Inviting balance
I found myself marginally preferring the sound
of the Musicbook 25’s CD playback to streaming music via my home network. Heck,
there really wasn’t much in it: only back-to-back A/B comparisons revealed a slight
muting of dynamic contrasts and softening of transients. And my preference was
easily turned on its head when listening to worthwhile hi-res audio files. For
example, ‘Oh Daddy’ and ‘The Chain’ from Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours appeared a
smidgen more vivid and vital via compact disc than playing the WAV files
(ripped using dBpoweramp) pulled from my ‘digital library’ via LAN and rendered
by the Musicbook’s network player.
Four
S/PDIF and two RCA analogue inputs should be adequate for most requirements.
Power amp connection can be balanced (XLR) or single-ended (RCA)
But this marginal subjective difference was
made irrelevant when streaming the laughably superior 96kHz/24-bit version stored
in my computer HDD, ripped from my copy of the 2001 DVD-Audio release of this
famous album.
The longer I listened to the Musicbook 25
the more I grew to admire its voicing, its invitingly warm balance and delicate
treble: not too smooth or over-sweetened. This meant that the sharp attack of
the late Stevie Ray Vaughan’s evergreen ‘Tin Pan Alley (aka Roughest Place In
Town)’ from Couldn’t Stand The Weather [Epic Legacy EPC 494130 2] had plenty of
energy and dynamism, the leading-edge bite of the guitar sharply etched and
suitably angry.
Similarly, Vaughan’s bombastic interpretation
of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)’ fizzled with power and
passion, with the driving bass and drums of the accompanying Double Trouble combo
appearing faithfully vital, with real speed and attack, while the sound of
Tommy Shannon’s bass guitar was deep and well-formed, and the cymbals of Chris
Layton’s drum kit rang and sizzled with convincing authenticity.
Lindermann
Musicbook 25 Review 4
Relaxed demeanour
Moreover, with what you might term ‘run of
the mill’ pop and rock recordings the network player’s subtle ‘softening’ could
often be judged advantageous, as it obviated excessive brightness and listening
fatigue. You wouldn’t – or at least you shouldn’t – judge the capability of a
hi-fi component listening to shoddy recordings and low bitrate internet radio
stations, but the fact that the Musicbook 25 doesn’t throw a spotlight on sonic
deficiencies might be considered a boon for many music collectors.
Lindermann
Musicbook 25 Review 5
Playing Nora Jones’s Feels Like Home[192kHz/24-bit
download from HDtracks] the Musicbook 25 sounded all of a piece, Jones’ close-miked
breathy vocals appearing to hover seductively in the soundstage in ‘Sunrise’
and remaining intimate and vivid in ‘What Am I To You’, with its thicker
production quality.
Thanks to the player’s smooth and relaxed
demeanour female vocals fared particularly well throughout the listening tests.
The title track from 2011’s Paper Airplane by Alison Krauss & Union Station
[Rounder 11661 06652] was a fine exemplar of the Lindemann’s ability to serve
up a three-dimensional image, with Alison Krauss’s voice depicted exquisitely
in the deep soundstage.
Skimming through a selection of audiophile
hi-res recordings from AIX, Channel Classics, 2L and Reference Recordings
confirmed the Musicbook’s compatibility with all sampling rates up to 192kHz.
It also substantiated the ’25’s extremely satisfying sound quality, showing that
it was more than capable of corroborating the benefits of increased recording resolutions.
Only if you crave uber-accurate instrumental
separation and forensic detail might you feel slightly shortchanged. Then
you’ll need to dig wa-ay deeper into your savings. Lindemann’s Musicbook 25 is,
after all, considerably cheaper than many audiophiles’ compact disc players –
never mind that it constitutes a 24-bit/192kHz-capable network music player,
DAC, headphone amp and analogue preamplifier all housed as one compact
component. It certainly makes a convincing argument for ‘downsizing’.
Hi-fi news verdict
Used both as a network player and when
playing CDs, the Musicbook 25 sounds highly civilised, with a rich midband and
pleasing treble devoid of digital ‘grain’. It is expensive for sure, but
considering the unit’s luxurious build quality and comprehensive functionality,
not to mention its pleasingly compact form factor, it crafts a pretty esoteric
hi-fi experience and thus it can be warmly recommended.
Sound quality: 78%
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Hi-fi news specifications
·
Maximum output level (Balanced): 3.95Vrms at
97ohm ·
A-wtd S/N ratio: 107.8dB ·
Distortion (1kHz, 0dBFs/–30dBFs): 0.0009% /
0.0004% ·
Dist. & Noise (20kHz, 0dBFs/–30dBFs):
0.00045% / 0.0005% ·
Frequency response (20Hz-20kHz): +0.0dB to
–0.3dB ·
Digital jitter (48kHz/96kHz/192kHz): 12psec /
15psec / 18psec ·
Resolution @ –100dB: ±0.1dB ·
Power consumption: 12W (1W standby) ·
Dimensions(WHD) / Weight: 280x65x220mm / 3.5kg
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