dCS Bartók Streaming DAC + HP amp

Guessing the FPGA in the Bartok will be more limited, consistent with price point and functionality.

Nope. Same FPGA.

Great! That’s often a means for keeping costs down, though it constrains additional function.

Thank you very much for the elaborate answer! Much appreciated!

Great stuff. I’ve always admired dCS from afar, for their pioneering features/methods.

Looking forward to demo-ing the headphone amp version.

@AMP Imma gonna wait seated darling… :slight_smile:

dCS is doing an amazing job expanding the line and delivering high quality product. I do not blame you at all for delays, it is a complex problem to deliver new functionality as well as improving on “technical debt” that all platforms have.

Well done.

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I currently have dCS Debussy + Network Bridge.
Will Bartok offer better sound quality?
I am encouraged by one device and fewer cables.
However, two separate power supplies.
Debussy has been on the market for 8 years now, I do not need MQA.
I care about the quality of PCM playback, will Bartok be better?

Bartok is based on considerably newer technology than Debussy and that results in greatly improved performance. It’s a completely different platform and it has more in common with the performance of the Rossini than it does the Debussy. It’s a definite step up from what you currently have.

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Thank you for your answer.
In that case, I have to think about changing.
When can it really be on sale, November?
Last question, I’m using the preamplifier at Debussy.
Is the remote control included?
Maybe there will be a volume control option from the application?

We’re on schedule so November is reasonable, but a lot of people are placing orders so we might get a little backed up in production.

I don’t believe that the remote is included, but it is available as an option. All of our DACs use the same remote codes so the Debussy remote will work fine with Bartok.

The Bartok volume control is absolutely available in the control app. It’s also available through Roon.

Is the volume control the same as the Rossini?

Yes, it is.

I asume the volumecontrol is in the digital domane?

It’s the same volume control that’s used in all of our products so, yes, it’s in the digital domain with user-configurable output voltages. It’s an extremely high-resolution control so the point at which it starts impacting the actual signal is a very low setting. I’ve run my Vivaldi both amp direct and with a couple of different very high-spec preamps (Boulder 2110 and Moon 850p) and my preference continues to be amp-direct using the dCS volume control.

The headphone version of the Bartók has user-switchable analog gain settings for the headphone output so that one can closely match the efficiency of his headphones.

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Can you stream from Qobuz hi-res on the Bartok?

You can use an alternate UPnP control app to feed Qobuz to any of our products. BubbleUPnP on Android and mConnect on iOS both work.

OK great, so would that work like google cast, with no loss of resolution and gapless?

If you have this possibility I’d do it like a flash.

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Dangerous suggestion, Andrew.
My own listening session had quite some consequences, including investing in a Rossini …… and now suffering through the wait for Rossini 2.0
:slight_smile:

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Thanks Ludwig! I wish I could do it without any worry, still a lot of money even they allow me to trade the Bridge for full value up for the Bartok. I would be upset if the improvement is only marginal…haha. let’s see what happens.