Yes, that’s exactly what I’m observing at home. So probably the problem lies as you wrote on the side of SonicOrbiter v2.7. I hope Sonore will improve this because it makes the use of OR + DCS Bartok very boring. Can you suggest how to describe this for technical support in Sonore to help them solve the problem and find the cause? Sonore technical support is excellent and will probably improve something so that we can enjoy the music.
Regards Robert
I don’t really have any major insights other than with two very different DACs (Bartok, Schiit Multibit USB) playback stalls. The instances in which I observed it was when a new track was to start playing: the cursor would be at the beginning of the track and not move - sometimes this happens when I am playing a streaming source (TIDAL or Qobuz, I have both), but then I tried with a local file and it was still stalled. I am guessing the Roon Core is expecting some acknowledgement from the RAAT client which never comes, but this is pure speculation.
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Coming back to the title of this posting, dCS Bartok streaming DAC + HP amp…
I bought the dCS about half a year ago and played around with it.
At first, let me state I am a happy customer and like the dCS Bartok a lot.
It is really an excellent DAC with an excellent integrated streaming part. No need to invest heavily in a streamer imho.
However, the statement that the streamer is not sensitive to the network (cable), I can not subscribe. Tried a number of network cables (AudioQuest, Shunyata and others) and the difference was clearly audible.
Also changing the network switch to an ‘audiophile’ one had quite some positive impact.
Same story for the powercord used. Quite some tuning can be done there.
dCS also states that the Bartok can be used as an pre-amp, and yes that is true but there are some remarks made here.
The pre-amp is good, but adding a good pre-amp (Audio-GD Master 9 in my case, so nothing really fancy here) still improved performance.
Also, I hear quite some difference in performance between the RCA and the XLR output of the dCS with XLR being better. More space around the instruments, better 3D layering.
Relevant for my setup using a tube power amp which has RCA input only.
Using the Audio-GD pre-amp solved this issue for me as a XLR to RCA converter.
Can it further be improved? Probably yes…
To my understanding, the main differences between the Rossini and Bartok are an additional power supply, a better case and different software.
Regarding the case, using decoupling feet under the dCS indeed gave some audible improvement but I am not using a high-end audio rack, so that might be part of the reason.
Although the power-supply will definitely explain some of the Rossini’s improved performance, software also seems to matter a lot.
So hopefully, we will see some further software improvements in the near future that brings the performance to an even higher level? 
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Thank you very much for your answer. Now I am sure that my request went to technical support. Of course, every software developer has specific plans and assumptions. If only my request to improve accessibility for blind users DCS Bartok and DCS Mosaic applications will be taken into account then I can serve as a beta tester of these solutions.
Regards Robert Tota from Poland
Why, for example, such dCS Bartok is on the roon partners home page as a tested device and at the same time roon ready? Similarly, other dCS models.
A device would be Roon Ready it it accepted an Ethernet or wireless connection to Roon. It would be Roon Tested by any other inputs on that device, in particular USB.
Pls advise the best ROON settings for Bartók or some combinations with Mosaic settings.
I want to try ROON again and compare with Mosaic.
The last time I used Debussy and Network Bridge, Mosaic was preferable.
At that time I used ROON Rock on NUC 7i5, now I installed ROON Server on desktop HP Z420 with XEON, Windows 10 Pro.
In both cases it works through ethernet router
Roon Ready means the device is recognised over a network.
Roon Tested means the device can be used via USB with Roon.
The Bartok must have an Ethernet input and a USB input.
Thx.
But this is probably not the rule. For example, my phone is not on the roon ready list but is visible on the roon network.
A clarification …
Roon Ready means the device has Roon’s Software Development Kit (SDK) built in … and thus is recognised as a RAAT audio endpoint over a network.
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That clears up many things .
Could you write what a Roon SDK is?
Software Development Kit (I’ll add it to my post).
… it’s the RAAT code library that Roon supply to their business partners to embed / integrate into their product.
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@AMP Can you clarify the headphone power output on the Bartok HDAC, please?
Does it get “double” power running 1.4W per side? Or is it 1.4W total, same as the single-ended jack? (Making it more of a convenience jack than a truly balanced output.) Ultimately wondering about how well it can drive some of the less efficient flagship headphones out there today. (Another element to this, as I understand it, is capacitor reserves for micro peaks in power draw such as big bass beats as opposed to the continuous RMS rating. SPL, for example, promotes the much larger capacitors in the Phonitor X/XE over their earlier models,)
FWIW, my least efficient headphones are currently the HEDDphone, which while not the most extreme end of the inefficiency scale, definitely have walked well down that path at 87db per mW…
Thanks!
(I have actually already put a deposit down on a Bartok HDAC, with delivery still several weeks away. Main usage will be the line outs into a Raal HSA-1. But I’ve read many positives about the headphone amp in it, so figured it would offer flexibility to use my “traditionally powered” headphones as well. But given the current world situation, have not been able to do a personal listening demo/test of the headphone amp in it.)
Hi,
I’m a new Bartok owner (few days only).
I was wondering how experienced Bartok owners use the power button. Do you use the sleep mode all the time when not listening to music ( *To set the unit to sleep mode, press the Power button once).
or you use the switch off procedure (Hold down the Power button for about 5 seconds until SWITCHING OFF appears on the display, then release it.)
Is there an advantage in SQ to keep the Bartok always in sleep mode (the unit remain close to running temperature) or the Switch off procedure is enough to keep the circuits always ready for listening anytime with no loss in SQ even if the unit is no more at running temperature at the start of a listening session?
Thanks & have a great day!
FWIW, I just use sleep mode. I don’t even physically activate it; I use my Bartok exclusively with Roon and have the “autosleep” zone option set to thirty minutes in Roon. It wakes up in a couple seconds when Roon starts play, and clearly coordinates with Roon as Roon waits for it to be fully awake before it starts playing.
It draws very little power when sleeping, so I am not concerned with it.
I use Sleep Mode. I have noticed, for what it’s worth, that the unit occasionally powers itself up (irregularly, maybe 1-2 times a week). I don’t know if it’s actually the unit or whether it’s some signal from a neighbor.
This is a known bug, and over on the dcs community forums, they have said it will be fixed in an upcoming software update.
And this they say for over 18 months… 
@miguelito - I’ve looked at both the Roon forum and the dCS forum and I don’t seem to be able to find out if there’s a Control4 Driver either IR based or IP based for the Bartok. Do you, or really any of you the Roon Legion, know if there’s either available?
I’ve sent off this question to my C4 dealer, but the fellow that knows about C4 is on vacation.
Thanks!
REVISED below to also cover IP drivers.
The dCS C4 driver is for serial. I believe you can find it on the dCS web site. If you don’t see it in downloads for Bartok, look at Rossini. The Rossini commands work for Bartok.
Some of the C4 controllers only have two serial outputs, some have more. In addition, there is some C4 rule regarding serial. I don’t remember what it is, I think it concerns whether a serial device can be programmed multiple times to do multiple things.
With regards to IR, cheap dCS screwed up the design, so there is no IR input on the back of the unit. I believe the Rossini has an IR input, but dCS saved a few bucks on each $18,000 Bartok (or whatever they now sell for) and did not include that on the Bartok.
The other way to do it is to learn the IR commands and use an IR emitter from your C4 controller. You will have to borrow the dCS remote from your dealer to do that. If you do that, get an emitter that doesn’t actually flash in red, so you don’t have to look at the annoying red flashes.
I have complex C4 programming to do many things in different variations. So serial wouldn’t work with C4 for that purpose. So I learned the IR commands and use an emitter. Since I hate the look of the stupid IR wires I ran it up the side, and then across the black plastic to the IR emitter on the front of the Bartok. That largely hides it.
Again, shame on dCS for selling a unit for $18,000 (or whatever the current price is) and failing to provide an IR input on the back.
There is no IP driver as far as I know. dCS could easily supply one since the Bartok has an ethernet connection. Another flaw in their design. IP drivers work by far the best and are far more flexible when used by C4 and probably all other home automation systems. Serial is an antiquated and very old approach by comparison.
If you find an IP driver, please respond and let me know!
IP drivers are supplied by manufacturers. But that would require dCS to spend a small amount of money and have one designed. A company that saves a few dollars on an $18,000 unit and fails to provide an IR input is not about to spend less than the cost of a single Bartok in order to have an IP driver designed and developed. So no IR rear input and no IP driver. The digital wizards of dCS have relegated the Bartok to using an ancient serial interface.
dCS can, of course, fix this at any time by having an IP driver designed. Don’t count on it. They will never do it.
That is in addition to the fact that we should take up a community collection and buy dCS engineers a ruler or a tape measure. They clearly don’t have one. They design all of their units about 1/8" too wide to fit in a standard rack mount system inside a standard rack mount shelf.
Talk about a really dumb design. 1/8" too wide. And no IR input on the back, and no IP driver for ethernet.
dCS has a very high opinion of themselves and their units, but when it comes to proper design for home automation or a complicated audio set up, let alone a design that fit in a rack system, well, the high opinion that dCS has of themselves is simply not justified.