October 2025

The Ultimate Music Majesty: Lindemann Woodnote SOLO Network Player / DAC Review
A glorious reach out and touch sound that invites you to listen more.
Review By Tom Lyle

   Lindemann Audio is a German high-end audio company that has been in operation for over thirty years, just as the 30th anniversary of Enjoy the Music.com is being celebrated in 2025! In that time, Lindemann became known for being an innovative company that designed and manufactured excellent-sounding and well-built digital and other audio products at a reasonable price.

Lindemann produces three series of products, three of which are digital components, and the other are loudspeakers. Lindemann's Woodnote series offers two compact-sized components, both of which are minimalist in design: the SOLO and the COMBO. The SOLO is a streamer / DAC, the COMBO is also a steamer / DAC, but also contains an internal amplifier in its similarly sized cabinet.

Appeal
I chose to review Lindemann's Woodnote SOLO rather than their COMBO because the SOLO will appeal more to audiophiles looking to integrate an extremely well-built and cleverly designed streamer/DAC into their system. In contrast, the COMBO is designed more for the music lover who needs an "all-in-one" component. It has all the features of the SOLO but also includes an internal Class D power amplifier with a variable volume control. With the addition of a pair of speakers, one could easily assemble a high-end digital system that takes up very little shelf space.

The SOLO is a half-sized component, measuring about 8" wide, 2.5" high, and 10" deep. It weighs only about 4 pounds. This streamer also contains a top-notch Hi-Res Audio DAC that can decode signals as high as 24-bit/384kHz and DSD 256.

I might be getting a bit ahead of myself, but after listening to this component for over a month, I generally agree with the description that Lindemann provides on their website describing the SOLO's sound quality. Although their description is a bit lofty, I agree with their claim that the Woodnote SOLO "transforms digital data into pure emotion." Of course, this description depends mainly on the quality of the recording one is listening to. Still, for a component at this price, and especially because I'm accustomed to a much pricier streamer / DAC in the reference system, this streamer / DAC carried the day.

On their website, they described the DAC as being able to stream just about any signal that is likely to be encountered, including DSD, and that it upsamples "CD quality" files. They also touted the SOLO's ultra-linear power supply that features an R-core transformer. These facts, plus more that I'll go into, make its €1850 (~$2200) price seem like a bargain. The reason for being priced in Euros is that Lindemann has not yet found a US distributor. But I suspect this will soon change once the word gets out about their products, especially Lindemann's Woodnote SOLO, reviewed here.

Additionally, on Lindemann's website, they claim that they are the only audio manufacturer to use a "two-stage" converter design. In other words, in the digital domain, its synchronous resampling and delta-sigma conversion produce a "high-precision" (my quotes) 1-bit signal (DSD). In the analog domain, its volume control and DSD filtering are handled by its converter module, which has a bandwidth of 100 kHz.

Controlled
The Woodnote SOLO has a remote. But it can also be controlled by Lindemann's app, which quickly became quite intuitive to use, which is impressive, considering that someone in my age group can sometimes become flustered by such technology. I have no complaints about the Lindemann app. But don't laugh - the best thing I discovered about substituting an app for a physical remote was that I was much less likely to misplace my iPhone than a component's remote!

One can, of course, operate all the functions of the SOLO with the app. One can also create playlists, listen to internet radio, and play music through their favorite streaming services, as I did with Tidal and Qobuz. One can also create playlists with this app, as well as edit the settings of the SOLO.

I suppose it's not surprising that I became a bit inattentive when reading the portion of Lindemann's website where they touted the Woodnote SOLO as a perfect component for those who wish to use it with their TV. It does have an HDMI output, after all. For some, television has a place in high-end audio, and we assume most audiophiles wouldn't mind listening to better sound that comes from the TV's speaker by using a pair of speakers flanking a television's screen, or a surround sound setup. But that's not something I'm into. TV is not heard on my very high-end audio system, although I have a decent pair of self-powered speakers on each side of the flatscreen when watching TV or movies. But that's about it. For this review, I auditioned the Woodnote SOLO solely on a two-channel (stereo) high-end audio system playing music. This is the method I use with all components that I review in Enjoy the Music.com.

Powerful
Although the Woodnote SOLO is a half-sized component, it is a powerful one, as its website claims, "designed by audiophiles for audiophiles." Luckily for those who decide to own a Lindemann Woodnote SOLO, its digital converter is the opposite of an afterthought. Within the SOLO is a DSD resampling DAC, so all digital signals that the streamer sends to its DAC are converted into a 1-bit DSD signal.

Even though the SOLO has on its rear panel both RCA (coax) and TosLink digital outputs, enabling it to send its streamer's signal to an outboard DAC, that was not the goal of my review. I auditioned the SOLO in a system that usually uses a somewhat more extravagant DAC. Those who skip to the end of a review to read a summary about how the component performed shouldn't bother, as this review is full of spoilers. But excuse me for using the cliche of the SOLO "not embarrassing itself" when compared to my reference streamer/DAC is fitting. Although my reference DAC/streamer sounded superior to the SOLO, my reference also costs more than five times as much.

Audition
I auditioned the SOLO in a dedicated, acoustically treated listening room.  The room has two direct AC lines that run directly to our circuit box in our basement. However, those AC lines aren't used very much in my system since I started using a battery-powered supply in this system. I reviewed the Stromtank S-2500 battery power supply back in 2018, but after returning it, I was spoiled by the improvement in sound quality it made, so for a while, I used some smaller battery power supplies, such as the Goal Zero battery power supply I reviewed in Enjoy the Music in 2020. However, since this power supply is not designed for audio, more than a few inconveniences had to be dealt with. Recently, I was able to purchase Stromtank's latest version of the model that I reviewed, the S-2500 Quantum Mk II. This powered all the equipment in my system, other than the subwoofers, and included the Woodnote SOLO. The Stromtank provides a pure 60 Hz AC sine wave from an off-the-grid source.

The system that the SOLO was auditioned in was likely a cut above one that would be used by an audiophile considering a component in the SOLO's price range for inclusion in their system. If I used the SOLO in my smaller system set up in a common area of our home, I'm sure the SOLO would sound excellent. But my reference system in this dedicated listening room made my job much easier, as it is much more revealing of the sound quality of any component placed in its audio chain.

The Woodnote SOLO's XLR outputs were connected to a tube-powered Nagra Classic Preamp linestage, which in turn was connected to a Pass Laboratories X350.5 or a Pass Labs X250.8 stereo power amplifier. Regardless of which amp I used, it fed a pair of Raidho TD4.2 loudspeakers. I augmented the speakers' very lowest frequencies with a pair of SVS SB16-Ultra subwoofers.

Listened
Although there are many ways the SOLO can be used, I primarily listened to it in two ways. Its Ethernet connection enabled me to access my extensive library of music stored as FLAC files on NAS hard drives. I also listened to music via TIDAL and Qobuz. This component is a streamer, after all. To test only its DAC, I connected a USB cable from my computer-based music server to the SOLO's rear panel USB input. However, I only did this for a short time, as I enjoyed listening to this unit as a streamer/DAC pair.

Convinced
While the SOLO was in my system, I began by playing some of the usual suspects, including the track "The Model" from Kraftwerk's 1991 album The Mix, which is usually the first thing I play after being convinced that the subject of the review is fully broken in. This electronic music track obviously doesn't let me judge how realistic its instruments sound. But it does give me an idea of how well the visiting component can separate instruments and voices, and its frequency response, especially its bass and treble extremes.

However, later in the review period, I spent many hours listening to various music genres via the Lindemann app, which sometimes read files from TIDAL but primarily used the Qobuz streaming service. I liked Qobuz better because it was easier to see the exact resolution of the music I was playing.

Of course, many who read a manufacturer's claims about how a component will sound in one's system may likely be skeptical. When I read things such as: 

·  Ensures an entirely natural and uncolored musical experience.

·  Transforms digital data into pure emotion.

·  Its real secret lies in its ability to unite technology and emotion in perfect harmony.

·  Enjoy stunning clarity, dynamics, and lifelike sound. 

I could end the review here and announce, surprisingly or not, that I totally agree with all that Lindemann claims about their Woodnote SOLO streamer / DAC. And, of course, I won't end the review here. One of the reasons for this is that everything is relative. In other words, if I were to compare Woodnote SOLO to the $100 streamer / DAC I could find on Amazon's website, it would be sonically trounced.

However, when compared to my review system's streamer connected to the system's DAC, it performed amazingly well for a component at this price. At €1850 (about $2200 at the time I'm writing this). It also proved once again that the SOLO isn't anywhere near what I would consider an entry-level streamer/DAC; it was worthy of inclusion in an excellent system, large or small, or in between.

When listening to Hatfield And The North's excellent-sounding album The Rotter's Club, it was the transparent sound of the SOLO that took me by surprise. This album is Hatfield And The North's second album, released in 1975. They were part of what was called the Canterbury Scene, which was conceived in the city of Canterbury, in Kent, England, during the late '60s to mid '70s. It was very improvisational, combining elements of rock, psychedelic, jazz, and especially jazz fusion. However, it was considerably more laid-back than America's and the London area's versions of fusion, as there is hardly any musical pyrotechnics.

When streaming this "CD quality" album on Qobuz, due to the SOLO's surprising level of transparency and musicality, I could easily be fooled into thinking that I was hearing a higher-resolution mastering. Could this have been due to the SOLO's upsampling filter? Regardless, when listening, I didn't notice this as much as its straightforward, musical sound.

On this album, the SOLO flaunted its huge soundstage coming from in front, behind, and to the sides of the speakers. This was accompanied by precise imaging with a lifelike amount of detail.  One of the SOLO's greatest attributes was its very "non-digital" sound, which made me feel as if I wouldn't have been surprised if this component had been priced at twice what Lindemann was asking for it.

Hatfield And The North included Dave Stewart (not that Dave Stewart) on keyboards, Richard Sinclair on bass and lead vocals, and rounded out by Phil Miller on guitar, and Pip Pyle on drums. Pyle was a member of many other Canterbury bands, including David Allen's very psychedelic-sounding Gong. It was very common for other Canterbury scene band members to appear on each other's recordings. Background vocalist Amanda Parsons seems like she is on every other band's recording from this era. She was joined by two other female vocalists on this album, giving the tracks on which they were featured a more pastoral sound.

The album also included four "guest musicians", three reed players and one horn player, which highlighted the SOLO's ability to reproduce acoustic instruments with quite a "reach out and touch" sound. I suspect this was due to the SOLO's excellent reproduction of the mid-range frequencies, which I not only noticed on this recording, but on every decent recording that I played during the Woodnote SOLO's audition period.

The above is very typical of me when I'm auditioning a component that impresses me – it seems as if I spent as much space discussing the music I'm listening to just as much, or more, than the component I'm reviewing. Kudos to Lindemann for designing and manufacturing such an impressive component.

For audiophiles with limited space and budget reading Enjoy the Music.com, Lindemann produces comparable equipment that could accompany the Lindemann's Woodnote SOLO in one's system quite well, including their speakers that I briefly mentioned in this review. Lindemann also manufactures a similarly sized power amplifier, their Musicbook POWER II. Its Class D circuit offers a substantial output of 250 Watts per channel into 4 Ohms (125 Watts at 8 Ohms).

Excellent
The Lindemann Woodnote SOLO is an excellent component for the audiophile who has experienced the joys of streaming and wants a streamer that takes it to the next level, but prefers not to spend $10,000 on a new streamer. I've found that the sound quality of a streamer is preponderantly dependent on the quality of the DAC that is decoding the signal. If one wants to improve the sound quality of their streamer, connect it to a higher-quality DAC. But the sound of the SOLO is so good that I more than suspect it is because of the quality of its DAC, and this was verified when I connected my music server's USB output to the SOLO's USB input.

Lindemann's SOLO hi-res unit was, as I hinted at in the beginning of the review, extremely well-built and intelligently designed. Highly recommended to all who wish to have a streamer/DAC that considerably improves the sound of their system.

Specifications
Type: Type: Hi-Res Audio / Hi-Res Music network audio player
Inputs: Two digital inputs (RCA and TOS), LAN, USB, and HDMI eARC 2.1
Outputs: Two digital outputs (RCA and TOS), two analog outputs (XLR and RCA), usable simultaneously, optional volume control
Headphone output: 6.35 mm jack, recommended impedance 20–200 ohms, recommended sensitivity >100 dB/mW
Resolution: 384 kHz / 24 bit and native DSD 256
Dynamic Range: > 130 dB
THD & Noise: < 0.0002 % (@ 0 dB FS)
Master Clock: Ultra-low jitter MEMS femto clock
Re-Sampling: 180 dB dynamic range, 32-bit resolution, bit-perfect or DSD
Jitter Suppression (re-sampling): > 60 dB
Volume Range: 0 to 60 in 1 dB steps
Balance Control: +/-dB in 1 dB steps
Frequency Response: 1 Hz to 100 kHz (–3 dB)
Ethernet: 100 Mbit/s
Wi-Fi: Dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, WPS support
Bluetooth: 4.2, A2DP, codecs SBC/AAC
USB: High-speed host interface for hard drives, USB sticks, CD-ROM drives, max output current 1A
Supported Codecs: WAV, FLAC, AIFF, ALAC, MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, WMA, native DSD
Network Standards: UPnP and DLNA
PCM Resolution: 44.1 kHz to 384 kHz, 24 bit (up to 192 kHz via Wi-Fi)
DSD Resolution: DSD 64 to DSD 256 (up to DSD 128 via Wi-Fi)
Gapless playback.
Streaming Services: TIDAL (Connect), Qobuz (Connect), Deezer, HighResAudio, Spotify (Connect), internet radio and podcasts
Dimensions: 207 x 250 x 62 mm (WxDxH)
Weight: 1.8 kgs
Price: €1850

Company Information
Lindemann Audio
Inninger Str. 21
82237 Woerthsee
Germany

Voice: +49 (0)8153 95-333-90
E-mail: info@lindemann-audio.de  
Website: Lindemann-Audio.de