Dcs vivaldi or rossini dac

[Vincent1234]

On sound alone the Vivaldi is three levels above the Rossini which is at the Puccini level. The Vivaldi DAC is reference level - add the Master Clock and it's not even close.

 

The Rossini is probably more suitable to a more casual listening requirement.

 

What matters is the rest of the gear you plan to use with.

If you are using Vivaldi DAC level gear the Rossini is not at the same level.

 

"Rossini for casual listening requirements...?" :-D Sorry, but that's really complete rubbish. Vivaldi is actually not three but only one level above the Rossini. The new line by dCS based on their latest Ring DAC technology consists of only the Vivaldi and the Rossini. The Rossini uses the exact same and most current dCS DAC board as the Vivaldi does. Although the price of the Rossini + clock is only roughly 1/3 of the price of the full Vivaldi 4-box stack the actual performance is not that far apart. I've heard both extensively in top-level systems so I know what I'm talking about. Also the Rossini has a brand new network board that is now also used in Vivaldi's latest upsampler version (the previous Vivaldi one had some problems); so no trickling-down, but actually trickling-up. I'm in the middle now of upgrading my Puccini + clock to the Rossini player + clock. I can tell you that the step-up from Puccini to Rossini is huge in every way. Although I hate to trade-in my Puccini after only 2,5 years the improvements are so big that I'm going for the Rossini now. Simply put: if you own the Puccini, don't try try the Rossini unless you have the money to buy one. But considering that the Puccini was already in Stereophile's A+ list for years it's pretty silly (and arrogant too) to regard its successor as a 'casual listening requirements' solution. C'mon guys, we're talking over € 30k here; not everyone's a millionaire on this forum..?

[Vincent1234]

Sorry I'm a bit late with this reply. I wouldn't buy the Rossini just because it's a streamer. You can purchase the Vivaldi and an Aurender N100H music streamer for $2.5K. The Aurender has 2 TB for local song storage and you can connect to one of the music subscription services. The Aurender interface is terrific as there's virtually no difference in the interface for local songs on the Aurender or Tidal tracks. Tidal is the way to go in the US as they're the only service offering lossless (Redbook) at this time. I'm not sure how they do it but many of their Redbook tracks sound better than my local Redbook versions.

Personally I wouldn't consider the Aurender N100H as a suitable partner for a Vivaldi DAC. I've recently upgraded my Aurender X100L to the Aurender N10 (connected to the dCS Puccini) and that was already a VERY big improvement. I think that if you want to exploit the added value of a an absolute high-end DAC as the Vivaldi you would need to at least consider an N10 or even better a W20. And, as others replied, you would also need to have an excellent system overall. Doesn't make much sense to use an iMac on a Vivaldi either. Waste of money IMO..

[Vincent1234]

The Vivaldi is modular in the sense that it has the DAC, clock, upsampler, and transport, so that a customer's system can be composed of different components. It also allows for firmware updates to improve/optimize the various algorithms inside the DAC. But I don't believe the Vivaldi will support more than DSD-64 via a firmware update. Perhaps they will have a factory-update program in the future, though.

I'm wondering if they won't let this Rossini breathe a little, and then release a new flagship to replace Vivaldi.

Brian.

 

Since the Rossini and Vivaldi are based on the exact same Ring DAC processing platform of course the Vivaldi will be capable of DSD128 (and probably upwards) just by using different firmware. And I believe that firmware has already been released too..? The only reason that dCS is a little cautious in offering even higher rate DSD is that there's no logical reason to do so yet, since there's hardly any music to listen to in those formats. The new dCS platform is extremely powerful and also more than powerful enough for the next 4 years or more. dCS has always provided hardware for at least 4-6 years and provided new firmware over time that enhanced possibilties and sound quality. This will certainly happen again now. Therefore I don't believe Vivaldi will be changed from a hardware PoV for the next few years.

[Vincent1234]

Have you guys really heard the Rossini?

Or just based on hearsay?

 

I don't even know if Rossini is available for audition at the moment.

Trust me, only hearsay.. [emoji1]

 

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[Vincent1234]

I actualiteit prefered the EMM labs transport + dac over a full Vivaldi stack. But it was a matter of taste.

Nothing wrong with having your own taste. I was only pointing at the hearsay because everyone seemed to have an opinion about Rossini at least 3 months before it was released. No way they could have heard it. [emoji1]

 

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[Vincent1234]

At a local dealer, I listened to a Rossini and Clock connected to Kudo speakers and it produced the best HiFi sound I have ever heard. But the same equipment connected to Magico S3, it was very disappointing. So I guess you need a good pair of loudspeakers to take advantage of the excellent source.

 

The main hesitation I have in buying the Rossini is the MQA availability. If MQA streaming becomes available next year, then I only need a Mytek Brooklyn to obtain the same (or better) sound quality. That also means CD will becoming obsolete in the coming years. Am I still wanting to spent so much money only to put Rossini aside and then buy a small Brooklyn for daily listening?

 

Now if Rossini includes a MQA decoder inside, the decision will be easy.

Well, that's an easy one. [emoji4] MQA as well as Roon support for Rossini (via firmware only) are expected already end of this month! See: http://www.dcsltd.co.uk/product-support/faq/ The FAQ is actually lagging behind, but I heard the upcoming update from my dealer.

By the way: please don't expect the Brooklyn DAC (good as it may be) to be anywhere competitive with Rossini, with or without MQA. They are in completely different leagues! Again, Rossini level only makes sense when you're system is up to the task to let you hear its quality. By the way: you can skip the CD player if you want (but it sounds definitely better than the ripped CD!) and buy only the DAC instead.

W.r.t. Magico S3: system synergy is always important. My personal opinion is that I love Magico, but I don't really like the S3 that much. To me it mostly sounds like it's 'trying too hard'. I was very lucky myself to be able to buy a demo pair of Magico S5 for half the normal price. To me it's the best speaker I've heard, but that's just me. [emoji6]

 

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[Vincent1234]

Dear, I bet you that in one or two years, your cellphones with MQA will sound as good as the Rossini, provided that MQA will roll out. My experience with Brooklyn MQA is better than Rossini without MQA.

I don't believe that statement for one bit, sorry. There is way much more to a DAC than the codec you are using, such as component quality, power supplies, clocking quality and the quality of the analog output stages. No way that a 2k DAC will sound better than Rossini, just because of switching MQA on. I'm happy for you though if you think otherwise, because it will save you a lot of money. [emoji6]

 

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[Vincent1234]

Dear, I bet you that in one or two years, your cellphones with MQA will sound as good as the Rossini, provided that MQA will roll out. My experience with Brooklyn MQA is better than Rossini without MQA.

For some more perspective see below:

 

"I went through the entire MQA gamut with the Brooklyn where each recording sounded lovely. How lovely? Is MQA/Mytek the equal of the at-present MQA-less dCS Rossini? Of course not. We're not talking miracles. What we are talking about with MQA is, according to the recordings I have, a more natural sound and the better-sounding the DAC, the more engaging the experience.

Read more at http://www.audiostream.com/content/mqa-reviewed#ewTtIAhjaxcpiRub.99"

 

http://www.audiostream.com/content/mqa-reviewed#KXX0jkC1zjBbcBFo.97

 

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[Vincent1234]

For those using dCS Vivaldi or Rossini DAC's this is the answer I received just now from dCS to my question when we can expect these devices to be able to fully decode MQA:

"We are working on an MQA solution, but I do not have a date on which we will be adding this feature."

So, we will need to be a little patient..

 

 

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[Vincent1234]

For those using dCS Vivaldi or Rossini DAC's this is the answer I received just now from dCS to my question when we can expect these devices to be able to fully decode MQA:

"We are working on an MQA solution, but I do not have a date on which we will be adding this feature."

So, we will need to be a little patient..

 

 

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For those interested in playing MQA via their dCS devices: last word from dCS is that recent results using full software decoding of MQA (on Rossini and Vivaldi) were not up to the standards they hoped for. This could mean they will switch to a hardware solution after all, although they can fully program their DAC's by software. I'm not sure if I would be willing to pay additionally for hardware MQA decoding myself. On the other hand one cannot blame dCS to strive for the best SQ possible, which suits their status.

 

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[Vincent1234]

I've been passively looking for an upgrade and the Rossini is on my list. However, I have pulled back a bit given things seem to be in flux regarding MQA and Roon support.

 

What I honestly don't get is why anyone would not include Roon support in a DAC with a network interface and/or what is taking so long to get MQA implemented. Four months after your post and still both are not there (at least as far as I can tell). And this is across the board with most manufacturers.

Not true, Roon is there! MQA unfortunately not yet.

 

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