dCS Questions? Please reply here

Hello,

My name is Andrew and I’m a dCS dealer in Arizona. As I have a strong background in computers, data storage and networking I’ve been involved in testing of the new dCS streaming platform that’s used in the Rossini, Vivaldi Upsampler 2.0 as well as the new Network Bridge.

If you have any questions about Roon support in dCS products or anything else related to the dCS line please don’t hesitate to ask. I’m happy to help if I can.

Ok, thanks, but first we need the new firmware…

The new version of the firmware for the Vivaldi Upsampler was released last week. The Rossini firmware is in final testing and should be released soon (I’m really hoping within the next week). It’s a huge upgrade in stability and performance of the Rossini app itself. Roon functionality has been rock-solid and it sounds great.

I need the dCS Rossini app only to setup the dac.
For music the Roon app, so…

hi, has dsc released the firmware for roon to play on rossinni ?

thanks

The final version is in testing and it should be released soon. I was actually hoping for this week, but that’s come and gone. The firmware won’t be released until Apple approves the app (which can take some time). Once the app is approved and in the app store the firmware will go live on the dCS server. Update the app and use it to run a firmware update on the Rossini.

Hi all, DSC released the firmware yesterday. Roon is now working on DSC Rossini. Thanks

Hello Andrew, @AMP,

I have just upgraded my Vivaldi Upsampler to version 2.01 and Roon to 1.3. After doing that, the sound quality degraded badly. I use a Mac for playback and when I use Exclusive Mode on Roon, it switches the sound output to Built-in Output and if I try to use the Upsampler device, it will not work.

Also, before the upgrade, Roon was showing the upsampler image on the botto right corner, now it shows a speaker image. It seams as if Roon is not recognizing my Upsampler

I have a purple signal path - Source - This Mac (RAAT) - Output (CoreAudio Exclusive Mode) but the sound is muffled. Do you have any setup instructions?

Thank you.

To be honest I haven’t played with the USB input on the upsampler much since Roon Ready support was included in the network firmware. Even before that I was primarily using UPnP.

Any chance the supported outputs shown in Roon device setup are incorrect (like no DSD128 or 352.8/384 support)?

I’ve seen some weirdness with the USB input on the upsampler and DAC after a firmware update and this is typically resolved by resetting the USB interface. Go into the menu on the Upsampler and switch the USB class to “Class 1” then switch it back to “Class 2.” This will re-load the firmware on the USB receiver and likely get it to start behaving correctly.

Also worth rebooting your mac at the same time.

I did notice that the upsampler icon was no longer appearing, but haven’t had a chance to report that back to Roon / dCS.

As an aside, has your upsampler been upgraded to an Upsampler Plus (updated network hardware)? If it has why not use the built-in Roon Ready implementation and stream via the network?

Hi @Andre_Mantovani,

The Upsampler is now correctly identified with today’s release of build 203.

Did you make any progress with the muffled output from the upsampler?

Hello Andrew,

thanks for the response. I have updated Roon and the dCS image is there now. The sound is great, it was a clock configuration issue that I’ve solved.
Thank you,
Andre

Hi Andrew. I have a question re build 234 of v1.3 of Roon.

I have a Vivaldi Upsampler 2.0 and everything was working with build 223 - when UDP was the underlying protocol. With build 234 and TCP as the underlying protocol, my Roon core can’t “see” the Upsampler any more. The Upsampler is on-line and responsive to ICMP echo requests, AirPlay connections, etc. But the Roon core and the Upsampler don’t communicate any more.

Any ideas?

Hi @PJ_Hasleton,

What version of the network firmware are you running on your upsampler? (Available in the dCS app under settings > information > version).

I haven’t had any issues with my upsampler but I’m running a test version of the firmware. In theory the UDP to TCP change shouldn’t have had an impact due to the way that RAAT loads the protocol stack, but there was another issue with the change that did manifest itself with the network bridge and that was fixed on the Roon side.

Hey Andrew, thanks for the quick reply.

Here’s what my dCS app reports:

  • Upsampler Control Board Version - 2.01
  • Upsampler Front Panel Version - 2.01
  • Stream8000 Interface Board Version - 2.01
  • DAC Control Board Version - Not Known
  • DAC Front Panel Version - 0.00
  • DAC USB Board Version - 0.00
  • Network Board Version - 307
  • App Version - 1.4.0

Do you have the serial cable connected between the upsampler and DAC? Not part of this issue, but the DAC versions should be reported.

Also, sent you a private message…

Thanks for your help Andrew. I’m back up and running!

Excellent! Glad we were able to get it resolved!

Hello @AMP, Andrew,

Thanks for your assistance with all things dCS. I believe you mentioned working with dCS on the Bridge introduction and I am hoping you could elaborate the differences, if any, on the networking capabilities between the Bridge and the Rossini.

I have read the network hardware differs between these too with the Rossini having an earlier iteration of the network board. Is this the case?

If so, will the Rossini be upgraded to suit?
Have you tried the Bridge with an external clock?
Regards,
Warren

[quote=“Wdw, post:19, topic:15089”]
I am hoping you could elaborate the differences, if any, on the networking capabilities between the Bridge and the Rossini.[/quote]

The Bridge supports WiFi and the Rossini / Vivaldi do not. That’s the only difference in networking capabilities.

The card used in the Rossini and Vivaldi was co-developed with dCS and Stream. This board has some functionality that is more or less specific to the needs of dCS when implementing network streaming inside one of their control board-based products (either the Rossini DAC or Vivaldi upsampler). This was a limited availability product and as far as I know dCS is the only company using them.

The card used in the Bridge is an extension of the card used in the Vivaldi / Rossini and has a couple of additional features with the most notable being the addition of easily-implemented WiFi. This is essentially the mainstream version of the Rossini card which has some added features which makes it appealing to a wider range of manufacturers. This is the card that will end up in everything from just about everyone. Due to economies of scale this card is also a bit less expensive and since WiFi and cost containment were two primary requirements for the Bridge it’s a perfect choice.

No. This wouldn’t be an upgrade as there is nothing in the newer card that has any impact on the dCS feature set or sound quality. Newer / higher model numbers don’t always mean better!

Yes. The improvement is consistent with adding an external clock to any dCS-based system. One of my favorite applications for the Bridge is to pair it with the Vivaldi DAC using the DAC’s internal clock as the master. Works extremely well and sounds fantastic. Makes the Vivaldi / Bridge combo a very compelling alternative to the Rossini / Clock combo. The only caveat here is that the cables (2AES and 1 clock) need to be up to the task and those cables can easily cost more than the Bridge.