Lindemann, Now at Alma
Lindemann is now at Alma, on demonstration in both of our showrooms. The company has been building audio in Germany for more than thirty-five years, to one idea set down by its founder and designer, Norbert Lindemann: less is more.
As Lindemann puts it, great sound is no coincidence; it is a decision. In practice that means fewer components and shorter signal paths, with the budget spent on conversion, timing and power supply rather than on the size of the case. The thread through all of it is timing: Lindemann treats digital audio not as a stream of numbers but as the precise moment each one arrives, and builds the clock and the power supply around that. The result is meant to sound transparent, dynamic and detailed, and never cold.
The Lindemann range is built as three families, and they line up as a path from small to full-size.
Limetree is the entry point: single-task components, each built to do one job well in the smallest possible case. A Limetree phono stage fits in the palm of your hand and will surprise a system several times its price. The range also includes a USB DAC and headphone amplifier in the same small format.
Woodnote is the streaming series: compact aluminium components made for network audio. The Woodnote COMBO is a complete streaming amplifier the size of a book. From a single chassis it runs a real pair of loudspeakers, a headphone and the television.
Musicbook is the full-size system, book-shaped and complete. These are whole systems in one or two slim cases, built to hold their own against much larger amplifiers. A Musicbook SOURCE II preamplifier and a POWER II amplifier make a full system in two slim boxes; the Musicbook COMBO puts the whole thing — streaming, conversion, phono, preamplifier and power amplifier — into one enclosure.
What we like about the line is the engineering. These are small, well-made German components that put real capability into a small enclosure and look the part on a shelf. The performance is in the parts you do not see — the clock, the converter, the power supply — not in the size of the box.
The Lindemann range is here now, at Alma West in San Diego and Alma East in Sterling, Virginia. You are welcome to come and listen in either room.