In light of the recent Roon announcement of no longer allowing the enabling of non-certified devices it is good to note that, in the case of the LinQ, this is of no further consequence. This means that the “Uncertified” message may appear in the Roon software.
Roon CertificationĬristian Anelli of Aqua tells me that the Roon RAAT program procedure was started in 2019 but, so far, the LinQ has not yet received the Certified Status.
It’s exactly as you would expect a network device to work but sadly is not always the reality. Attach it and within seconds the unit connects and is ready to go. The unit works flawlessly irrespective of starting up with a network cable connected or said cable attached after the unit was already on. Some network players have proven to be quite finicky in use and some won’t connect to the network unless they have been booted in a particular mode or have been connected in a certain order. The unit starts up very quickly and self-initializes without the need to select anything except for the desired Network Protocol, call it the “input”. Depending on the selected output the maximum resolution is PCM 32 bit 384kHz / DSD128.Īt the time of review, no manual was available but as it turned out the LinQ works super-intuitively. S/PDIF is available on cinch and BNC and all outputs, AQlink included, can be used simultaneously. Furthermore, proprietary circuits have been developed in the output FPGA, to implement S/PDIF, AES/EBU, and dual-AES outputs. This way, the extra USB interface is skipped to avoid any losses in sound quality. The output is on AQlink, the aqua I2S proprietary connection. In addition to being fit for purpose, this proprietary network switch offers additional isolation and is said to be an important aspect of the LinQ’s performance.Īqua also makes a point of having made a very conscious decision not to use USB for the LinQ in their quest to achieve the best sound. Aqua does not use off-the-shelf solutions and that policy extends even to the fully-floating hybrid 2-stage Network LAN switch module. Each module’s communication line with the network is galvanically isolated, each module has its own dedicated power supply and in addition, this architecture allows future updates to be fitted very easily. Available right now are the Roon Ready (RAAT) module and the UPnP DLNA streaming module and these have been fitted to my review sample. Further, the LinQ offers four slots that can be used for any combination of interface boards that plug into a connector on the base platform of the device.
The Aqua LinQ is a Network Interface that was created following the company’s philosophy of providing only proprietary solutions in a fully modular setup. LinQ including one UPnP/DLNA or ROON module: 5.680 euroĪQlink I2S cable with Ethercon (for La Scala and Formula DAC): 365 euroĪQlink I2S cable with RJ45 (for La Voce DAC): 335 euro Technical Retail prices in the NL including 21% VAT:
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