CD Player/Transport Reviews

I auditioned the Linn CD player with three different pairs of loudspeakers that made their ways through my listening room over the past weeks: the Monitor Audio Studio 20 reviewed last month, the Apogee Centaur Minor reviewed in this issue, and my reference system, the Hales System Two Signatures augmented by a Muse Model 18 subwoofer. VTL 225W monoblocks were the primary amplifiers—a Jeff Rowland Model One saw brief action—and an Audio Research LS2 line-stage preamplifier provided gain and switching control. Interconnects were Straight Wire Maestro and loudspeaker cable was Symo, AudioQuest Dragon/Clear, or Sterling/midnight bi-wired sets. AC power to the processors was conditioned by a Tice Power Block and Titan.—Robert Harley