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    dCS Rossini DAC Review

    We've all had those weeks that never end, stress us out, and leave us feeling shattered by the time the weekend rolls around. This has been one of those weeks for me. I'm not complaining, there are many worse jobs and places to live in this world, rather I'm leading into the antidote to stress and exhaustion. Some people sooth with substances, but I've found a reference HiFi system can be much better. Right now my reference system is quarterbacked by the dCS Rossini digital to analog converter. 

     

    This evening I sat down in my listening chair for a final listening session with the dCS Rossini. All the lights were out. The blue glow of the power indicators on my Constellation Audio amplifiers could be seen as well as the front panel of the Rossini. Other than those items, the room pitch black. I leaned back in my chair and tapped play through Roon on Bob Dylan's The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan album. 

     

    As soon as the unmistakable acoustic guitar began in the right channel, my body eased up and started to unwind. Dylan's unique voice emanating from dead-center between the TAD CR1 loudspeakers put a smile on my face. The antidote was kicking in. By the time Dylan played the track out with his harmonica I was in a much better place physically and mentally than when I walked into my listening room. 

     

    The MoFi DSD remaster of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan ripped to dsf files and played through the dCS Rossini sounded so organic, so realistic, so full, so lush, that I listened to the first 11 tracks without as much as a volume adjustment. When something sounds this great I don't make changes. Why fix what's not broken? 

     

    Perennial skip-over tracks such as Down the Highway had me sucked-in. Dylan's acoustic guitar through the dCS Rossini had incredible depth and dimensionality down through the lowest frequencies. As Dylan strums and plucks, each string can be heard as it should be heard, as a distinct different sound with unique tonal characters and richness. And to think I usually skip over this track. I guess hearing it in all its glory, as it was meant to be heard, can change one's mind. It's a great song that sounds great through the Rossini. This experience gives me pause, to think about why I skip certain songs when listening on other components. 

     

    The dCS Rossini has made previously skipable tracks part of my must listen regimen. Yes, my listening regimen. The audio antidote to stress is a great HiFi system with great music. It's capable of restoring one's health after days and weeks we'd rather forget.

     

     

     


    regimen | ˈrejəmən |
    noun
    1. a prescribed course of medical treatment, way of life, or diet for the promotion or restoration of health.

     

     

     

     

    Still in a folky mood, I queued up the Audio Fidelity version of Peter, Paul and Mary's 1963 album In the Wind. Some of the tracks on this album aren't typically what I'd consider in my wheelhouse, but damn they sounded great. I couldn't stop listening. Again, the music continued reduced my anxiety and stress from the week by transporting me into another era. The song All My Trials was nothing short of amazing through the dCS Rossini. The full bodied and rich vocal harmony sounded so good it was like a drug of which I couldn't get enough. Listening to each individual vocalist when I wanted and listening to the magical blend of the group together most of the time seriously set me at ease. I don't know that I've ever heard a more touching version, a version that got to me this much, or a better reproduction of this track on any component or system I've heard to date. This is what HiFi is all about for me, listening to music and letting it get to me on many levels. The better sounding the system the better I feel. 


    A few weeks ago a good friend sent me an email suggesting I listen to Melody Gardot's new Live in Europe album. I gave it a digital spin at the time and wrote back that I was underwhelmed. Fast forward to this afternoon while I was driving in my car down I394 listening to Jazz 88 FM radio. The track My one and Only Thrill from this album came on and I was hooked. Upon returning home I email my friend back to say I was now onboard with the album. 

    Pressing play on this album through the dCS Rossini, connected to the direct input of my Constellation Audio Inspiration amplifiers, brought me much enjoyment. Listening to My One and Only Thrill through this system rather than my aftermarket car system gave me an even better feeling. The track opens with a piano but it's the very emotional sounding cello that sets the tone. Through the Rossini this cello sounds rich when out front, and mystically airy when backing Melody's vocal throughout the song. About 6:50 into the track the cello comes back to prominence and has this incredible smooth yet gritty sound that's extremely haunting. It's amazing that this is a live recording and it sounds so good considering it was released in 2018. Kudos to Melody Gardot for delivering the album and to dCS for enabling us to hear all of it as it was delivered by the artist. 

     

     

    A Bit About Hardware, Software, and Filters

     

    Before continuing with my listening experiences, I should at least get into the hardware and software of the dCS Rossini. This DAC is the opposite of typical DACs that use off the shelf parts assembled according to application notes. dCS uses its proprietary Ring DAC, custom user selectable filters, custom mapping algorithms, and custom software platform all developed in-house.  In addition, when many manufacturers of storied HiFi brands are cutting corners, dCS has managed to improve the quality of its products both inside and out. 

     

    dCS continually improves its products via software / firmware updates. With custom "everything" onboard, the company is free to add features and extend the life of its products until the hardware just doesn't have enough horsepower. During the review period I upgraded the Rossini with the click of a button that checked for the upgrade over the internet and automatically installed the newest version.

     

    Certainly (in some circles) the most controversial part of the latest upgrade was the addition of MQA decoding and rendering. However, the Rossini isn't just another MQA capable DAC. But first a little about filters. The Rossini features six dCS PCM filters, one MQA filter, and four DSD filters. All "designed" by dCS. I put the word designed in quotes because it isn't entirely true but it isn't entirely false. dCS (Andy McHarg) worked with MQA to develop the first implementation of the MQA Reference filter.  What this means is the dCS M1 MQA filter perfectly meets all 16 possible MQA filter coefficients exactly without having to be tailored to offset limitations or errors in the D/A converter.  Because of speed, linearity, and frequency response of the RingDAC dCS was able to exactly match the ideal MQA reconstruction filter coefficients all the way up to 768k.  So in other words, MQA came up with the theoretical ideal filter coefficients, and the flexibility of how dCS does things allowed the company to code those in to allow ideal filter responses.

     

    There are two other aspects to the dCS MQA implementation that are different from most other manufacturers.  First, with many other implementations, if MQA encode is turned on then all audio passes through the MQA filter.  With the Rossini and all other dCS devices the DAC or streamer determines whether MQA encoded music is playing before applying the filter.  Second, having a choice of filter responses is in the dCS DNA. From he very beginning, when the company approached the MQA project it was important that dCS users still had the ability to select traditional dCS filters with MQA material. Again, it's about flexibility and personal choice for dCS customers. 

     

    Control of the Rossini's features, including filter selection, can be accomplished most easily via the dCS iOS app (an Android app will be explored down the road). The app also enables the user to play music from a UPnP/DLNA server, Tidal, or a USB stick connected directly to the Rossini. In the true dCS spirit of flexibility for its customers, the company has also enabled AirPlay and Sotify playback.

     

    During the review I used Roon for playback much of the time because of the tight integration between Roon's iOS app and the Rossini. Adjusting volume within Roon also adjusted the volume directly on the Rossini and vice versa. Two-way communication between the Rossini and Roon is a very nice feature.  

    The analog outputs of the Rossini, like all dCS DACs, can be set at 2V or 6V. I used the Rossini at 6V output connected to the Direct input of my Constellation amplifiers. This Direct input bypasses a gain stage inside the amp and is to be used with Constellation preamps or a limited number of DACs. Some DACs work well with this input, but most sound pretty flat. The Rossini is a great match for this input. Other DACs connect to the XLR input of the Constellation amps and carry on without any issues. 

     

    The Rossini has a complete menu of options and features that most DACs can't come close to matching. The user can customize it until content or have a dealer set it and forget it. Like the Vivaldi, the Rossini is one of, if not the most, versatile DAC in the industry.

     

     

     

    img-0384.jpg

     

     

     

     


    Back to Listening


    Finishing up my listening session I put on some classical music, Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony. The Reference Recordings release of Britten's Orchestra (out of print) is a favorite of mine and is capable of transporting me into another world through a transparent audio system. Don't get me wrong, I could enjoy this album on any system. However, it takes exceptional components to reproduce all of this Keith Johnson 24/176.4 recording in a way that enables me to get completely lost in the music and hear each instrument individually as I drift through the performance in my listening room.

    At times I can be a stickler for good transient response in the audio components I use in my system. When listening to 176.4 kHz classical music such as this album I prefer the dCS filter number 5. This filter has a Gaussian response with no overshoot on transients and relaxed roll-off. As a side note, I prefer filter number 4 for 16/44.1 music because of its good transient response. 

     

    The opening track on this album, The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, is a 17 minute mix of loud crescendos and soft sweet violin followed by violent percussion and stern yet smooth horns. This track touches all the bases and all frequencies for those listening to judge a playback system. Fortunately I listen to this for enjoyment as I really love the music (this coming from a Pearl Jam type of guy who'd rather not listen to much classical). 

    The dCS Rossini didn't disappoint throughout this track and the entire performance. The opening transients weren't memorialized, the violins were wispy yet rich in tone and texture, and the horns were brash when appropriate. The Rossini reproduced the complete performance with a full, rich sound that made it possible to hear the entire symphony as one or each individual instrument as a single piece of the larger whole. 

     

    Closing out the first track, with about 1:30 remaining, the symphony picks up steam enabling one to hear the whole sound much greater than the some of the parts. With about 30 seconds remaining the musicians are firing on all cylinders with loud transients, soft yet audible flutes, and crashing yet controlled cymbals. Through the Rossini this performance is reproduce at a level second to none. OK, second to nothing I've had in my listening room in recent memory. 
     


    Conclusion

     

    This wonderful hobby of ours isn't often about restraint but rather excess. The Rossini DAC is the sweet spot in the dCS lineup. It's $23,999 price tag doesn't scream moderation to many music lovers, but I assure you the Rossini is much more capable than the dCS Debussy ($11,999) but not up to the level of performance that's possible with the dCS Vivaldi ($35,999), the Rolls Royce of digital to analog conversion. 

     

    Given the complete control that dCS has over hardware and software, the digital wizards of Cambridge, England continue to find ways to improve the Rossini's capabilities and level of performance. Through software and firmware updates, available at no cost, new features have already been added to this fairly new DAC. These updates and product enhancements extend the life of dC products as far or further than any other digital product of which I'm aware. 

     

    The bottom line for many enthusiasts is performance. The dCS Rossini offers high performance, in addition to build quality, that's as good or better than anything I've heard in my system in recent memory. Whether one listens to folk, rock, vocal, jazz, or classical the Rossini is completely capable absolutely stellar music reproduction. I've had and continue to have more DACs come through my system over the years than I care to admit. Based on performance, support, and future upgradability the Rossini is one of two or three DACs that I'd really love to keep. When dCS finally comes calling for this one, at least I can keep it on the C.A.S.H. List for a long time. 

     

     


     

     

     


    Products Informtion:

    • Product - dCS, Rossini DAC ($23,999)
    • Product - Link
    • Product User Manual - Link

     

     

     

    Associated Music:

     

     

     

     

    Associated Equipment:

     

     

     




    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments



    8 hours ago, elcorso said:

    Send it to upgrades forget, very difficult to export and re-export products from my country and pay again the expensive import taxes. I came to feel as if I had bought an unfinished product.

    Just curious: You can't export and re-import, show your previous payment of taxes on the unit, and just pay taxes on the upgrade? I know it is a hassle, but you should be able to.

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    2 hours ago, firedog said:

    Just curious: You can't export and re-import, show your previous payment of taxes on the unit, and just pay taxes on the upgrade? I know it is a hassle, but you should be able to.

    The issue with product you need to send to a foreign country for upgrades/repairs is a major one, frankly - major pain and expensive/slow to ship back and forth. dCS is british but they have a fully supported operation in the US.

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    8 hours ago, firedog said:

    Just curious: You can't export and re-import, show your previous payment of taxes on the unit, and just pay taxes on the upgrade? I know it is a hassle, but you should be able to.

     

    Bureaucracy is the worst evil in countries south of the US border. Any customs procedure takes a lot of time, resources and money. Some malicious people say that we pay few taxes, but for example, cars pay 80%, appliances 50%, etc., etc. Even so the governments never reach the money they want, about 50% of our budget is going to pay high salaries and extraordinary benefits to bureaucrats. All taxes are high, for income, possession of goods and even vehicles. The mandatory charge for social security and accident and health insurance for company personnel are also very expensive (your Medicare?). These days there are bills to raise all taxes and put some new ones, until Netflix is going to have taxes ...! The problem, as many see it, is that this will not bring a more balanced budgets, but an excessive growth in bureaucratic costs, as always.

     

    But we are qualified as one of the happiest countries in Latin America and worldwide too ...!

     

    I am sorry for the long explanation, but I hope I have answered your question.

     

    Roch

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    On 3/18/2018 at 10:15 PM, BMCG said:

     

     

    About difference of wilson and kharma and TAD.

    I have heard TAD and Kharma and Wilson.

    i think TAD is pure, smooth , sophisticated and is one of best loudspeaker in modern style.

    TAD has smooth resolution and very accurate but it’s sound is different to Living Voice Horn.

    dCS in all three systems (kharma , wilson, TAD) has unique footprint and it’s presentation is different to Audio Note DAC.

    I think there is no complex subject in my statement.

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    23 hours ago, elcorso said:

     

    There are many logical things that can appear illogical ...

     

    You are speculating and unaware of the fine print of my relationship with Lampizator and I honestly do not think this is the place and time to go into detail. I wanted to expose this thinking that it is necessary to do it so that others do not fall into the mousetrap (a new word I learned thanks to @ted_b since English is not my native language).

     

    I think there have been improvements in digital reproduction since it began, but there is also a lot of garbage in the endless paid upgrades that certain companies want us to put in, which many call "snake oil". There are some good ones that help my Lampi, like those of @Superdad's UpTone Audio.

     

    At this moment I have (or have had) close to 10 DACs from different companies, so I am in a position to comment on one of them (and especially relations with their customers).

     

    Carpe Diem !

     

    Roch

    What is your idea about dCS?

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    On 3/21/2018 at 1:18 PM, elcorso said:

    At this moment I have (or have had) close to 10 DACs from different companies, so I am in a position to comment on one of them (and especially relations with their customers).

    Would be interesting to hear your opinions if you care to share.

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    On 3/17/2018 at 7:59 PM, firedog said:

     

    Others will jump all over me, but if I was starting a Dylan collection, the two albums I'd want are Highway 61 Revisited and Blood on the Tracks.

     

    What you should really get is, The Original Mono Recordings, Box Set:

     

    https://www.amazon.com/Original-Mono-Recordings-Bob-Dylan/dp/B003XRDYX2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521330944&sr=8-1&keywords=dylan+original+mono+recordings+CD

     

    The sound is fantastic and the entire 8 disc set is a bargain. I think you can get if for even less than the Amazon price if you look. And really, the SQ here is competitive with any other version you will spend your money on. You don't have to buy super expensive audiophile versions to get audiophile level sound. 

     

    Dylan Original Monos arrived today--they are AWESOME!!!  The funny paradox is that their soundstage is better than the stereo version.  He's right here with me--thanks, FD!

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    I read few times that the ROSSINI (that I am contemplating a my next DAC) does support Tidal, Spotify Connect & Deezer, but... I do not see any mention of DEEZER in the Rossini's manual

    --> Is DEEZER supported by Rossini (direct, not through airplay)

    --> Will QOOBUZ be supported soon ? 

     

    thanks in advance

    Bertrand MICHELS

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    4 hours ago, bmichels said:

    I read few times that the ROSSINI (that I am contemplating a my next DAC) does support Tidal, Spotify Connect & Deezer, but... I do not see any mention of DEEZER in the Rossini's manual

    --> Is DEEZER supported by Rossini (direct, not through airplay)

    --> Will QOOBUZ be supported soon ? 

     

    thanks in advance

    Bertrand MICHELS

    Best to get it straight from the horse’s mouth @AMP

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    4 hours ago, bmichels said:

    I read few times that the ROSSINI (that I am contemplating a my next DAC) does support Tidal, Spotify Connect & Deezer, but... I do not see any mention of DEEZER in the Rossini's manual

     

    The Rossini supports Tidal and Spotify Connect as well as UPnP, Roon, and Airplay.

     

     

    4 hours ago, bmichels said:

    --> Will QOOBUZ be supported soon ? 

     

    As a matter of policy we no longer comment on our future product plans so I can't provide any insight on what's coming or not.

     

    Some users have been successful using a third-party UPnP control point like mConnect or BubbleUPnP to stream Qobuz to our products. This generally works well and allows whatever the native stream resolution that Qobuz provides for any particular track.

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    On 3/17/2018 at 5:43 AM, miguelito said:

    Not true in my system at all. If anything it is a deeper color presentation than some other DAC’s I’ve used (EmmLabs, TAD).

     

    Same opinion here. I think the Rossini offers very rich and 'easy' tonality. The dCS Puccini + clock that I owned before were more focused on transparency and details and less on rich tonality. Any comparison between earlier generations from dCS and the latest one (Rossini and Vivaldi) really doesn't make much sense. The latest version of their Ring DAC has a much better tonality, and also the analogue stages have been greatly improved.

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    On 3/17/2018 at 3:32 PM, miguelito said:

    I purchsased the clock based on recommendations of people I trust. I have not done on/off test, not interested in A/B that sorry. These days I am super busy with work and when I am home I want to relax, not tinker. Maybe some day...

     

    If you have a fairly high end and well set up system, I strongly suggest you try and evaluate a component in your system for a few days at least.

    I can tell you from my own experience that everyone will easily be able to hear the improvements brought by the Rossini clock. Once heard you will want it.

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    By the way, sorry to all for coming back to the original topic of this thread. ??

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    41 minutes ago, Vincent1234 said:

    I can tell you from my own experience that everyone will easily be able to hear the improvements brought by the Rossini clock. Once heard you will want it.

    I have it! :)

     

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    On 3/19/2018 at 4:05 PM, ted_b said:

    Oh, and the first notes have the guitar in the right channel on both the original and the 2012 MoFi.  It comes from the middle on the Mono Mofi  :)

    x-Dx-Dx-D

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    3 hours ago, miguelito said:

    I have it! :)

     

    I know! But you mentioned not having A/B'd it. While it's so easy: just switch it on and off while playing. I can easily hear the difference already when sitting between my speakers near the clock for switching on and off (nowhere near my sweet spot!). The sound image shrinks right away when switching it off. But by now you must have tried this, haven't you? ?

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    13 hours ago, Vincent1234 said:

    I know! But you mentioned not having A/B'd it. While it's so easy: just switch it on and off while playing. I can easily hear the difference already when sitting between my speakers near the clock for switching on and off (nowhere near my sweet spot!). The sound image shrinks right away when switching it off. But by now you must have tried this, haven't you? ?

    I have not... :) Like I said too busy to tinker... 

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     I have been reading the comments with great interest as I am presently considering either a Berkeley reference 2 MQA or DCS Rossini (and trying to figure out how much stuff I can sell /trade to be able to purchase either of these.  Hence interest in eliminating my pre for sale/trade and having either go directly to my amp)

     

     I just listened to both of them at Quintessence Audio in Chicago. 

     

    I liked both, and ultimately ended up leaving there telling them I would like to hear them in my own system. I tremendously agree with those here who have said you need to live with a product in your own system. It is very difficult to tell the acoustic signature of an isolated product in a full system at an audio show. There are so many other uncontrolled variables present. You are ultimately hearing the acoustic signature of the entire system and environment. The same goes if you are hearing it at an audio store  and tremendously agree with those here who have said you need to live with a product in your own system. It is impossible to tell the acoustic signature of a product at an audio show. There so many other variables that are not controlled. You are ultimately hearing the acoustic signature of the entire system, and environment. The same goes if you are hearing it at an audio store in their system. 

     

     I love the idea of having the DAC directly drive the amplifier but I’ve never tried it. 

     

    Most people whom I have interacted with in audio circles tend to not be computer audio folk like us. They universally have been against this. I am curious for a number of reasons, not the least of which it would allow me a lot more money on trade-in, as well as Rackspace, to get rid of my audio research REF 6 preamp (which I happen to think is the bees knees and absolutely amazing by the way )

     

     So my question stems from my love of vinyl as well. I’m one of these odd guys on this forum loves computer audio, but does also love vinyl, and appreciate what it brings to the table which clearly is different—Even from world-class digital reproduction.   This is off-topic to get into a discussion of vinyl versus digital, but I would like to continue listening to vinyl  which would seem too obviously necessitate the use of a preamplifier.  That being said, there are some pretty clever people in these forums and maybe somebody has other thoughts on another way to accomplish said task as most DACs do not have analog inputs ;)

     

    So, I guess my question is whether or not there are any slick options to have a turntable and  somehow get that signal to a digital preamplifier if I would abandon my ARC REF6. What sounds like is the only option out there is some sort of a DAC /pre  that has a phono input-I believe someone had commented on this being a possibility with MSB?

     

     Just curious if anybody has any thoughts on this specifically.  For those of us who have a love for vinyl, it sounds like we probably need to have a true preamplifier and not remove it from the chain?

     

     

     

    Thanks all. Have a great weekend. 

     

    Present system:

    Aurender S10–Berkeley alpha USB—Meitner MA1–ARC REF 6 Pre—ARC REF 110–Vandersteen Quattro CT

     

    Project Debut Carbon — ARC REF Phono 3–ARC REF6–etc. 

     

     

     

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     By the way, as an aside, love Dylan. Absolutely would start with Blood on the Tracks.  There are certainly songs on other albums that I prefer but man the sound on that album is just awesome. It’s so eminently listenable and just makes me feel good right from the first notes of Tangled up in Blue. Its an an easy entrance point to Dylan. 

     

     Also, as a shameless plug for my present DAC, I will be looking to sell my Meitner MA1 on this site in the near future for those interested-I am the second owner (the first owner being Ted here on CA)

     

    Thanks for thoughts. 

     

    By the way Chris, I really value your reviews-I don’t believe you have ever reviewed any of the MSB offerings and I don’t even know where there is a dealer near me but it would be interesting to read one of your reviews on their equipment. 

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    12 hours ago, blaven said:

     I have been reading the comments with great interest as I am presently considering either a Berkeley reference 2 MQA or DCS Rossini (and trying to figure out how much stuff I can sell /trade to be able to purchase either of these.  Hence interest in eliminating my pre for sale/trade and having either go directly to my amp)

     

     I just listened to both of them at Quintessence Audio in Chicago. 

     

    I liked both, and ultimately ended up leaving there telling them I would like to hear them in my own system. I tremendously agree with those here who have said you need to live with a product in your own system. It is very difficult to tell the acoustic signature of an isolated product in a full system at an audio show. There are so many other uncontrolled variables present. You are ultimately hearing the acoustic signature of the entire system and environment. The same goes if you are hearing it at an audio store  and tremendously agree with those here who have said you need to live with a product in your own system. It is impossible to tell the acoustic signature of a product at an audio show. There so many other variables that are not controlled. You are ultimately hearing the acoustic signature of the entire system, and environment. The same goes if you are hearing it at an audio store in their system. 

     

     I love the idea of having the DAC directly drive the amplifier but I’ve never tried it. 

     

    Most people whom I have interacted with in audio circles tend to not be computer audio folk like us. They universally have been against this. I am curious for a number of reasons, not the least of which it would allow me a lot more money on trade-in, as well as Rackspace, to get rid of my audio research REF 6 preamp (which I happen to think is the bees knees and absolutely amazing by the way )

     

     So my question stems from my love of vinyl as well. I’m one of these odd guys on this forum loves computer audio, but does also love vinyl, and appreciate what it brings to the table which clearly is different—Even from world-class digital reproduction.   This is off-topic to get into a discussion of vinyl versus digital, but I would like to continue listening to vinyl  which would seem too obviously necessitate the use of a preamplifier.  That being said, there are some pretty clever people in these forums and maybe somebody has other thoughts on another way to accomplish said task as most DACs do not have analog inputs ;)

     

    So, I guess my question is whether or not there are any slick options to have a turntable and  somehow get that signal to a digital preamplifier if I would abandon my ARC REF6. What sounds like is the only option out there is some sort of a DAC /pre  that has a phono input-I believe someone had commented on this being a possibility with MSB?

     

     Just curious if anybody has any thoughts on this specifically.  For those of us who have a love for vinyl, it sounds like we probably need to have a true preamplifier and not remove it from the chain?

     

     

     

    Thanks all. Have a great weekend. 

     

    Present system:

    Aurender S10–Berkeley alpha USB—Meitner MA1–ARC REF 6 Pre—ARC REF 110–Vandersteen Quattro CT

     

    Project Debut Carbon — ARC REF Phono 3–ARC REF6–etc. 

     

     

     

    Hi blaven. Allow me to comment on your possible plans to remove/sell your preamp. FYI: I own the Rossini + clock and also love playing vinyl, using a top-spec Linn LP12. In my previous setup I had an ARC Ref5 SE preamp and an Ayre VX-5 Twenty amp, which was a terrific sounding combination. And, just out of curiosity, I did try passing by the Ref5 SE and plugging the Rossini directly into the Ayre amp. To cut it short: there was no comparison. Using the direct connection to the Ayre meant losing so much space, air, tone and 'life' that I was actually pretty shocked. You get my point: I myself would NEVER give up such a great preamp as your Ref6 to make a shortcut to upgrading to another DAC. I do think you will likely be sorry, not just because of your inability to easily keep playing vinyl, but simply because you might well lose the sound you love so much now. I know some in these quarters are really happy plugging in their DAC's into their main amps, so YMMV. But your preamp is something very special indeed and especially the tubes create a different space and tonal character in your system and therefore I strongly advise you to carefully listen first before you decide. Yes, there was slightly more micro detail when connecting the Rossini directly into the Ayre, but overall the experience was simply bad, as it took the life out of my system.

    BTW: As said, this was my previous setup. In the meantime I've upgraded to a Spectral pre- and main amp. Using Spectral one would be VERY wise never to bypass the preamp as the main amp has a very low input impedance, meaning the preamp must (and can indeed) deliver a very large signal, much larger than usually required. You really don't want to ask the same power from your DAC or any other source.

    Hope this helps!

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    Sure does help.  Thanks!

    My analog stuff is nowhere near as nice as my digital, but even with an entry level Project turntable, it puts out amazing sound so I definitely won't be giving it up. I really do appreciate your thoughts.

     

    I will have the Rossini and Berkeley both in my system shortly,  and try to get a sense of how much I like them and their different tonal characteristics.

     

    I may or may not try to directly drive my audio research amplifier but I can't really think of any other way to listen to the vinyl without a quality preamp and phono-pre, so don't see much point and driving the speakers directly with the DAC, and likely will continue going through the preamp..

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    On 7/26/2018 at 11:54 PM, blaven said:

    Sure does help.  Thanks!

    My analog stuff is nowhere near as nice as my digital, but even with an entry level Project turntable, it puts out amazing sound so I definitely won't be giving it up. I really do appreciate your thoughts.

     

    I will have the Rossini and Berkeley both in my system shortly,  and try to get a sense of how much I like them and their different tonal characteristics.

     

    I may or may not try to directly drive my audio research amplifier but I can't really think of any other way to listen to the vinyl without a quality preamp and phono-pre, so don't see much point and driving the speakers directly with the DAC, and likely will continue going through the preamp..

    Curious what your findings will be. Every system might respond differently, so please let us know!

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    Coming late to this, but I have a question for the reviewer: given the superlatives used in the review text, I wondered what were the factors that led to this getting a 4* rather than 5* rating. Is it down to the price/value ratio, or something else?

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