Line Magnetic Audio CD 515

Art K. said:
The 515 is fuller, richer and more detailed. It hits harder and conveys subtlety with more finesse. In short, it does everything more convincingly. Probably not the best CD player in the world, just the best I've heard...and I have heard a whole lot of players. At the asking price, a steal.
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Wow thanks for the short comparison... So its really that good against 515... Initially i was supposed to get the Marantz SA8005 but upon reading your experience with it.. i'll go with the LM... Really need to save up for the 515..

Price of 515 here is 1400$ USD vs 1000$ for 215.. So i'm justifying the additional 400$ for the 515..

Thanks for your feedback Art... Really helped me a lot..
 
courage said:
Price of 515 here is 1400$ USD vs 1000$ for 215.. So i'm justifying the additional 400$ for the 515..

Thanks for your feedback Art... Really helped me a lot..
Click to expand...

Where are you? Those are not USA prices. Here it is about 1500 for the 215 and 2400 ball park or $900 more for the 515, plus shipping.

I have the LM 215 cdp.

A 515 ad has been in the Marketplace for a long time.
Same ad was also on US Audio Mart for a time but became a banned ad. "USAM Warning: Classified Ad has been banned by the system."
The seller joechan has no posts on the forum but responded to my pm fast.
 
KevinCorr said:
Where are you? Those are not USA prices. Here it is about 1500 for the 215 and 2400 ball park or $900 more for the 515, plus shipping.

I have the LM 215 cdp.

A 515 ad has been in the Marketplace for a long time.
Same ad was also on US Audio Mart for a time but became a banned ad. "USAM Warning: Classified Ad has been banned by the system."
The seller joechan has no posts on the forum but responded to my pm fast.
Click to expand...


Hi Kevin,

I'm from the Philippines.. LM is a lot more cheaper here..
 
courage: Nice. I have not been there but often go to Bangkok where hifi gear is very expensive.

Well I sure like the 215 and would love to try a 515. Cheers
 
courage said:
Hi Kevin,

I'm from the Philippines.. LM is a lot more cheaper here..
Click to expand...

If money is the issue why not look at the 502CA DAC - the transport mechanisms in the 215 and 515 are exactly the same - an entry level Sony KSS transport found in numerous budget players. The 502CA can be plugged into any CD player or DVD etc player that has a digital optical output. It also has both SS and Tube output modes at the press of a button.
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue74/line_magnetic.htm


The disadvantage is that you have to have a cable to connect to a CD player and it takes up another power socket - but there is an advantage to sound quality, flexibility and price. The DAC is about $600-$700US cheaper than the 515. For $1,000 on the used market you can buy a transport mechanism such as the Audio Note CD/II which uses a Philips Pro2LF top loading mechanism (although you can also buy the same mechanism in other Chinese players like Opera Consonance for less). These mechanisms and something like the TEAC transports using the VRDS are mechanisms that give a more noticeable indication of why transports matter.


I bought the 215 before the 515 came out though so the 502CA made more sense to me since the Chinese brands are horrible on the resale market. If you have absolutely no player with no digital outputs the 515 holds more appeal - if you have any player with a digital output the 502CA makes a lot of sense.
 
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RGA said:
If money is the issue why not look at the 502CA DAC - the transport mechanisms in the 215 and 515 are exactly the same - an entry level Sony KSS transport found in numerous budget players. The 502CA can be plugged into any CD player or DVD etc player that has a digital optical output. It also has both SS and Tube output modes at the press of a button.
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue74/line_magnetic.htm


The disadvantage is that you have to have a cable to connect to a CD player and it takes up another power socket - but there is an advantage to sound quality, flexibility and price. The DAC is about $600-$700US cheaper than the 515. For $1,000 on the used market you can buy a transport mechanism such as the Audio Note CD/II which uses a Philips Pro2LF top loading mechanism (although you can also buy the same mechanism in other Chinese players like Opera Consonance for less). These mechanisms and something like the TEAC transports using the VRDS are mechanisms that give a more noticeable indication of why transports matter.


I bought the 215 before the 515 came out though so the 502CA made more sense to me since the Chinese brands are horrible on the resale market. If you have absolutely no player with no digital outputs the 515 holds more appeal - if you have any player with a digital output the 502CA makes a lot of sense.
Click to expand...


Hi RGA, thanks for your inputs. I actually read your review of the LM DAC and 215.

I'm actually looking for a good CD player and has stumbled upon this forum. Upon reading the 215. i quickly went to a store here that has a 215 in demo. I actually loved what i heard. But then again, i read the 515 review and kinda got curious about it. I'll be auditioning the 515 probably next weekend including it's DAC function.

My current setup is an i5 headless PC connected to Teac UD-501 DAC modified by Sound Affairs in Singapore. To be honest, it sounded really good with my Rega Elex R and Reference 3a De Capo. I'm looking for a CD player that will sound good on it's own as i wont be connecting it to the TEAC Dac. I want a different sound flavor with my CD collection..

Thats why now i'm curious with 215 and 515.. If the 515 is better in a lot of areas with 215, then i will get and and probably replace my TEAC if it's miles away with it on USB function. the teac is DSD DAC but i never utilized it as i only have a few DSD Sample songs..
 
In that case I'd go with the 515 - it sounds better than the 215 on CDs and the 515 does work as a DAC as well so it's a pretty versatile CD player and looks awesome to boot.
 
RGA said:
In that case I'd go with the 515 - it sounds better than the 215 on CDs and the 515 does work as a DAC as well so it's a pretty versatile CD player and looks awesome to boot.
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Thanks RGA. I do have a question, does the 515 has the SS and Tube option when in DAC mode like the 502?
 
You're not missing anything with the SS mode. At no time does it sound better than the tube mode! BUT I replaced the tubes fairly early on at the behest of the dealer. The 515 comes with better NOS tubes standard - the 502CA comes with lesser Chinese tubes.
 
RGA said:
You're not missing anything with the SS mode. At no time does it sound better than the tube mode! BUT I replaced the tubes fairly early on at the behest of the dealer. The 515 comes with better NOS tubes standard - the 502CA comes with lesser Chinese tubes.
Click to expand...

Hi RGA,

Are you saying the 515 is using a different tube than the 502? they are not same brand or something? Sorry, i'm not familiar with Tubes as this will probably be my First Tube equipment
 
The 515 uses better NOS tubes (New Old Stock) and are apparently more costly - ~$50 a tube. Whereas the tubes in the 502CA cost around $8 a tube.

The 515 and 502CA use the same DAC chip but the implementation is a little different.

Your questions have made me look some things up and it's nice to know that the DAC (and by the looks of it the 515) will be easy to make upgrades give their spacious interiors and ease of access. It takes less than 10 minutes to change caps and so there is some interesting experimenting to be had.

Check out this thread for some info on the DAC (although I am sure most of it will also relate to the very similar 515). http://killerdac.com/index.php?topic=2893.80
 
RGA said:
The 515 uses better NOS tubes (New Old Stock) and are apparently more costly - ~$50 a tube. Whereas the tubes in the 502CA cost around $8 a tube.

The 515 and 502CA use the same DAC chip but the implementation is a little different.

Your questions have made me look some things up and it's nice to know that the DAC (and by the looks of it the 515) will be easy to make upgrades give their spacious interiors and ease of access. It takes less than 10 minutes to change caps and so there is some interesting experimenting to be had.

Check out this thread for some info on the DAC (although I am sure most of it will also relate to the very similar 515). http://killerdac.com/index.php?topic=2893.80
Click to expand...

WOuld you say they sounded different when used as a DAC playing same content? Or would any CD player connected to the 502 will sound same with 515?
 
courage said:
WOuld you say they sounded different when used as a DAC playing same content? Or would any CD player connected to the 502 will sound same with 515?
Click to expand...

It depends on the quality of the connections being used - and the quality of the sources (CD player versus computer file). The 515 is a CD player first and DAC second.

The 502CA and 515 don't sound the same - You would have to audition both to determine what you think sounds better. The 502CA is Valve rectified and uses different tube types than the 515.

Since I already have a CD player it made less sense to buy the 515. Indeed I have thought about buying something like an OPPO CD/bluray player for $500 and used the 502CA on that because the OPPO has far more features and can play SACD. I prefer the flexibility of dedicated DACs. I'd have to check that the 515 has Optical IN not Optical Out. It has USB input so you can connect a computer to the 515 but if ALSO has optical in then you could connect another CD player to the 515 so should the transport ever fail - it would be a fully functional DAC for another CD player - but I don't think this is the case.
 
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davidro said:
Richard, what stops you from buying an AN DAC instead?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

For the same money (US prices) the Dac 0.1x is the competitive unit. The problem is it is more designed just for Redbook CD. It has a USB input but it is woefully dated. You need to buy a USB to SPDIF converter on all the models above the DAC Zero for them to work with a computer (which isn't a big deal but you'd have to pay about $150-$250 I believe to get a decent one).

The DAC I wanted is the DAC 3.1x Balanced which is for me the best digital sound I have heard that I could probably afford, but I was at the airport here and had a coffee with Peter Q and Andy Grove and their new DACs are coming fairly soon and they are (hopefully) cheaper and from independent ears much much better than their current Players (which I already hold as the best). Granted they will offer current owners free upgrades but I elected to hold off and buy the turntable instead. Peter hates computer audio so I don't think the new units will accommodate hi-res either.

The 502CA has been good enough that it hasn't made me rush to upgrade. Indeed, I may not. There's only so much I want to put into digital.
 
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