Article: Review: dCS Bartok APEX DAC with Headphone Amplifier

View full article

very much enjoy reading about the comparisons as you build option upon option (and expense upon expense, but that is the way it is).  You give enough information for someone to pursue a particular component for an in-home demo, which is the purpose of a review.  Digital gear has truly arrived.  

Wow, this was such an excellent and helpful review/article! So many variables tested by you with clarity of results. Thanks!

I'm wondering ahead of time (assuming you went with the option or can test it one day), how these products and variations you reviewed will compare to say a price no object option. I'm thinking of the Taiko Olympus  with included DAC (or some other DAC) as one such option. So in a sense Olympus vs Extreme - hopefully something you'll write about soon :-)  

Another question I have that you may have clarified elsewhere but I don't remember: how do these products/variations sound via your speaker based playback? Or perhaps these are entirely different systems and not even interconnectable. 

Time and again some of my friends (who may not have really good systems) tend to say high end audio is basically "diminishing returns", but my experience is almost the opposite - when something really clicks, the experience is transported into a completely higher realm that is laughably better (to my ears and sensations) then "normal" gear. 

Thanks again!

Great review Rajiv. Hope to hear this DAC one day,

On 6/26/2024 at 9:13 AM, happybob said:

I'm wondering ahead of time (assuming you went with the option or can test it one day), how these products and variations you reviewed will compare to say a price no object option. I'm thinking of the Taiko Olympus  with included DAC (or some other DAC) as one such option. So in a sense Olympus vs Extreme - hopefully something you'll write about soon :-)

I'm certainly looking forward to hearing the Taiko Olympus XDMI server/DAC. I won't have the Bartok Apex to compare to, as it was a review unit that has gone back to dCS, but it will be interesting to compare with whatever I have on hand or can muster. Stay tuned!

After re-reading the review, I'm struck by Rajiv's preference for the dCS being fed native rate files over the other two systems being fed upsampled files. This preference seems to be enhanced by adding a clock and an external headphone amp.

@austinpop - Is there something unique about dCS' filtering approach? Do you feel you are getting all the benefits of upsampling (more accurate reconstruction and transient timing) with the dCS using native rate content relative to the other two systems? Or do you prefer the dCS despite losing some of these upsampling benefits because the power supply, output stage, and amplifier pairings add more overall goodness? I'm just trying to figure what role upsampling plays in your evaluation - there is something to be said about not having to upsample if you can avoid it (despite how much I love it myself!). 

I hope these questions make sense!

1 hour ago, taipan254 said:

After re-reading the review, I'm struck by Rajiv's preference for the dCS being fed native rate files over the other two systems being fed upsampled files. This preference seems to be enhanced by adding a clock and an external headphone amp.

 

@austinpop - Is there something unique about dCS' filtering approach? Do you feel you are getting all the benefits of upsampling (more accurate reconstruction and transient timing) with the dCS using native rate content relative to the other two systems? Or do you prefer the dCS despite losing some of these upsampling benefits because the power supply, output stage, and amplifier pairings add more overall goodness? I'm just trying to figure what role upsampling plays in your evaluation - there is something to be said about not having to upsample if you can avoid it (despite how much I love it myself!). 

 

I hope these questions make sense!

I tried to address this in the review in the section entitled Software Upsampling, but it's worth revisiting.

Upsampling only makes sense with DACs that bypass their own internal processing when presented with an upsampled stream. If that does not happen, then the benefits of upsampling becomes unclear. This is the case with the Bartók Apex, and with dCS DACs in general. The USB or dual-AES inputs only accept up to 384kHz, or DSD128 via DoP. Internally, there is further processing in the path, to 16FS, and then conversion to the multibit format needed by the Ring DAC. These cannot be bypassed.

Because of this, it is not surprising that the Bartók Apex SQ was not significantly better with pre-upsampled content.

11 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

I tried to address this in the review in the section entitled Software Upsampling, but it's worth revisiting.

 

Upsampling only makes sense with DACs that bypass their own internal processing when presented with an upsampled stream. If that does not happen, then the benefits of upsampling becomes unclear. This is the case with the Bartók Apex, and with dCS DACs in general. The USB or dual-AES inputs only accept up to 384kHz, or DSD128 via DoP. Internally, there is further processing in the path, to 16FS, and then conversion to the multibit format needed by the Ring DAC. These cannot be bypassed.

 

Because of this, it is not surprising that the Bartók Apex SQ was not significantly better with pre-upsampled content.

Thanks for the response, @austinpop! You were very clear in your article about what was happening to the data fed into the dCS. I likely wasn't too clear in my question, and I do very much appreciate you humoring me, so let me try asking again, this time in a single sentence for the avoidance of any doubt or confusion:

In your opinion, is the internal filtering of the dCS superior to that of the external upsamplers you have tried and used? 

Context: I only ask because upsampling - a task I find worthwhile and rewarding in my setup with my ears - can be a pain to implement. It seems like a coup to be able to purchase a DAC that doesn't require upsampling to get the full value of upsampling. Of course, I acknowledge other factors like output stage quality and clocking as influencing and improving the sound as well. Maybe it's hard to put a finger on this, but I figure I'd ask you since you're among the most experienced upsamplers I'm aware of! 

13 hours ago, taipan254 said:

In your opinion, is the internal filtering of the dCS superior to that of the external upsamplers you have tried and used? 

I would simply reiterate that the question you posed, as written, is difficult, if not impossible to answer. Any advantage an external upsampler may have over the internal filters will be diluted by the remainder of the DAC's pipeline that cannot be bypassed.

The fact of the matter is that external upsamplers are only suitable with some DACs, and not with others. This is not limited to dCS DACs.

@austinpopinteresting line up of gear tested & contrasted here. As you already had the Lina clock and Lina headphone amp to hand, the Lina dac was most definitely conspicuous by its absence. Was it this deliberate? I ask only because I'm wondering whether if one was starting all over again with headphone listening as one's primary use case whether the Lina 3 component stack might be a better option than the Bartok Apex even when combined with the Lina clock. Any thoughts?  If you ever get another bite at the cherry would love to see your assessment of the Lina stack vs Bartok Apex with & without the clock vs Dave (stock power supply) + mscaler + music server. Btw your first review of the Bartok 2.0 in my view set the absolute benchmark for how reviews should be done. Many of the professionals who review gear for a living do not come anywhere near close to that standard. Keep up the great work (which i assume you do out of your love/passion for music::::ie not professionally?).

On 7/4/2024 at 3:49 AM, Danzig said:

As you already had the Lina clock and Lina headphone amp to hand, the Lina dac was most definitely conspicuous by its absence. Was it this deliberate? I ask only because I'm wondering whether if one was starting all over again with headphone listening as one's primary use case whether the Lina 3 component stack might be a better option than the Bartok Apex even when combined with the Lina clock. Any thoughts?

Unfortunately, I could not get dCS to send me the Lina DAC, but I have heard it at audio shows multiple times now. The Lina trio stack sounds fantastic, so that is not the concern. Does the Lina DAC sound as good as, or better than, the Bartok Apex? I highly doubt it. I think the presence of the Apex upgrade in the Bartok alone would account for a significant uptick. But I don't want to venture any further, as I have not heard these components side by side. I strongly suggest you find a dCS dealer and ask them to let you hear for yourself. If you cannot do the Lina to Bartok Apex comparison, see if they have any of the OG DACs, and compare them to the new Apex versions. I.e. Bartok vs. Bartok Apex, or Rossini vs Rossini Apex. That would be another way of assessing how much the Apex upgrade elevates SQ.

On 7/4/2024 at 3:49 AM, Danzig said:

Keep up the great work (which i assume you do out of your love/passion for music::::ie not professionally?)

Thanks. I am by no means a professional reviewer, and I do it purely for my love and passion for music and great sound.

On 7/8/2024 at 8:30 AM, austinpop said:

Does the Lina DAC sound as good as, or better than, the Bartok Apex? I highly doubt it.

@austinpop i had a chance to listen to the Bartok Apex and the 3-stack Lina system with an HD800s (balanced). I listened to classical music (solo piano, cello and violin, as well as orchestral pieces). With this type of music, I had a clear preference for the Bartok. In (very brief) summary I found it to be noticeably more refined and effortless in its delivery/presentation of the music I listened to. I became so immersed in listening to the music that I lost all track of and ran out of time to test Bartok with the Lina clock.