic properties) we have relentlessly studied and questioned every aspect of headphone amplification, developing new features and techniques, while pushing existing technologies to their limits, with the sole aim of creating the finest headphone amplifier available.