Breaking news from DCS….
- Thread starter Stereophonic
- Start date
Thanks for the kind thoughts Jeff, Mike and Lee.
The Vivaldi DAC arrived today, the transport will be in next week and the clock will arrive sometime in April. I have the Extreme server and will continue utilizing this machine for that function. As you all know, it is a time of new improvements on the digital front. I am building up and moving my vintage system, more later, into the big room. My wife is mad about steaming, especially Swiss radio, and had a request, maybe even a requirement, that she would be able to continue that endeavor. Her favorite option is still spinning vinyl
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It has been a week of deliveries…I have enjoyed the Studiotechnik Hans Dusch EMT 927st for the last year, or so, and received the EMT 927F from JP van Vielt yesterday to add a mono option to the same platform. David encouraged me to go down this EMT path a few years ago, thank you David.
vbw,
-a
The Vivaldi DAC arrived today, the transport will be in next week and the clock will arrive sometime in April. I have the Extreme server and will continue utilizing this machine for that function. As you all know, it is a time of new improvements on the digital front. I am building up and moving my vintage system, more later, into the big room. My wife is mad about steaming, especially Swiss radio, and had a request, maybe even a requirement, that she would be able to continue that endeavor. Her favorite option is still spinning vinyl
.It has been a week of deliveries…I have enjoyed the Studiotechnik Hans Dusch EMT 927st for the last year, or so, and received the EMT 927F from JP van Vielt yesterday to add a mono option to the same platform. David encouraged me to go down this EMT path a few years ago, thank you David.
vbw,
-a
Wondering if anyone here has updated their Vivaldi Upsampler to the new 1.2.0 (507) firmware level. Maybe I’m crazy but this is the first time an update to this device made a significant sonic improvement to my system. I’m wondering if the work and discoveries Chris put into APEX may have trickled over to the network board code somehow, despite his primary focus on the analog side of things. In any case I’d love to hear if anyone can corroborate my impressions.
Seems everything has more focus and impact along with a quieter background and finer details. The soundstage is deeper and I’m picking up a relaxed and more layered presentation. Oscar Peterson’s keyboard along with Ray Brown’s bass have never sounded so realistic.
I’ve yet to play more challenging recordings - those that have extremes of one kind or another. These may well reveal more of just how much this update improves the sound I’m already sensing.
Seems everything has more focus and impact along with a quieter background and finer details. The soundstage is deeper and I’m picking up a relaxed and more layered presentation. Oscar Peterson’s keyboard along with Ray Brown’s bass have never sounded so realistic.
I’ve yet to play more challenging recordings - those that have extremes of one kind or another. These may well reveal more of just how much this update improves the sound I’m already sensing.
You missed the part where dCS Engineers have already explained unambiguiously that the new firmware update has no impact on SQ.
What I read from anyone at dCS focused on the Mosaic software update. I’m talking about the firmware update to the network board. I rarely use Mosaic and am only talking about this change for the dCS Vivaldi Upsampler and Rossini DAC. That's what makes a sonic difference, one that was quite unexpected.
If this statement is the one you’re referring to, then he makes no mention of the Network board, but only the Control board. I’ve no clue precisely what he means by “the rest were all updated only on the network side.” Remember that the update to the firmware is independent of the Mosaic software update which runs on phones and tablets.
“James:
No changes that impact sound quality in 1.2 - the release added features (transport controls, TIDAL Connect) and did some maintenance & bug fixes on the backend, but no changes that would have caused any difference in SQ.
The only products that received an update to the control board were the Rossini DAC and Player, the rest were all updated only on the network side.”
I have confirmed what I’m hearing with a number of other users of both non-APEX Rossini DAC and Vivaldi Upsampler owners. Just was wondering if anyone on this forum have had similar experience.
If this statement is the one you’re referring to, then he makes no mention of the Network board, but only the Control board. I’ve no clue precisely what he means by “the rest were all updated only on the network side.” Remember that the update to the firmware is independent of the Mosaic software update which runs on phones and tablets.
“James:
No changes that impact sound quality in 1.2 - the release added features (transport controls, TIDAL Connect) and did some maintenance & bug fixes on the backend, but no changes that would have caused any difference in SQ.
The only products that received an update to the control board were the Rossini DAC and Player, the rest were all updated only on the network side.”
I have confirmed what I’m hearing with a number of other users of both non-APEX Rossini DAC and Vivaldi Upsampler owners. Just was wondering if anyone on this forum have had similar experience.
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Why not ask James to clarify on the network board as well, rather than just speculating? I hear absolutely no difference on my Vivaldi
By the way, "Mosaic 1.2" update refers to 3 elements; Mosaic App, Mosaic Control, and Mosaic Processor - all 3 were updated, and thats what James was referring to. Go read the Release Notes.
If you happened to view the dcs.community thread on the topic you'll find I did ask. I expect that by sometime next week James might respond.
As for the "Mosaic 1.2" update, you're correct. But all of that is about Mosaic. It has no bearing on the firmware update to the Rossini DAC / Vivaldi Upsampler "network card" firmware I believe, which, without any reference to the update of the Mosaic code, stands alone. This was all about Tidal, transport controls,
As for the "Mosaic 1.2" update, you're correct. But all of that is about Mosaic. It has no bearing on the firmware update to the Rossini DAC / Vivaldi Upsampler "network card" firmware I believe, which, without any reference to the update of the Mosaic code, stands alone. This was all about Tidal, transport controls,
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Gentlemen,
Interesting note, especially for the dCS fans whose feelings were hurt by some mis-incentivized "audio journalists" no longer calling dCS the "best" dac:
I ran into an acquaintance mine. He's a customer of Goodwin audio in Boston. The sonic preference / taste of the social network of the Goodwin people and their customers kinda goes like Rockport and dcs is the best, magico is alright (and very "accurate" with spectral), and Wilson sucks. This guys owns Rockports, d'Agostino, and dcs Vivaldi stack. Very traditional audiophile taste.
Late last year, this guy heard the non-Acme version of dcs vivalidi against the Wadax. Although he admired the "spatial tricks and presentation" of the Wadax, he preferred the older vivaldi overall!
dCS sounds more like real music in his imagination - he knows , he goes to concerts. (Or he's just used to that sound and associates it with "reality" in his mind.)
So when he gets his Vivaldi upgraded to this new Acne level, he will like it even better than the reference wadax dac he heard at the dealer. No doubt!
Moral of the story (from a rational perspective): different social networks of audiophiles have different preferences and tastes, what good high end audio should be, and what's "state of the art". Unless this is all fantasy and intellectual masturbation for you, don't trust anyone, especially the mis-incentivized "audio journalists", but also guys who are part of social networks that don't share your tastes and preferences.
"State of the art" gear for one social network is utter dreck to another. (Personally, I'd take an entry level TotalDAC over any dCS or MSB regardless of price, due to tonal and dynamic realism the popular hifi products don't currently match.) So it could be a waste of time and money for you, as my Rockport friend has bliss already, even with the non-Acne dCS model of Vivaldi.
Yet I'm sure the audio oligarchs in the traditional hifi sound media will market and elevate the dCS Acme model to the level of BEST, for those who want to see it as such, or need to see it as such. After all, who wants to admit that their taste or imagination of realism / accuracy is not the best?
Interesting note, especially for the dCS fans whose feelings were hurt by some mis-incentivized "audio journalists" no longer calling dCS the "best" dac:
I ran into an acquaintance mine. He's a customer of Goodwin audio in Boston. The sonic preference / taste of the social network of the Goodwin people and their customers kinda goes like Rockport and dcs is the best, magico is alright (and very "accurate" with spectral), and Wilson sucks. This guys owns Rockports, d'Agostino, and dcs Vivaldi stack. Very traditional audiophile taste.
Late last year, this guy heard the non-Acme version of dcs vivalidi against the Wadax. Although he admired the "spatial tricks and presentation" of the Wadax, he preferred the older vivaldi overall!
dCS sounds more like real music in his imagination - he knows , he goes to concerts.
(Or he's just used to that sound and associates it with "reality" in his mind.) So when he gets his Vivaldi upgraded to this new Acne level, he will like it even better than the reference wadax dac he heard at the dealer. No doubt!
Moral of the story (from a rational perspective): different social networks of audiophiles have different preferences and tastes, what good high end audio should be, and what's "state of the art". Unless this is all fantasy and intellectual masturbation for you, don't trust anyone, especially the mis-incentivized "audio journalists", but also guys who are part of social networks that don't share your tastes and preferences.
"State of the art" gear for one social network is utter dreck to another. (Personally, I'd take an entry level TotalDAC over any dCS or MSB regardless of price, due to tonal and dynamic realism the popular hifi products don't currently match.) So it could be a waste of time and money for you, as my Rockport friend has bliss already, even with the non-Acne dCS model of Vivaldi.
Yet I'm sure the audio oligarchs in the traditional hifi sound media will market and elevate the dCS Acme model to the level of BEST, for those who want to see it as such, or need to see it as such. After all, who wants to admit that their taste or imagination of realism / accuracy is not the best?
I understand that the Mosaic moniker came after the hardware was shipped and if you never installed the Mosaic app on any smart phone or tablet you would still want to update the firmware on your Rossini DAC or Vivaldi Upsampler. This code is where I believe more than Mosaic functions described in the image you’ve provided. I am hoping someone from dCS is willing to step forward and clarify changes beyond Mosaic control and streaming changes they’ve made. Its unlikely we’ve heard the whole story.
Gentlemen,
Interesting note, especially for the dCS fans whose feelings were hurt by some mis-incentivized "audio journalists" no longer calling dCS the "best" dac:
I ran into an acquaintance mine. He's a customer of Goodwin audio in Boston. The sonic preference / taste of the social network of the Goodwin people and their customers kinda goes like Rockport and dcs is the best, magico is alright (and very "accurate" with spectral), and Wilson sucks. This guys owns Rockports, d'Agostino, and dcs Vivaldi stack. Very traditional audiophile taste.
Late last year, this guy heard the non-Acme version of dcs vivalidi against the Wadax. Although he admired the "spatial tricks and presentation" of the Wadax, he preferred the older vivaldi overall!
dCS sounds more like real music in his imagination - he knows , he goes to concerts.
So when he gets his Vivaldi upgraded to this new Acne level, he will like it even better than the reference wadax dac he heard at the dealer. No doubt!
Moral of the story (from a rational perspective): different social networks of audiophiles have different preferences and tastes, what good high end audio should be, and what's "state of the art". Unless this is all fantasy and intellectual masturbation for you, don't trust anyone, especially the mis-incentivized "audio journalists", but also guys who are part of social networks that don't share your tastes and preferences.
"State of the art" gear for one social network is utter dreck to another. (Personally, I'd take an entry level TotalDAC over any dCS or MSB regardless of price, due to tonal and dynamic realism the popular hifi products don't currently match.) So it could be a waste of time and money for you, as my Rockport friend has bliss already, even with the non-Acne dCS model of Vivaldi.
Yet I'm sure the audio oligarchs in the traditional hifi sound media will market and elevate the dCS Acme model to the level of BEST, for those who want to see it as such, or need to see it as such. After all, who wants to admit that their taste or imagination of realism / accuracy is not the best?
Very interesting post, well done. I have learned to not trust any audio opinion until I have heard things for myself. That includes your rather peculiar opinions too, Caesar.
Fortunately over the years I have had plenty of opportunity to hear tons of gear in home systems -- not under show conditions which are always questionable -- the experience of which has put a lot of hype into perspective. Reading all the hype on WBF is cute and entertaining, but I have learned to not get particularly excited about any of it, except perhaps in rare cases.
And yes, system context is everything.
Occasionally I have found resetting the network board or rebooting does something. This could be what you're experiencing. I just changed tubes in my preamp last week, so I can't tell if the tubes are breaking in or what you're describing. I am very happy and this is before my Apex upgrade!
I think dCS won't tell you much because you're asking the wrong question and based on just some vague subjective opinions. They are a very rigorous detail oriented engineering company. Maybe you'll have better luck asking some of the regular forum insiders.
I've approached others who also report similar experiences with this latest firmware update to the Vivaldi Upsampler (a few not even having updated the Mosaic code - like me they rely on Roon or another playback method). Some have never even installed Mosaic on their phone or tablet. Those who do use Mosaic, from time to time, do so for convenience in changing settings. That's been my usage, except in the cases where I resort to it for playing internet radio or Qobuz when my player is having network issues. I'm going to see if there exists any commonality in our systems that might explain why we seem to be the only ones perceiving the positive change we've experienced with this most recent firmware update to the Upsampler.
Gentlemen,
Interesting note, especially for the dCS fans whose feelings were hurt by some mis-incentivized "audio journalists" no longer calling dCS the "best" dac:
I ran into an acquaintance mine. He's a customer of Goodwin audio in Boston. The sonic preference / taste of the social network of the Goodwin people and their customers kinda goes like Rockport and dcs is the best, magico is alright (and very "accurate" with spectral), and Wilson sucks. This guys owns Rockports, d'Agostino, and dcs Vivaldi stack. Very traditional audiophile taste.
Late last year, this guy heard the non-Acme version of dcs vivalidi against the Wadax. Although he admired the "spatial tricks and presentation" of the Wadax, he preferred the older vivaldi overall!
dCS sounds more like real music in his imagination - he knows , he goes to concerts.
So when he gets his Vivaldi upgraded to this new Acne level, he will like it even better than the reference wadax dac he heard at the dealer. No doubt!
Moral of the story (from a rational perspective): different social networks of audiophiles have different preferences and tastes, what good high end audio should be, and what's "state of the art". Unless this is all fantasy and intellectual masturbation for you, don't trust anyone, especially the mis-incentivized "audio journalists", but also guys who are part of social networks that don't share your tastes and preferences.
"State of the art" gear for one social network is utter dreck to another. (Personally, I'd take an entry level TotalDAC over any dCS or MSB regardless of price, due to tonal and dynamic realism the popular hifi products don't currently match.) So it could be a waste of time and money for you, as my Rockport friend has bliss already, even with the non-Acne dCS model of Vivaldi.
Yet I'm sure the audio oligarchs in the traditional hifi sound media will market and elevate the dCS Acme model to the level of BEST, for those who want to see it as such, or need to see it as such. After all, who wants to admit that their taste or imagination of realism / accuracy is not the best?
You spelled APEX wrong, LOL.
Gentlemen,
Interesting note, especially for the dCS fans whose feelings were hurt by some mis-incentivized "audio journalists" no longer calling dCS the "best" dac:
I ran into an acquaintance mine. He's a customer of Goodwin audio in Boston. The sonic preference / taste of the social network of the Goodwin people and their customers kinda goes like Rockport and dcs is the best, magico is alright (and very "accurate" with spectral), and Wilson sucks. This guys owns Rockports, d'Agostino, and dcs Vivaldi stack. Very traditional audiophile taste.
Late last year, this guy heard the non-Acme version of dcs vivalidi against the Wadax. Although he admired the "spatial tricks and presentation" of the Wadax, he preferred the older vivaldi overall!
dCS sounds more like real music in his imagination - he knows , he goes to concerts.
So when he gets his Vivaldi upgraded to this new Acne level, he will like it even better than the reference wadax dac he heard at the dealer. No doubt!
Moral of the story (from a rational perspective): different social networks of audiophiles have different preferences and tastes, what good high end audio should be, and what's "state of the art". Unless this is all fantasy and intellectual masturbation for you, don't trust anyone, especially the mis-incentivized "audio journalists", but also guys who are part of social networks that don't share your tastes and preferences.
"State of the art" gear for one social network is utter dreck to another. (Personally, I'd take an entry level TotalDAC over any dCS or MSB regardless of price, due to tonal and dynamic realism the popular hifi products don't currently match.) So it could be a waste of time and money for you, as my Rockport friend has bliss already, even with the non-Acne dCS model of Vivaldi.
Yet I'm sure the audio oligarchs in the traditional hifi sound media will market and elevate the dCS Acme model to the level of BEST, for those who want to see it as such, or need to see it as such. After all, who wants to admit that their taste or imagination of realism / accuracy is not the best?
I also appreciate your candor, Caesar.
But I find it odd that you would knife dCS in the back over tonality and dynamics. I find the dCS gear excels there.