Anyone interested in a dCS preamp/ headphone amp?

No wayā€¦ you have everything in one box alreadyā€¦:laughing:

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dCS have stated here several times that the BartĆ³k can drive low impedance headphones, and that it is largely working in Class A, then shifting into AB:

I see Vivaldi 3.0 and a headphone output as two separate things. The latter will require a new hardware release. The former need not. I fully support a headphone capability like Bartok in Vivaldiā€™s successor.

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Iā€™d like to see a phono unit option, with A to D processing in dCS products. This would simplify system building substantially.

As I said earlier this year the market for such a thing may be limited particularly for those of us who are seriously committed to vinyl replay, though I admit it could be attractive for those who just wish to play the odd LP ;

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Maybe after all the dCS Praetorius is coming :rofl:

A surprise! Information didnā€™t leak out onto the internet this time. I will be interested to hear this new range, even knowing nothing except that it is for headphones. However, having made a purchase earlier this year to beat the price rises, and because of the general state of the world right now, I think my position will be ā€˜look & listenā€™ only. I have to keep reminding myself of that.

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From the teaser https://youtu.be/4XDvoO0JkSg I can see a glimpse of this:

I see a SD card and holder there (right bottom).

This is clearly a headphone amp.

This one seems to have a Ring DAC inside, and what seems to be a network board.

Anyway, we will find out tomorrow.

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Looks cool! Maybe a dedicated headphone DAC/amp that slots in under the Bartok in the range? The headphone amp market is pretty huge now, but most of the action comes in below the pricing of the Bartok. Look forward to seeing the details!

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That would make sense. Personally, Iā€™d love it to be battery powered and transportable, but it looks a bit too large for that (though Sony makes such a thing ā€“ but the Chord Hugo is better proportioned).

Theyā€™re calling it a new line, so one could assume there will be other products in the line to follow.

Exciting times.

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Oh it leaked. @Ermos is undercover here, gauging interest :yum:

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:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Tomorrow we will know if the ā€œnew product series purpose built for headphone listeningā€ has something we were waiting for.

Here it is: Welcome dCS Lina

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Absolutely no interest here.

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Well, at least now we know why there hasnā€™t been an replacement for the Vivaldiā€¦

I would expect that to be next on dCSā€™s product roadmap

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I would guess a Vivaldi replacement is a couple of years away. Apex isnā€™t even out yet. dCS would really anger a lot of customers if they release a new Vivaldi right after the Apex upgrade.

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Good point. Iā€™m sure youā€™re right.

Also noting: Vivaldi was introduced in 2012 (if Iā€™m not mistaken). A lot has certainly delayed by COVID but thatā€™s a pretty long timeā€¦

Yes, and it still sounds great. I have yet to walk into a shop and hear anything demonstrably better.

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Since introduction, the Vivaldi system has gone through at least one prior hardware upgrade that I can remember before Apex, and obviously multiple firmware upgrades; the most significant being the improvements brought on by the 2.0 upgrade in 2016 2018, which in my view, was as effective as a whole new DAC.

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Hi everyone. Iā€™m considering replacing my 3-unit Rossini with a full 4-unit Vivaldi. Aside from the cost, what is keeping me back is the fact that Vivaldi is almost10 years old (let aside Apex) so Iā€™m fearing that it could be technologically old and dCS could replace it with a new model in a few years. Any thoughts? Is it a huge improvement over the Rossini? Thanks.

@Ermos Iā€™m guessing that this survey played a big part in the recent Lina announcement. I was somewhat shocked by the 3 box price of the Lina system approaching US$ 30,000. If one adds a Rossini Clock to a Bartok, what does the Lina do that makes it a superior system for headphone use vs. a Bartok and a Rossini Clock?

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