There have been remarkable advances in digital sound technologies over the years, none more so than from Lyngdorf Audio, the Danish exponent of cutting-edge signal processing.
DSP signal tweaking is common on most integrated amps, but the ingenuity of the Lyngdorf proposition (which effectively allows audio to transcend the physical confines of any listening space) is startling.
To learn more, Home Cinema Choice magazine sat down with Rob Sinden, head of Lyngdorf's UK distributor Gecko.
Sinden has been a long-standing advocate of high-end audio and video and was an early convert to the potential of Lyngdorf. More recently the brand has attracted attention by partnering with audio legend Steinway...
Home Cinema Choice: We were blown away by the first Steinway Lyngdorf system. It's an interesting alliance...
Rob Sinden: Lyngdorf is the technology partner behind the collaboration, while Steinway is involved in the manufacture and the aesthetic design. Lyngdorf's gear traditionally keeps stereo audio (music) as a digital signal throughout its electronics, so far less noise and colouration is added to the recording.
Keeping the signal digital also means that any acoustic errors listening rooms may create can be reduced without compromising sound quality. That's normally not possible with traditional analogue amps. As a result, Lyngdorf digital audio systems will give far more consistent results from room to room.
Now the company has teamed up with Steinway [makers of premium musical instruments] to create a home cinema solution that keeps the signal in the digital domain throughout. That's important, as the audio signal in a home cinema goes through a lot more decoding than in a stereo hi-fi system. Even more noise is added.
The benefits of Steinway Lyngdorf's systems don't stop with the fidelity. While others may achieve reference volume levels up to 4 metres away, Steinway Lyngdorf's can fill rooms over 50m long.
Also, thanks to their unique room correction features, they will vary less than 2dB from room to room, rather than over 15dB from most other reference systems. And with a signal-to-noise ratio of 113dB rather than a typical 80dB or less, the sounds you hear are not accompanied by the noise that other systems create.
HCC: Traditionally, hi-fi purists will argue that the signal path should be as pure as possible. The Lyngdorf approach seems at odds with this...
RS: That obsession with keeping the signal path pure is completely logical, but the fact is that with any other brand you are immediately aware of the 'sound' of these components. With Lyngdorf and Steinway Lyngdorf systems, your music is being reproduced with nothing added by your equipment. The difference is really dramatic when you first hear it.
