Digital Source Component of the Year
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dCS Varèse D/A processor
($267,500; reviewed by Jason Victor Serinus in Vol.48 No.5, May 2025 review) FINALISTS (in alphabetical order) Bricasti M21 D/A processor
($16,500; reviewed by Sasha Matson in Vol.48 No.10, October 2025 review) Cambridge Audio EXN-100 D/A processor
($1799; reviewed by Tom Fine in Vol.48 No.4, April 2025 review) CH Precision C10 D/A processor
($95,000; $104,000 as auditioned; reviewed by Jim Austin in Vol.48 No.10, October 2025 review) Innuos Nazaré server/streamer
($50,000 approx.; reviewed by Jason Victor Serinus in Vol.48 No.9, September 2025 review) Wattson Audio Madison LE D/A processor
($4995; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.48 No.4, April 2025 review)
Weiss DAC204 D/A processor
($3495; reviewed by Rob Schryer in Vol.48 No.8, August 2025 review) The five chassis of the dCS Varèse system comprise a user interface box, which features a full-color touch screen to track data, album artwork, play queues, and other settings; a Master clock module; two mono D/A processors, one for each channel, each with its own power supply; and a Core, which handles audio input, conversion, oversampling, noise shaping, filtering, and streaming. (The last uses the new dCS Mosaic ACTUS app for iOS or Android.) The Core's rear panel has eight proprietary ACTUS connectors that allow it to act as the hub of the Varèse system. A single ACTUS cable connects the Core to each of the other components. The review sample's I/O module included three AES inputs, WCLK Out, S/PDIF out, USB-B for connecting servers and computers, and RS-232 for corresponding ports on dCS transports. The Varèse handles PCM rates up to 24/384 and DSD up to DSD512 (the review sample was limited to DSD128), and automatically oversamples PCM to DXD (24/352.8 or 384), DSD, DSD128, DSD256, or DSD512. At $267,500, the dCS Varèse is the most expensive D/A processor ever reviewed in Stereophile. But as superb as modern high-performance processors like the finalists in this category sound (and measure), Jason Victor Serinus felt that the Varèse was in a class of its own when it came to reproducing music. "The more you listen to Varèse, the more obvious its distinct magic becomes," he wrote, adding that "Perhaps I do my reputation no favors by confessing that as I listened with eyes wide open, I forgot about note taking as my critical faculties ceded to a sense of wonder." Summing up, JVS noted that "all the key elements of the audiophile experience—the 'you are there' presence and aliveness, the absence of a veil between you and the music, the depth and weight of images, the drop-dead 'Is it live or is it Memorex?' veracity, and the overarching sense of being swept up and transported by the music and its creators' collective achievement"—continued to overwhelm him. Notes on the vote
From the budget-priced Cambridge streamer/ DAC, which Tom Fine describes as a great value for its exceptional sound quality and functionality, through the relatively affordable Wattson and Weiss processors, to the cost-no-object CH Precision C10 and dCS Varèse, this category featured the widest range of prices in the 2025 Awards. The 15 members of Stereophile's reviewing team had no doubts about choosing the winner, however.
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dCS Varèse D/A processor($267,500; reviewed by Jason Victor Serinus in Vol.48 No.5, May 2025 review) FINALISTS (in alphabetical order) Bricasti M21 D/A processor
($16,500; reviewed by Sasha Matson in Vol.48 No.10, October 2025 review) Cambridge Audio EXN-100 D/A processor
($1799; reviewed by Tom Fine in Vol.48 No.4, April 2025 review) CH Precision C10 D/A processor
($95,000; $104,000 as auditioned; reviewed by Jim Austin in Vol.48 No.10, October 2025 review) Innuos Nazaré server/streamer
($50,000 approx.; reviewed by Jason Victor Serinus in Vol.48 No.9, September 2025 review) Wattson Audio Madison LE D/A processor
($4995; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.48 No.4, April 2025 review)
($3495; reviewed by Rob Schryer in Vol.48 No.8, August 2025 review) The five chassis of the dCS Varèse system comprise a user interface box, which features a full-color touch screen to track data, album artwork, play queues, and other settings; a Master clock module; two mono D/A processors, one for each channel, each with its own power supply; and a Core, which handles audio input, conversion, oversampling, noise shaping, filtering, and streaming. (The last uses the new dCS Mosaic ACTUS app for iOS or Android.) The Core's rear panel has eight proprietary ACTUS connectors that allow it to act as the hub of the Varèse system. A single ACTUS cable connects the Core to each of the other components. The review sample's I/O module included three AES inputs, WCLK Out, S/PDIF out, USB-B for connecting servers and computers, and RS-232 for corresponding ports on dCS transports. The Varèse handles PCM rates up to 24/384 and DSD up to DSD512 (the review sample was limited to DSD128), and automatically oversamples PCM to DXD (24/352.8 or 384), DSD, DSD128, DSD256, or DSD512. At $267,500, the dCS Varèse is the most expensive D/A processor ever reviewed in Stereophile. But as superb as modern high-performance processors like the finalists in this category sound (and measure), Jason Victor Serinus felt that the Varèse was in a class of its own when it came to reproducing music. "The more you listen to Varèse, the more obvious its distinct magic becomes," he wrote, adding that "Perhaps I do my reputation no favors by confessing that as I listened with eyes wide open, I forgot about note taking as my critical faculties ceded to a sense of wonder." Summing up, JVS noted that "all the key elements of the audiophile experience—the 'you are there' presence and aliveness, the absence of a veil between you and the music, the depth and weight of images, the drop-dead 'Is it live or is it Memorex?' veracity, and the overarching sense of being swept up and transported by the music and its creators' collective achievement"—continued to overwhelm him. Notes on the vote
From the budget-priced Cambridge streamer/ DAC, which Tom Fine describes as a great value for its exceptional sound quality and functionality, through the relatively affordable Wattson and Weiss processors, to the cost-no-object CH Precision C10 and dCS Varèse, this category featured the widest range of prices in the 2025 Awards. The 15 members of Stereophile's reviewing team had no doubts about choosing the winner, however.
