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Lehmann Audio Linear USB II
Since 2004 the Linear has thrilled all music lovers who expect their hi-fi amplifiers to perform at their best also with headphones. Can this success story still be surpassed? Yes, it can – and how!
The Linear USB II comes up with a digital-analogue converter of the latest generation and a fully revised analog board using the high-grade Low-Z Copper technology. Physical, punchy lows and a filigree resolution over the entire frequency bandwidth: you will never again consider your headphones just as a makeshift solution.
Best of both worlds
Keeping an eye on your needs at any time, the Linear USB II delivers an impressive listening enjoyment due to its three gain settings – even with the most diverse headphones on very different sound sources. As a headphone amplifier and preamp it joins the carefully selected components and sophisticated circuitry of our crowd favourite, the Linear, with the digital world.
Enjoy your musical treasures from PC, Mac or even your mobile phone in audiophile quality. The Linear USB II automatically detects an incoming USB audio data stream and does without an input selector switch. For double listening pleasure our new champion is ready to feed two headphones simultaneously and as a streaming preamp, it also spurs on your active loudspeakers to play with amazing vigour.
3S damping feet decouple the Linear USB II from its base and bring about quietness. In every situation a fabulous sound, always striving for perfection – that’s our Linear USB II.
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Professional Reviews 89/100
Nicely Roasted
Sound Quality
91/100
Build Quality
90/100
Features Usability
89/100
Value for Money
82/100
Open, composed and impressively controlled, the Linear USB II delivers a refined desktop listen with real authority. HiFi News praised its clarity and power, while What Hi-Fi? highlighted its balanced, organized presentation. With a solid build, selectable gain and USB-plus-analogue flexibility, it’s a serious hub for revealing headphones.
What Reviewers Are Saying
Pros
Delivers open, detailed sound with strong power and control across a wide range of headphones.
Balanced, organized presentation that stays musical and unfussy rather than flashy.
Useful desktop flexibility with USB, analogue input, preamp outputs and selectable gain.
Solid, carefully finished build quality with a polished, well-engineered feel.
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Cons
The USB input is less convincing than the analogue input, according to What Hi-Fi?.
Very demanding planars may need higher gain and can still push the volume control close to full.
It’s deliberately simple, so there’s no remote or display.
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 91/100
Reviewers consistently praise the Linear USB II for clarity, openness, detail and a notably natural, unforced presentation. It is described as resolving, organized, and musical, with a touch of smoothness rather than a flashy, etched character, while still offering strong drive and control.
Transparency Resolution
94/100
Reviewers repeatedly call it clear, open and highly resolving, with comments about crystalline clarity, strong detail retrieval, and a sense that it gets out of the music’s way. HiFi News says it resolves every element of the mix, and What Hi-Fi calls it detailed and nicely organised.
Tonal Balance Musicality
90/100
The sound is described as balanced, natural and free of tonal colouring from the amp stage, with a slight mellowing through the amplifier and a touch more brightness from the DAC. Reviewers stress long-term listenability and musical flow rather than overt warmth or sparkle.
Dynamics
92/100
Dynamics are a clear strength, with reports of ample power, strong control and convincing scale from small ensemble intimacy to large orchestral swells. One reviewer notes it never sounded strained or distorted when pushed, while another highlights its ability to capture dynamic ebb and flow.
Noise Floor
90/100
There are no complaints about hiss or background noise, and the amp is repeatedly presented as clean and quiet in use. The low output impedance and good behavior with headphones and earphones suggest a black, unobtrusive background for most real-world listening.
Headphone Compatibility
88/100
Reviewers say it handled a wide range of headphones and earphones well, with good results across different loads. Brent Butterworth did note that the HE6se needed more gain and volume near the top, so it is not effortless with every demanding planar, but overall compatibility is praised.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
90/100
Build quality draws strong praise for its solid casework, careful finishing and general sense of craftsmanship and precision. HiFi News highlights the quality of the chassis, smooth volume control and detail in the inputs and outputs, while What Hi-Fi also calls the finish fine and the unit solid.
Features Usability
89/100
This is a straightforward but well-equipped desktop unit, with USB input, analogue RCA input, preamp output, two front headphone jacks and selectable gain. Reviewers also like the automatic input switching and the ability to use it as a DAC, headphone amp or preamp, though it remains deliberately simple rather than feature-packed.
Value for Money
82/100
Reviewers respect what it does, but they also make clear that it is pricey. The consensus is that the sound and flexibility justify a serious listen, yet the asking price puts it in a tough bracket where the value case is more conditional than enthusiastic.
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Authorized dealers for Lehmann Audio Linear USB II
- A/V Solutions — in-store — Pleasanton, California, United States (website)
- ALAIN CHOUKROUN — online and in-store — Paris, Île-de-France, France (website)
- Alpha High End — online and in-store — Brasschaat, Vlaams Gewest, Belgium (website)
- Analogue Seduction — online and in-store — Whittlesey, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Arizona Hi-Fi — in-store — Phoenix, Arizona, United States (website)
- Art & Voice — online (website)
- AUDIO 2000 — in-store — Wuppertal, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany (website)
- Audio Affair — online and in-store — Deritend, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Audio Art Cable — online and in-store — San Diego, California, United States (website)
- Audio Creativ — in-store — Riedenburg, Bayern, Germany (website)
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