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Lindemann Limetree Review (streamer)

Rate this product:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 141 77.5%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 33 18.1%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 6 3.3%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 2 1.1%

  • Total voters
    182

respice finem

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"There is no cloud, just other people's computers"... No streaming provider will last forever, and no format probably.
For me, this means two things:
1. "investing" big money in a streamer is not "futureproof",
2. having an old fashioned "own cloud" = local files to play or stream from a NAS still makes sense.
 

restorer-john

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"There is no cloud, just other people's computers"... No streaming provider will last forever, and no format probably.
For me, this means two things:
1. "investing" big money in a streamer is not "futureproof",
2. having an old fashioned "own cloud" = local files to play or stream from a NAS still makes sense.

I agree. Doesn't matter if the entire internet goes down and everything on it- my NAS has enough entertainment in terms of movies and files to keep me amused for a very long time. And the speed of access is in a whole other league.
 

JRS

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I guess that the lime leaves a bit of a sour taste?
Eee Gads. No, no, no. If you love beer, you need to find a store with a deep selection of imports. Total Wine is OK. No the sours are made with a dual fermentation using the usual yeasts, some wild yeasts, and bacteria. The bacteria that produce vinegar as a byproduct account for the sourness. It's more of a tart/sour like flavor than the somewhat sour flavor of citrus fruits. The good ones sell for $15 or more for a bomber, or 4 pack. They are decidedly not a session beer usually one and done IME, but a novel beer style that deserves tasting a few. The Lindeman's are a more "accessible" product for the uninitiated; most of the really good stuff comes out of small Belgian breweries.; the most sought after are laid down like a red wine for 3 years or more to round off the sharp edges ad develop additional complexity. A Flanders Red is maybe the most archetypal of the style. American Breweries have come on strong in recent years and rival the best of the Belgians, but being upstarts are again less likely prized.
Here is a pretty good list: (note the Gueze styles are salted which helps to mellow the sourness a bit.)
 

PeteL

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"There is no cloud, just other people's computers"... No streaming provider will last forever, and no format probably.
For me, this means two things:
1. "investing" big money in a streamer is not "futureproof",
2. having an old fashioned "own cloud" = local files to play or stream from a NAS still makes sense.
1. No digital audio products are future proof but some do better than others.
2. Sure it make sense for some, fully depends on your listening habits, for me I like to listen to new albums every weeks. Streaming services makes sense too, owning all that would be pricy, I like the discoveries and Youtube sounds bad to my ears at least on most content. But sure, nothing wrong with owning music files. I tend to go for CDs or Records for some music I want to own but whatever works for each and everyone.
 

respice finem

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1. No digital audio products are future proof but some do better than others.
2. Sure it make sense for some, fully depends on your listening habits, for me I like to listen to new albums every weeks. Streaming services makes sense too, owning all that would be pricy, I like the discoveries and Youtube sounds bad to my ears at least on most content. But sure, nothing wrong with owning music files. I tend to go for CDs or Records for some music I want to own but whatever works for each and everyone.
It doesn't have to be one way or the other. I'm streaming newer stuff, but if I hear something worth buying, I do. Best of both worlds.
 

evam1

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I had Bluesound node 1 (streamer + dac), Yamaha 303, Primare np5, Lindemann limetree bridge (streamer only) - all playing with coax or optical to my dac.

Lindemann had the best sound of all
The application for android is excellent!
 

Lambda

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"investing" big money in a streamer is not "futureproof",
A streamer is a computer they are not especial good at retaining value and the future is unclear.
But if you go with open source no one can take functionality away from your product.

I don’t get the idea with "fancy hifi" streamer just use an old phone/tablet or a Pi and connect a external DAC. preferably your "good" main Dac with multiple digital inputs.
 

antcollinet

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Agreed.

Beauty of Raspi is there will always be some distribution or other in ongoing development. So even if you can't stay with the system you first selected, the hardware will be usable with something - probably indefinitely.
 

respice finem

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@Lambda I've been even more lazy with streaming, using just a FireTV stick (the UHD version) with Prime which I have anyway. I could stream from mobile to my AVR, but I don't even need it. For my local stuff, I have a DIY fanless HTPC (old fashioned, I know, but it works well, and doubles as a second PC @home).
 

Lambda

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hardware will be usable with something - probably indefinitely.
Looking at the Linux unix history and legacy probably way to long.
I mean we still have Support for Sparc and other obscure relics from the past.

If in 15-20 years from now ARM and X86 is finally gone and we all use RISC V i would not be to sad about my Pi not getting new Kernels if can get
Exponentially faster and better,smaller hardware for a fraction of the price.

Today you get a "computer" with wifi for 2$
1-500x500.jpg

And it is already callable of streaming audio...

So will we Have today's "Pi" like performance 20 years into the future in a package like this? not unlikely.
 

Tangband

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I had Bluesound node 1 (streamer + dac), Yamaha 303, Primare np5, Lindemann limetree bridge (streamer only) - all playing with coax or optical to my dac.

Lindemann had the best sound of all
The application for android is excellent!
In what way was the sound better ? Can you describe ?
 

evam1

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In what way was the sound better ? Can you describe ?
a): the general sense of musicality (something subjective of course)
b) better low, tighter, medium more lively, as well as high (which do not bother)
Of course, all this may be due to the dac (Ayon skylla ii), but they all sounded with same dac, so the conclusion is valid.
 

Tangband

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a): the general sense of musicality (something subjective of course)
b) better low, tighter, medium more lively, as well as high (which do not bother)
Of course, all this may be due to the dac (Ayon skylla ii), but they all sounded with same dac, so the conclusion is valid.
Interesting. My own experience is that you really can hear a small difference in some circumstances, even with digital signals between different digital transports into a dac.

Really good digital transport give this impression , for me at least:

1. A soundstage thats slightly more wide, with more space between the instruments so each instruments has a clear, defined place in the stereo mix. With many instruments playing at the same time, you can hear each instrument more clearly. This is the difference I can hear with my Genelec 8340 with digital input, and using two different USB-spdif bridges with a MAC computer using Apple lossless.

2. Slightly cleaner treble , subjecticaly somewhat higher in level compared to a less good digital transport.

3. A slightly more dynamic sound

I guess that all of this is very dependent on the dac thats used.

A bad digital transport ( with bad SRC, no galvanic isolation, bad clocking, ) can on the other hand make so that different dacs sound about the same, meaning that a really good sounding dac is limited soundwise by a bad digital transport.

On topic again:
This lindemann streamer shows high level of noise in some of amirms measurements, does this show up in a somewhat positive way for the listener when listening to music ? A softer sound perhaps ?
 
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Balle Clorin

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Disappointing indeed. I have one Network and use it as source for my earphone listening . Sounds OK and functionality works fine. The opamp used is much better on paper than the implementation measured here. Of course any distortion or noise below -80db cannot be heard , but unnecessary disappointing technical performance any way. Maybe I will measure the earphone output some

I see that I got version I with AKM. Chips and notice the new II with Es9038 has 3 times higher THD spec

Did the testlevel affect the distortion? Spec say 2.0V for Network I , and 2.2 fir mkII and test was at 2.35V?
 

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NiagaraPete

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WOW, so this appears to be the "best" digital streamer out there in terms of measurements, regardless of price?
I had one but sold it. Yes it has Airplay 2 but no auto switching of bitrate or frequency.
 

Tangband

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I had one but sold it. Yes it has Airplay 2 but no auto switching of bitrate or frequency.
Before you sold it - did you hear any difference in sound compared to your usual streamer ?
 

NiagaraPete

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Before you sold it - did you hear any difference in sound compared to your usual streamer ?
No and I’m using my original again Airport Express v2. I use optical out to a Topping D30 pro. If I’m playing hi quality I connect directly from an iPad to USB.
 

Tangband

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No and I’m using my original again Airport Express v2. I use optical out to a Topping D30 pro. If I’m playing hi quality I connect directly from an iPad to USB.
AirPort express v2 is really good sounding , even from the analog 3,5 mm socket .
 

NiagaraPete

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AirPort express v2 is really good sounding , even from the analog 3,5 mm socket .
The 3.5 socket is also toslink via adapter.
 

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