Hi Everyone,

So this is big news, dCS have just announced that after extensive research and development they have made major changes to the hardware portion of their Ring DAC and have developed an all-new analogue output stage taking both the Rossini DAC + Player and Vivaldi DAC to a whole new level.

The great news also is that if you are an existing Rossini or Vivaldi owner you can send your unit back to dCS for it to be upgraded to full Apex Specification, please feel free to get in touch for more details on this.

Also for a short time, we will have a standard Rossini Player + a new Apex Rossini Player side by side so you can come in to listen to the improvement, for this we decided to hook them up side by side on our Reference system comprising of the Wilson Audio Alexx V speakers, D'Agostino Momentum Pre/Power all with Transparent Reference cables with both Rossini players connected to a Melso S100 ethernet switch so all you have to do is switch inputs on the Pre to compare both units.

We have decided to run them without clocks for now as we only have one clock but I have a feeling this would help show the improvements even more but with a bit of cable swapping this can be tried if required, I had a listen on Saturday and even though the new Apex Rossini Player was brand new and not run in compared to our standard Rossini the improvements are clear to hear, again I feel once the Apex unit has more hours on it the differences will be greater again.

So what did I hear? firstly it is obvious that the noise floor is lower, this is something dCS actually measured but it is clear when you hear it so this gives the music a better foundation to play from resulting in a more open and sweeter presentation with definitely better bass definition and texture, this is what I noticed the most, you really can follow the bass notes better, especially in the upper bass, this in turn really helped to open up the mid range with cleaner and better separated vocals, overall I would say it is an excellent step forward adding refinement, control and an openness that is a true step up over the previous generation of Ring Dac, and let's be honest, that was brilliant before dCS introduced Apex, I guess to sum up I found Apex to be more engaging and insightful which is what I guess we are all after.

Would I upgrade if I was a Rossini or Vivaldi customer? well first I would come and have a listen to our Rossini's side by side to make your mind up but once you hear the difference then there is no ignoring the step forward and I personally would want to go Apex, but first please do and come and listen.

Finally I should also mention that our Vivaldi DAC went back to dCS the other day to be upgraded to Apex Specification, really can't wait to get that back I have to say.

Please find a dCS video below introducing Apex and a link to dCS on our website + a few pics of the 2 Rossini's side by side in our Reference system -

And if you would like to come along to compare please feel free to get in touch.

https://hifilounge.co.uk/product-category/brands/dcs/

Rossini + Rossini Apex Players all ready to compare on our Reference system!