Music streaming never looked so good – dCS' luxury DAC just got bigger and better

This highly rated compact DAC gets an upgrade to deliver new dimensions in digital audio

Product photography of the dCS Lina DAC X showing a close-up of the digital display. The DAC is playing music from Qobuz.
(Image credit: dCS)
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Audio firm dCS has given its acclaimed, luxury Lina DAC an upgrade with a new, full-width chassis, support for QQ Music and improved connectivity.

Affluent audiophiles can order now for a June delivery.

High-end UK Hi-Fi manufacturer dCS has returned with an upgrade to its five-star rated luxury DAC.

The Lina DAC and network streamer got perfect reviews when it launched in 2022 and it's now been followed up with a bigger, potentially better model.

The Lina DAC X takes the existing version and gives it more living room. Where the original is a compact design just 22cm wide the new chassis, milled from solid aluminium, is full-width, so there's room for more than just the screen.

The new model gets a rotary control, improved connectivity and a dedicated remote handset. To my eyes I think it's a big improvement visually – the new DAC X looks a lot sleeker and more stylish than its predecessor.

Product photography of the dCS Lina DAC X. A front view on a grey surface with a lighter grey background.

Where the Lina DAC is a compact size, the Lina DAC X is full width.

(Image credit: dCS)

Lina DAC X: luxury listening and serious streaming

The core technology is the same as before, so the DAC X is a fully-featured Hi-Res streamer for all the key platforms, including TIDAL, Qobuz, Spotify, Deezer and QQ Music. It is also capable with music management software such as Roon, Spotify Connect, Audirvana and JPLAY.

The QQ music support is new and the DAC X supports CD and SACD transports, too.

The DAC X can be connected to any amplifier, including directly to power amplifiers or active speakers, to create a complete music playback system. And like many high-end audio products, it's here for a long as well as good time.

It has been built with a flexible architecture that enables dCS to deliver performance and feature updates over the air without charge.

The Lina DAC X is available to order now from the brand directly and approved distributors. Shipping will begin in June 2025 at £13,500 (about $17,920 / €15,860 / AU$27,915) per unit.

Carrie Marshall
Carrie Marshall

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).

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