Book worms. Below we see a slice of first musicbook dsd production before the standoffs atop the 6-layer motherboard were populated with a smaller PCB and the various snap connectors wired up with ribbon cables or wire harnesses. The earlier generation's exposed SMPS [see right] became a fully sealed 30w/12V Mean Well with 85-264VAC global power flexibility. That's housed in the black casing behind the power IEC with integral filter. The motherboard's small frontal recess clears the display.


Clearly these bookish Teutons are primo examples of surface-mount tech that does away with as many wired connections as possible. Owners of earlier versions now appreciate what's involved in a hardware upgrade: complete replacement of the mother and socketry boards. Only enclosure and remote control remain unchanged. Jochen called it when he named this new generation a complete makeover or "top-to-bottom renovation". Whilst the nomenclature merely grew a dsd suffix to signify, perhaps, nothing but a MkII-ish feature addition, under the hood these really are all new decks. Old bottles, new wine and all that. Zum Wohl!


Clearly Lindemann Audio, progress and boarding the bullet train of digital evolution huddle happily on the same page. What's more, part of smart engineering is the minimization of assembly time. Once outsourced PCB modules and chassis parts arrive, the faster they go together, the less labour fees must be rolled over into the final sell price. This makes for a better value buy. It's a dimension closed off to the very small boutique operator who solders up everything by hand, charges a lot more clams, then claims artisanal advantages for his sound. Perhaps.