Digital Processor Reviews

dCS Varèse Music System D/A Processor Measurements

Sidebar 5: Measurements


Fig.1 Distortion + noise versus 24-bit/48kHz digital signal level over a 120dB range (black, 1kHz; blue, 20kHz). Note 140dB Y axis.

With the separation of the Varèse's core components—not least the evolution of the Ring DAC into two mono, differential arrays—we would expect to witness some uplift in technical performance. And indeed, comparisons with the Vivaldi APEX DAC show incremental gains in S/N ratio, distortion, and low-level linearity. Specifically, while the 5.88V maximum output (in the Varèse's top 6V mode) has not changed, and the sub–1 ohm balanced source impedance is retained, second-harmonic distortion through the bass and midrange has fallen from 0.00004% to 0.00003% over the top 10dB of the Varèse's dynamic range (see fig.1). Such figures are of academic interest only of course. The 20kHz figure remains unchanged at 0.0001%, as this is a function of the final analog output buffer and not a digital nonlinearity. However, the Varèse balanced Ring DAC has delivered a 1dB uplift in A-weighted S/N ratio from 117.1dB to 118.1dB, while low-level resolution is now good to ±0.2dB at –120dBFS. This is all reflective of a state-of-the-art DAC.


Fig.2 High-resolution jitter spectrum (24-bit/48kHz data). Very minor PSU-related sidebands and a pair at ±1.95kHz only.

The Vivaldi APEX's elimination of random jitter/phase noise exposed an increase in correlated jitter of 120ps (24-bit/48kHz data), so it's gratifying to report that the Varèse is having its cake and eating it, too: Phase noise remains almost entirely absent, while the Vivaldi's ±5Hz, ±7Hz, ±9Hz, etc, sidebands are now fully suppressed. A mere ~5ps of jitter remains at ±1.95kHz and ±120Hz (a PSU rectifier component) over all sample rates (see fig.2). Clock accuracy and digital jitter are not necessarily linked, but in this case, the Varèse's Master Clock system holds true to within ±1ppm. Incidentally, Class-1 accuracy is specified within ±50ppm!


Fig.3 Stopband image at 51kHz in response to 45kHz/24-bit signal sampled at 96kHz. Rejection is 125dB (Filter F5, black) vs. 5.2dB (Filter F4, red). Note the second harmonic at 90kHz and the image at 96kHz.

Otherwise, the Varèse's frequency response(s), stopband rejection, and time domain behavior all depend on your choice of dCS's six adaptive digital filters, F1 to F6, which are carried over from the latest version of the Vivaldi. The filter coefficients change with some sample rates, but as a rule, the linear phase F2 filter offers the flattest responses, out to ±0.00dB/20kHz, –0.6dB/45kHz and –7.0dB/90kHz with 48kHz, 96kHz and 192kHz media, respectively, this at the expense of the poorest image rejection among the filters (just 3.7dB with 44.1kHz/48kHz sample rates).

For lower 44.1kHz–192kHz rates, F1-F4 are linear phase for all sample rates and offer responses of –22dB/45kHz (but flat to 40kHz), –0.6dB/45kHz, –12dB/34kHz and –10.5dB/45kHz, respectively, with 96kHz media, and –13dB/90kHz, –7.0dB/90kHz, –14dB/68kHz and –17.6dB/90kHz (fig.4, black, red, cyan and green traces), respectively, with 192kHz files. F4 is a low-tap linear phase filter that trades reduced time-domain distortion for worse stopband rejection (red spectrum, fig.3). F5 is the outlier here, a fast minimum-phase filter (orange traces, fig.4) that rolls away early to –1.5dB/20kHz and –14dB/60kHz with 192kHz media while simultaneously offering superb stopband rejection of 125dB (black spectrum, fig.3).


Fig.4 Time (impulse) and frequency responses with 192kHz data. Filters F1 (black); F2 (red); F3 (cyan); F4 (green); F5 (orange); and F6 (purple).

F6 is a fast apodizing/linear phase type (purple traces, fig.4) with very extended ringing but full, >125dB stopband rejection and responses that match F5 at ±0.02dB/20kHz, and –3.9dB/45kHz (flat to 43kHz) with 48kHz and 96kHz files, respectively, and F3 at 192kHz, where they both roll away to –14dB/60kHz.

Importantly, all these filters passed the intersample clipping test, suggesting that dCS has built at least 3dB of digital headroom into the latest Ring DAC.—Paul Miller

COMPANY INFO
dCS (Data Conversion Systems), Ltd.
Unit 1, Buckingway Business Park, Anderson Rd.
Swavesey, Cambridge CB24 4AE
England, UK
(302) 473-9050
dcsaudio.com
ARTICLE CONTENTS

COMMENTS
ejlif's picture
Submitted by ejlif on April 25, 2025 - 2:28pm

I was so surprised to get to the comments and no hateful negative comments yet. I'm sure there will be soon. I don't think I'll be getting one of these anytime soon but congrats to anyone who can have one. Years ago I splurged and got a Rossini DAC and when I first was listening to it for a while I remember thinking most audiophiles don't know what they are missing. Music seemed so fresh and new and revealing in a way that made me want to stay up way to late listening. The Varese sounds like that but a lot more.

Charles E Flynn's picture
Submitted by Charles E Flynn on April 26, 2025 - 1:29pm

System prices in excess of $300,000 require Hateful Comments 2.0, currently in beta.

FredisDead's picture
Submitted by FredisDead on April 25, 2025 - 3:35pm

we audiophiles are maybe .00001% of the population and yet among us, maybe .001% would have any means or desire to place such a huge stack serving one purpose as a digital source in our listening room.
Also, the best DAC imaginable can not improve the source. Do you think any digital medium available let alone the actual music you want to hear was recorded using gear at such a level? So what is the point other than for the manufacturer to sell to those who can buy it and for the buyers to show it off?

georgehifi's picture
Submitted by georgehifi on April 25, 2025 - 4:21pm

And the 1/2 million dollar all up price tag.
This sort of product is aimed at those "Glitz Queens" that can't hear, and that love to show it off to their billionaire mates, over a 100year old Scotch that was stored in barrels made from the wood of Joan of Arc's cross she was BBQ'd at. And then they love telling them how much it costs to what they are listening to, then back to work and "drill baby drill"
Cheers George

JohnnyThunder2.0's picture
Submitted by JohnnyThunder2.0 on April 26, 2025 - 7:37am

all you do is have a reflex action to shit on what you feel is too expensive and out of your reach. Jason heard it. He was moved by the music it reproduced. When you listen to it come back and comment. When you listen to it make a qualitative judgment based on your listening experience. Don't come here and just reflexively knock pricey equipment that you would love to own but never can. You're a broken record of complaining and criticizing based on a personal value system so skewed and negative that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

scottsol's picture
Submitted by scottsol on April 25, 2025 - 6:39pm

One could say that the mediocre recordings can least afford to have their playback compromised.

MLP's picture
Submitted by MLP on April 25, 2025 - 4:10pm

It avoids other degradation that a bad or mediocre DAC brings to the party. Listen to what you might consider a poor-sounding digital source through a truly great DAC and you might well be surprised to find out the source isn't so bad, it's the equipment you listened to it on when you formed the conclusion that it was a poor-sounding source. A lot of CDs, not to mention HD files and streaming, sound better than many DACs reproduce them. dCS is at the very cutting edge and pinnacle of digital reproduction.

georgehifi's picture
Submitted by georgehifi on April 25, 2025 - 4:30pm

"It avoids other degradation that a bad or mediocre DAC brings to the party."
Correct as you say compared to a "bad dac"
But it can't bring back what was lost or mutilated in the digital PCM recording studio.
What ever faults were in the PCM digital recoding studio's chain, cannot be fixed, it can only be "bandaid camouflaged" (softened or truncated) And therefore even further from what it should have been originally. Cheers George

hollowman's picture
Submitted by hollowman on April 25, 2025 - 8:32pm

If you've come across some of early 70s DENON/PCM recordings, you may know how spectacular they can sound on VINYL. Ditto with early Telarc digital.
My pet theory is: the ULTIMATE d/a converter is whatever OCCURS from that PCM output right thru the phono preamp. So, the DAC that Denon (or Telarc) uses, the cutting lathe, etc., etc, right up thru the playback phono preamp I am using. And, of course, part of that OCCURRING PROCESS is the mastering engineer.

hollowman's picture
Submitted by hollowman on April 25, 2025 - 8:42pm

Best results can be obtained by TAPING the phono preamp outs. Use good quality (calibrated) reel deck (at least 7.5 ips). And send the outs of the tape deck to a decent sound card. Nothing fancy or $$ needed.
Not sure why adding the TAPING stage to vinyl ripping works well . Maybe like a well-designed complex preamp with lots of buffering, "signal conditioning" ( and heavy parts count!! ) can produce better results than a "straight line" volume-pot only design.

Markus46's picture
Submitted by Markus46 on April 26, 2025 - 1:20am

Regarding early Denon PCM recordings released on vinyl. They are spectacular!
My theory is that the recording engineering (microphone selection, placement, mixing etc) is more important than the technology used (analog tape vs digital) to record the output of the mixing console.
To see what a circa 1974 Denon PCM recorder looks like, check out the images In discogs of this album:
https://www.discogs.com/release/4204011-JS-Bach-Helmuth-Rilling-Orgelmei...
Note the oscilloscope!

I created an account here just to post this. I am way down the rabbit hole with these recordings. My wife hopes I get better…

Electrophone's picture
Submitted by Electrophone on April 26, 2025 - 11:17am

https://www.lowbeats.de/hifi-pionier-tatsuo-nishimura-gestorben/

Google Translation:

He was not only one of the grand old men of the hi-fi industry, he was also a friend: Tatsuo Nishimura recently passed away at the age of 76. The engineer, who immigrated from the Kobe region of Japan in the 1960s, not only shaped the Denon company in Germany in the 1980s and 1990s. He was also active in the German High Fidelity Institute (DHFI) and founded his own record label after his retirement.

His new life as a record producer was not the quiet Mr. Nishimura's first new start. And this step, too, was characterized by passion. A passion that drove him to become active in the hi-fi industry in the first place. When he came to Germany as one of the first Japanese to work here, he initially worked for a components supplier. But his enthusiasm for audio led him to tape specialist Akai in 1967, where Nishimura took on the position of technical director. Via Kenwood, the music lover eventually came to Denon, where, as product manager, he was able to experience and help shape a heyday for the Japanese audio specialist. The Nippon Columbia subsidiary drew on its experience in professional recording technology, where Denon built the first operational PCM recorder for recording studios as early as 1972, to refine the fledgling CD technology.

A critical issue was the nonlinear converter behavior at low levels, where manufacturing tolerances of the multi-bit DACs used at the time led to zero-crossing distortion. These bit errors were present even in loud passages, but were masked by the signal level. However, the percentage of distortion increased as the signal became quieter. While up to that point, only Philips had been able to compensate for bit errors quite effectively with DME (Dynamic Element Matching) using a sophisticated matrix, Burr Brown, a semiconductor manufacturer leading the Japanese CD player industry, attempted to overcome the specific problems of multi-bit technology by laser trimming resistors.

In a nutshell

But it was an idea from Denon's engineers that brought about the breakthrough for the Japanese company. Using a potentiometer next to the DAC, each individual super linear converter (SLC) was manually adjusted based on a measurement taken during production. While the 18- and 20-bit technology was merely a matter of numerical analysis for the pub, this complex design and production method resulted in a measurable and, in pianissimo passages, even audible increase in dynamics.

While this wasn't Tatsuo Nishimura's idea, it was up to him, as product manager, to communicate this. His passion for music and the inexhaustible repertoire of Nippon Columbia, one of the world's leading producers of classical CDs, helped him. In quiet piano passages, nonlinearities in the converter led to unpleasant background noise and, at times, even to an unpleasant modulation of the background noise. I still remember this because I was new to the industry and had read a report about it by Stanley Lipschitz, the renowned digital specialist at the University of Toronto. As a result, I acquired a Brahms recording from Philips, a recording much feared among CD player manufacturers. Initially, with a few exceptions, it could only be played flawlessly on players with Philips chipsets and those same Denon SLCs.

Ever-new variants of the SLC kept the flagships of the Denon range at the top of magazines' best-of lists for a long time. Denon owed its brilliant image to this technology, and Tatsuo Nishimura was able to spend a lot of time with the sound engineers of the German Denon Depeche in Ratingen in international concert halls. But someone like him didn't just watch. Equipped with excellent hearing (it wasn't just Denon players that had golden ears) and the knowledge of an engineer, the hi-fi pioneer sought ways to bring the listener even closer to the action, to give them the feeling of being at the control desk, or better yet, the conductor's desk. Impressions such as that of the pole position in the orchestral sound were contributed by conductor Eliahu Inbal, with whom Nishimura maintained a friendly relationship. Another friend was the late star loudspeaker developer Wolfgang Seikrit, who left his mark on Canton and Heco products. This group of audiophiles pushed themselves to new heights. During orchestra rehearsals with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Inbal, Nishimura experimented with disabling spot microphones at the mixing desk. Unlike contemporary test reports, which were often full of terms like "depth layering," there is no natural spatiality when recording sounds directly from the instrument, as each microphone has its own perspective—a concession that primarily ensures compatibility with kitchen radios, which is generally sought after by record producers.

One Point Recording: Less is more

However, Denon used two main microphones in front of the orchestra to create a stereo panorama and two microphones suspended from the ceiling at the rear of the concert hall to capture the room acoustics. And only these remained in the end. The One Point recordings made in this way initially made the rounds behind the scenes as a kind of semi-official bootleg. Nishimura, not without a certain amount of creative pride, tested the reactions of experts from industry, the press, and culture. A DAT cassette from those days with a One Point test recording of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra still slumbers in my treasure trove.

Nishimura Bootleg
Rare bootleg from the author's archive: Demo DAT cassette with the first One Point test recordings – a blueprint for Denon's legendary One Point Recordings (Photo: S. Schickedanz)
The enthusiastic response encouraged Denon to launch a now legendary series of One Point CDs, whose complexity and dynamic range challenged a stereo system to its full potential. This bold step would mark Denon's final zenith as a classic audio company. When Nishimura was entrusted with the management of the company in Germany, he faced a painful, Herculean task: Nippon Columbia was undergoing a complete restructuring. The music division was being sold, the Nettetal production site was being closed, and the workforce was being drastically reduced. Anyone who knew the sophisticated and unconventional thinker Nishimura could see how much this process was weighing on him.

At the end of the metamorphosis, Denon and its management moved to Nettetal on the Dutch border, where CD players and receivers had previously been manufactured. The path was clear for the company to transform itself from a respected hi-fi company into a highly successful AV group. In 1998, Nishimura took advantage of the advent of DVDs at the end of the 1990s, which was marked by a tug-of-war over sound standards, to pull off a coup: He packed extended one-point recordings with a center channel and discrete rear sound tracks for the ambient microphones behind the stands onto a DVD video. On these so-called ambience DVDs, he simply used Dolby AC3, the sound format that later became the standard.
advertising poster from the 90s
Also dug up from the archives: While others were still debating, Tatsuo Nishimura was creating facts. At his instigation, Denon released the world's first DVD-Video music software with Dolby AC3. The advertising poster, inspired by the film Armageddon, was designed by the author, who was taking a "commercial break" from journalism at the time and was having fun with Photoshop, Cinema 4D, and lighthearted sayings (Photo: S. Schickedanz).
….

Markus46's picture
Submitted by Markus46 on April 26, 2025 - 1:26pm

Thank you Electrophone for posting that fascinating obituary.
There is a thread over at the Steve Hoffman forums discussing the early Denon recorders and how they vary from Sony PCM as used in redbook CDs:
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/denon-pcm-encoding-in-1970s-is-it-different-than-sony-cd-pcm.574771/

DaveinSM's picture
Submitted by DaveinSM on May 6, 2025 - 2:07pm

THIS

JohnnyThunder2.0's picture
Submitted by JohnnyThunder2.0 on April 26, 2025 - 8:16am

because we love music. It touches our souls. Stereophile devotes almost as much space to music as to audio equipment. I'm not sure if you have noticed, but the world, this country, is in a bad bad place. It is oppressive for many of us. We read this magazine and this website to escape this pervasive cloud of insanity and hateful punitive retribution. You and trolls like you, contribute only negativity to this safe haven. I wish you would stop because you are as JA2 called another chronic crank commenter, " a malign presence." Go away or start a blog of your own.

georgehifi's picture
Submitted by georgehifi on April 26, 2025 - 12:11pm

"You and trolls like you, contribute only negativity to this safe haven"

That's all you have, always going on the personal attack, now that's the real sign of "A Troll"

DaveinSM's picture
Submitted by DaveinSM on April 25, 2025 - 8:53pm

Tripling down on the $2m temple of tone, I see.

I’m a huge fan of SACD, and even I find this pretty much ridiculous. And probably more appropriate to a $3m system budget.

georgehifi's picture
Submitted by georgehifi on April 26, 2025 - 1:07am

No matter how you look at it, it's a fugazi

Cheers George

JohnnyThunder2.0's picture
Submitted by JohnnyThunder2.0 on April 26, 2025 - 7:41am

You are not a pundit or a music critic or anyone that gets joy from music. You live to get on your tiny cyber soapbox and flail against the manufacturers that create expensive equipment and the potential buyers of such equipment. You have a chip in you that is anti-joy.

georgehifi's picture
Submitted by georgehifi on April 26, 2025 - 12:39pm

You just "attack personally", with anyone that doesn't believe with your views

That's a real definition of a Troll!

celef's picture
Submitted by celef on April 26, 2025 - 5:00am

There is nothing to hate here, great build quality, great look, amazing price tag, and a great sound, hats off

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on April 26, 2025 - 11:50am

... add an A++ or A+++ rating to the recommended components list, note that some ranking systems have an 'S' tier for those items with superlative performance that exceeds those that are A-rated.

Perhaps Stereophile could adopt that system.

ok's picture
Submitted by ok on April 26, 2025 - 2:04pm

..with a 5 or 6-piece 100+k audio dac; something like ENIAC in 2025.

georgehifi's picture
Submitted by georgehifi on April 26, 2025 - 4:22pm

It's for the "Glitz Queens" to show off like I said, a fugazi. Like someone's missus with a permanent false smile.
Cheers George

Archimago's picture
Submitted by Archimago on April 28, 2025 - 4:40pm

Yeah, I think from an engineering perspective, there is no need for this many boxes to achieve amazing digital-to-analog conversion performance.

At the very least, this is materially wasteful.

All these boxes with wires between also potentially make performance worse such as increasing risk of noise and clock jitter. Results are good, but for this price, not sure if we're seeing objectively absolute state-of-the-art performance. Also given the dual-mono separate box DAC, I don't think we saw a measurement of right-left channel balance which would have been important to check precision.

Great that JVS liked the sound. Everyone's entitled to a subjective opinion. Hard to imagine though that it's superior to all the many other DACs out there at much lower prices of course.

DaveinSM's picture
Submitted by DaveinSM on May 6, 2025 - 2:14pm

I agree with this, and would add that a lot of people here don’t seem to understand the nature of technological advancements in electronics and just how quickly they’ve driven DAC quality up and prices down at the same time.

From an engineering perspective, this thing will probably be seen in the future as an ENIAC. Sure, it will always be recognized as a striving for the state of the art, but don’t be surprised if, in twenty years, it’s roundly bested by something that will fit on a desktop.

It’s the nature of electronics technology. People couldn’t imagine ever having real Star Trek Tricorders back in the day, and here we are sixty years later with smart phones that blow those things away. And even their teenage kids have them.

Jazzlistener's picture
Submitted by Jazzlistener on April 26, 2025 - 3:41pm

First, @ejlif, although I too enjoy reading the comments section for absurdly priced gear like this, I disagree with your use of the term "hateful" here to describe what is typically "negative" comments. There is a big difference between the two, and @Johnny Thunder's behaviour on this thread is a big reason the U.S. is in such a bad place right now - i.e., responding to light criticism with over-the-top personal attacks...why so angry? Do you have stock in this company or something, lol. If you do, you should be directing that anger towards that big demented pumpkin head you guys call a president. My opinion - and that's all this is so don't lose your marbles over it -- is that any stereo component at this price level is ridiculous. Why, because #1) there is no rational defence to be charging that kind of $ for it and #2) there is no way the sound it makes can live up to its price-point. That's fine though, if Jason and his, what, 80-year-old ears, thinks he has heard the second coming of Christ through them, then I say good for him. From my perspective though, this ultra high-end equipment is what ruins the hobby, as its premise is that only uber expensive gear can deliver this quality of sonic bliss. I can also guarantee you that not only can less than .0001% of us afford this type of gear, the same goes for how many of us would hear any of the sonic qualities Jason describes hearing. But hey, to each their own.

DaveinSM's picture
Submitted by DaveinSM on May 6, 2025 - 2:21pm

The thing is this - as ridiculous as this future ENIAC is, it will have served its purpose when its purported technological advancements trickle down to more mainstream products.

If there is nothing revolutionary or at least evolutionary to be taken from inside those five boxes, then this thing will become an antiquated dinosaur right quick.

If the history of technological advancements in electronics has taught us anything, it’s that the primary value of statement pieces such as this is in their ostensibly pushing the state of the art and showing the way to scale it to improve product performance all the way down the line.

So the existence of this over the top product is not offensive to me. I’ve never been a bleeding edge early adopter anyway. But I stay on top of tech and have my own sweet spots as to when a product’s price to performance ratio makes it a no brainer for me to upgrade. This is especially true of relatively new, tech based products like DACs, much less so for relatively mature tech like speakers and amplification, where things happen at a much slower pace.

I think it’s like that for most of us, unless we have more time and money than we do sense.

daveyf's picture
Submitted by daveyf on April 26, 2025 - 3:58pm

Jazz listener brings up some very good points. The Varese is clearly priced to appeal to the ‘multitudes’ that can afford it. For these folk this is chump change. dCS must know their market, because otherwise the Varese would have been priced in the Millions! Nonetheless, that price point is next…

hollowman's picture
Submitted by hollowman on April 27, 2025 - 2:05am

Recorded in Japan, Sept 1970. Released Jan. 1971.
Steve Marcus +J.Inagaki & Soul Media - Something [see links and YouTube URL below for samples]

But only a few weeks later, this:
Stomu Yamash'ta & Masahiko Satō - Metempsychosis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBw5hSvK_Sk
Recorded January 27, 1971 at Nippon Columbia Studio, Tokyo, Japan
[both above 13-bit , between 32khz and 47khz].
TIMELESS
They sound better on vinyl than any subsequent digital release (CD). It would be interesting to hear good 15 or 30 ips transcription.
The first digital Motion Picture Score recording was The Black Hole (1979, Disney; composer: John Barry). One of Barry's best scores. And that original 3M digital recording on LP was outstanding. Despite its popularity and significance, TBH OST was not released on CD until 2011. Apparently, the 3M machines were all in disrepair. And the original digital tapes were encoded in a proprietary 3M format that could not simply be transcoded to modern WAV or similar format.

https://www.ironmountain.com/resources/blogs-and-articles/m/3m-digital-3...
[32-track, 16-bit capability at 50KHz]
TIMELESS

In 2011, Intrada went thru the pain of restoring a 3M machine; at least get it spinin' long enough to rip from its ANALOG outputs to an external PC soundcard and HDD. And that's what Intrada released in 2011.
I have both the orig LP and 2011 CD. They sound very different. You can't A/B because mixes and masterings are different (like an orig. MULTITRACK remix/remaster)
-----
SIDEBAR:
About what DACs may have been possible in 60/70s... Well, many so-called high-end discrete ladder DACs of today (Denafrips, TOTAL, etc) used resistors and "timing logic IC" that were avail in late 60s. And some swear by the speed of cleanliness of earlier logic ICs, because they were built for performance, and not power efficiency. TIMELESS.
-----

Refs:
https://tinyurl.com/2teuyuh8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqAtZN2iIrY

https://digital-audio-systems.com/development-of-digital-audio-technolog...

hollowman's picture
Submitted by hollowman on April 27, 2025 - 3:01am

This single video, by a retired German Radio Station Engineer, using NON-audiophile gear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJpa2p-WD6g
The sonics in this video speak for themselves.

THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES.

JOHN BARRY--The Black Hole (1979, OST). A digital recording.

Turntable: 1979 KORVET 038S (CCCP)
Cartridge: 1979 GZM128 nude paroc diamond berryllium cantilever (CCCP)
Phonostage: 1982 ELEKTOR SUPRA 2.0 (W. Germany)
Taped to reel tape and then to simple PC soundcard.

Refs:
http://www.goodsoundclub.com/Forums/PrintPost.aspx?PostID=8918
http://rr20.ddns.net/Item.aspx?ItemId=1dc24a12-fa88-4043-9e01-8cf9b63e81...

bhkat's picture
Submitted by bhkat on April 27, 2025 - 5:27pm

I love that channel. It's amazing the sound he gets from broadcast type turntables and strictly mid-fi gear otherwise. Listen to any of the videos he has using the Philips quad cartridge.

CG's picture
Submitted by CG on April 27, 2025 - 10:40am

Once again, I find myself confused.

I queued up that same track from Saturday Night in San Francisco. I could also hear "three distinct guitars, each with its own uniquely identifiable color and timbre, spread across a wide soundstage." My wife could hear that as well from the dining room where she's working on a jigsaw puzzle, although obviously without the same soundstage perspective.

Trust me when I say that our DAC does not cost a quarter million dollars, nor even close to it. It's not one of the many sub-$2K products, often from China, either. But, it's closer to the latter than the former, by a lot.

Now, I'm not questioning the greatness of the dCS product. Nor even commenting on the price - that's in the eye of the purchaser.

I'm just wondering what's going on with all these systems I read about. Are they all individually seasoned to somebody's taste of the day so when something new comes along, it just sounds different and is therefore appealing? It's not just this reviewer, or even reviewers from just this magazine, either. Help me out, please.

Jason Victor Serinus's picture
Submitted by Jason Victor Serinus on April 28, 2025 - 1:38pm

If you can, find a Varèse dealership and listen. Words about music are a poor second best to music itself.

Scintilla's picture
Submitted by Scintilla on April 27, 2025 - 9:42pm

((yawn))

curbfeeler's picture
Submitted by curbfeeler on April 28, 2025 - 2:38pm

I was among the fortunate few to hear the dCS Varèse in Jason’s listening room when he hosted the Off Islander Audio Society on February 1st. Jason’s review has illuminated facets of the equipment in use that escaped my understanding during the event. Thoroughgoing research and engineering are made evident. The presentation was illuminating, especially when comparing music servers, local file playback, and various pathways when serving up music files digitally. Thanks to our gracious host for a memorable experience.

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on April 28, 2025 - 4:35pm

... two-channel studio/mastering/professional grade A/D converters with a price comparable to that of this D/A product?
If not, why not?

georgehifi's picture
Submitted by georgehifi on April 29, 2025 - 12:51am

Be interesting to do a blind A/B with some of the ones getting raved about that cost $3k and less
(also help if you're blind too, so the "Glitz Factor" didn't sway your listening impressions)

Cheers George

aero9k's picture
Submitted by aero9k on April 28, 2025 - 6:18pm

When is Stereophile going to audition the Wadax system? All the other journals rate it as a paradigm shift ahead from DCS, CH Precision, and so on.

hollowman's picture
Submitted by hollowman on April 28, 2025 - 8:54pm

I recall that Arcam "FMJ" CD players shifted from using dcS Ring DAC topology to $5 Wolfson dacs (FMJ23 to 33). And JA and others, if anything, reported improved sonics with the FMJ33.
Not sure dCs has CONSUMER financial goals with their products?? dCs does have UK military funding, so deep pockets for interesting projects; only a small amount needed for audio/ancillary projects. If the US Pentagon were to, say, build a high-performance iPod to keep their soldiers happy and content, us audiophiles might end up with trickle-down, NASA-grade sonics.

But even corporations with no govt. contracts can put out loss-leader products. Like this 1986 NEC CD player (maybe meant for limited sales and CES shows. or as perks for corporate executives):

https://www.stereonet.com/forums/topic/347770-nec-903-true-audiophile-cd...

The first serious linear-tracking turntable was also such a project (1970 Schlumberger A1B linear turntable, developed by Pierre Clement). Developed by a French oil company: Schlumberger is a French corporation and the largest oilfield services company in the world. What they're doing creating turntables is a mystery. Maybe Schlumberger CEO was concomitantly an audiophile:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PNtvgjCVe0

Earlier I noted the space-age USSR Korvet turntable. I doubt this was originally meant for wide distribution or even sale. Perhaps meant as a proof of concept: "We socialists can build audiophile products, too". And such items were in the offices of the Kremlin or in homes of high-ranking officials.

David Harper's picture
Submitted by David Harper on April 29, 2025 - 7:33am

rides better when it's clean. I know what I know. Don't try to tell me it's "placebo". It's an absolute fact. Even though there's no rational explanation.

bhkat's picture
Submitted by bhkat on April 29, 2025 - 3:44pm

If you paint the exterior green it will feel faster too.

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