I was really lucky. I had the Selekt with Katalyst DAC. I heard the Organik at the Linn factory and I had to have one. I got £500 trade in on my Katalyst and a Utopik power supply for free.

I would say the source is the most important but you are going to want something that is capable of reproducing it as accurately as possible. If the detail isn’t there to begin with, nothing is going to put it back in further down the chain. I’ve just upgraded my DAC and left the rest of the system unchanged. The difference is amazing. Obviously, the thing to do if you are buying or upgrading listen to the effect that improving different components has on the sound quality and buy accordingly.

I defy anybody to listen to the new Linn Organik DAC and still say there is no discernible sound quality difference between DACs.

I don’t know about in the USA but you could pick up a Linn Majik LP12 for £3500 in the UK. How available is Linn gear in the States? A Rega of whatever model you can afford is a good bet too.

Yes. I’ve listened to all the Linn range of streamers from the Majik to the Klimax. I own a Selekt. The sound markedly improves from the lowest to the top. Even within the Selekt options, the new chassis and power supply with the latest model have far better sound quality than mine. That’s before any change to the DAC.

I suggest you compare the Linn Katalyst and Organik DACs. It may change your mind.

The source is absolutely the most important part of the system. It doesn’t matter what it is, record deck, cd player or streamer. If the sound going into the amp and speakers is crap, the output will be crap. The best speakers in the world can only reproduce what they are given. You need detail at the beginning of the chain. Nothing can add it later.