Smooth operator

Now in MkII guise, Lindemann’s network-attached DAC and analogue preamp sees a raft of internal updates and the promise of “production secured for upcoming years”

Look on the surface at the latest iteration of Lindemann's network L music player, the £3,450 Musicbook Source II, and you'd be forgiven for thinking that nothing much has really changed since the previous version. Scratch a little deeper, however, and it very quickly becomes clear this isn't the case.

Sure, this is still an extremely compact unit - just 280mm wide and a mere 63mm tall - with nothing much on show save a power/standby button sunk into one end of the top-plate and an edge-mounted volume control, with a push-to-mute function, at the other.

Book look a little closer and the additions start to become a little clearer. Take, for example, the nice bright, crisp display panel on the front, into which can be inserted a slot-loading CD drive as a £250 option. A little black plastic remote offers basic control as well, but owners will only realise the Source II's full potential by running the Lindemann app on their iOS or Android device of choice.

The Musicbook Source II, which is £200 more than the models it replaces and that's not bad given the way prices are going at the moment - has been substantially revised within, however. This isn't just a network player, but also a preamplifier complete with line and MM phono inputs, that offers a physical/aesthetic match for Lindemann's partnering Musicbook Power II Class D amplifier.

DETAILS

PRODUCT Lindemann Musicbook Source II

ORIGIN Germany

TYPE Network

DAC/ preamplifier

WEIGHT 2.6kg

DIMENSIONS (WxHxD) 280 x 63 x 220mm

FEATURES Compatible with up to 24-bit/384kHz PCM and DSD256 Inputs: 2x RCA; MM phono stage; optical; coaxial;

USB A; Ethernet Outputs: 1x RCA; 1x XLR