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Bartok DAC

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philiphifi

pfm Member
I listened to a DCS Bartok DAC over the weekend and it sounded very good. The dealer remarked that the DCS engineering team focuses on reducing noise etc. (i.e. engineering excellence). On that note, there are Chinese DACs that cost 10 times less and better numbers.

Has anyone compared a DAC like the SMSL SU 10 v Bartok ?
 
Yep, i have owned several of the favoured ASR DACs - Topping, Matrix, SMSL, Soncoz etc. The only make I’d revisit is Matrix.

Extended Head to Head sessions with Auralic Aries/Vega G2 (owned) and then with a Bartok (on loan).

I sold them all off and then sold the Auralic G2 kit and bought a used Bartok, recently traded it in for a new Rossini Apex.
 
Nope, I bought a £500 Chinese dac because I don't believe there's anything more for more money
 
Out of interest, in what way would a Rossini DAC (28k) improve on say the well regarded Chord Dave (10k) to justify the massive price difference? Surely it’s more than a difference in presentation?
 
Jonn said:
Out of interest, in what way would a Rossini DAC (28k) improve on say the well regarded Chord Dave (10k) to justify the massive price difference? Surely it’s more than a difference in presentation?
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Having heard a fellow fishies Rosini Apex in my system compared to my Mscaler + Dave I would say at this level it probably is just a difference in presentation. I preferred the Mscaler + Dave but the Rossini Apex owner @Salamander preferred the Rossini Apex. They are both very fine DACs and only the listener’s ears can decide which one is most liked.
 
Having had an Auralic G2 Vega and Aries, I demoed a Bartok then bought a Rossini, now Apexed. The dCS gear plays music with nuance, flow, energy and the acoustic space intact. Most other gear doesn’t. The chi-fi is good for the money and thats all.

Haven’t heard a Dave but had the lower end Chord DACs before the Auralic gear.

dCS gear has zoomed up in price recently and I didn’t pay anything like 28k and neither will anyone with a good dealer. There are deals to be had.
 
I've ended up with a Rossini Apex and clock at "reasonable" cost (not today's list prices).

I bought dCS rather thanChord because dCS is properly distributed and supported where I live whereas I am not that sure about Chord in my geographical situation (no dealer within a reasonable distance despite living in a metropolis of over 1 million people).
That being said, I enjoyed listening to a Dave and Mscaler at Munich just prior to COVID.
 
I've compared Soncoz, SMSL, and Topping with my modest Audiolab MDac, and found them all wanting even with this comparison let alone with the presumably significantly better DCS varieties.
 
Colin L said:
A NOS valve DAC. That's pretty niche and the fact you are making them yourself for sale somewhat colours your post I feel.
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Not really. If any of them had offered better sound I would have bought them. I did buy the Bartok knowing that I could resell for what I paid for it but believe me I was hoping that DACs at that price range would offer major advantages
 
Preferred the Aqua La Scala 2 Optologic over the Bartok myself, had quite a few DACs on demo at the same time. I used them against an RME Dac as reference. The RME was overall, not even in the same league - it quite literally had the ability to destroy the music the others had created.

I went with the Aqua in the end, used with an Auralic Aries G2 with Hoer PSU upgrade (a great upgrade!), I don't even think about changing anything in my digital setup now. It's sublime, and my mind is at rest for upgrades. Anyone who sticks with ChiFi specials really do miss out, but not everyone wants to spend small car money on a DAC and it's far easier to condition your mind to accept it through not spending over spending.
 
I have more expensive dacs but perfectly happy with my "Chifi specials", past caring about dacs to be honest - the music gets through enough for me.
 
I would love to try a better DAC like bartok/apex/dave to see what I might be missing. The only problem is that I might like it.

I upgraded from a $3800 Naim to a $2500 Chinese Gustard and need to avoid the temptation of spending 10x that.
 
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