The new dCS Varese DAC...it is so good that all others are now relegated to history??

@daveyf - just because technology moves on in a newer model doesn’t mean what came before is obsolete- the older tech still beats most lower priced DACs.  Also, the older tech used items still sell at a steep price, but obviously not to the level of new.

If one is afraid of newer tech replacing old, they’ll never be satisfied in high-tech products like computers, digital audio….  We only have 1 choice - buy or not, accompanying with “fear of obsolescence” is an unwise pointless option

Seems typically that if one has the top dCS stack, they’d likely have top electronics and revealing speakers ~ a highly transparent audio system way above what most can afford.  

Word on the street is that they are already working on the successor of the Varese. It will consist of 32 chassis. Each chip will be encased and have a separate power supply. I can't wait to see the 16-page advertisement followed by the next 30 pages of review. 

An audio reviewer OVER HYPED a product! No way!

@daveyf Ja, you are right. I meant to say the very best vinyl pressings that were comparable (albeit differently presented) in audio quality to Varese. Tape is such a unique beast and hard to compare to anything else as the instrument separation on tape is just so danged good. That said, the most noticeable thing I heard on the Varese is it seemed to simplify the complex passages so that your ear can focus on whatever instrument or voice it choses...this is what tape excels at for me. Varese is definitely better at simplifying the music than any other digital I have heard (not heard Wadax, but have heard MSB and other pricey digital systems).

@tunehead Excellent point. When it comes to DAC’s..and maybe digital gear in general, it is an area that seems to evolve at a quicker pace than say...analog, or just about anything else in audio.

How many here would pay the ask for the new dCS Varese DAC combo knowing that in a year it could be ( highly likely) relegated to a good DAC combo, but nowhere near SOTA!

Plus, to get it up to the then new standard, a new module, or whatever, needs to be added...at another large $$$

@geardaddie   You say the Varese was as good as vinyl or tape that was on hand. I have to believe that the tape you hand on hand was not that great, as IME tape is a significant step up in SQ over vinyl, if done correctly. The source is always the quality of the recording and the mastering, but it seems folk forget that when it comes to a digital recording, one needs to ask...are the recording folk using gear as 'advanced' as the dCS Varese supposedly is?? Because the SQ one gets is only going to be as great as the weakest link in the chain.

Yes. It is the DAC to rule them all. Until next week when "The next DAC to rule them all" is released.

That's one of those companies that sued a YouTube reviewer who said something subjective about their product they didn't agree with. I would never buy a product from a company that did that. dCS or MSB? Hmmm. They made it easy for me. 

I've heard Varese at a local dealer and also in two home systems that I know well. The dealer had a Vivaldi stack available to AB with and the two home systems had other top shelf sources to compare the Varese with (tape and/or vinyl). Although way out of my price range, Varese is worthy of hyperbole. It is simply spectacular in transparency, dynamics and musicality. Detailed, sure...but still musical. A clear step up from Vivaldi. And, depending on the recording, as good (certainly different presentation in some cases) than the very best tapes or vinyl on hand in the home auditions. 

As for an upgrade being released by dCS next year, I dunno. The former top of the dCS line Vivaldi was 10 years old before the Apex upgrade was introduced...and  the Apex modification was made available to current dCS customers for a relatively reasonable price (considering the price of the units originally). In fact, the Apex technology came from development of the Varese and was introduced in the lower end dCS models even before the Varese came out. 

Did he bother to compare it to anything else?  I assume if it’s a typical TAS review he did not. 

I am sure it is an exceptional stack. It should set the bar higher for companies that produce that flavor of sound. This is good.

Looking at his reference equipment... it also is of similar nature, DarTZeel. This is excellent equipment if it suites your taste.

I am always really impressed by Wilson speakers as well as dCS. Both, particularly their high end stuff is amazing... but something I do not want to own. It is dry and incredibly detailed. It does a great job of what it is intended to do. 

So, for me. It is good to hear that a flagship product breaks new ground... I am sure it does. But I am always tempered by the fact much of this stuff is not of my taste. That tempers much of the articles for me.

I’m not prone to the hyperbole of a reviewer, or even an enthusiastic forum member. I recently read a review of a pink fuse on another forum that made it sound like THE most imporant piece of his system. Speakers, amps and source no longer matter.

But I did attend a private audition of the new Lampizator Horizon made to interface with the new Taiko audio server set up to bypass the bios in the processor. I felt like this is the next great step forward in audio.

This review doesn’t mention bypassing the bios does it?

Jerry

I’m sure it sounds very good. 

Uh reviewers gonna review?