Welcome to the dCS community, and congrats on your Bartók purchase.
Unfortunately there is no welcome advice on your placement question, in 2 respects:
A power regenerator is not advised by dCS
Both your placement options are not recommended, because of lack of ventilation, both for the regenerator and Bartók, and because of EMI, electromagnetic interference. Your option 2. is even worse than option 1.
From the Bartók manual:
NOTICE
Damage caused to the unit by misuse of a mains regenerator or by a malfunctioning
mains regenerator is not covered by the warranty.
• We do not recommend the use of mains regenerators.
• If you want to use a mains regenerator with variable voltage and frequency,
set the voltage to match your local voltage. Set the frequency to either 50Hz or
60Hz.
• Do not change the output voltage of the mains generator while it is connected
to the unit.
Where to place the unit
To get the best sound quality, place the Bartók DAC on a separate shelf or rack from other audio equipment.
• Place each unit on a firm, vibration-free base.
• Ensure you can easily connect the unit to the other parts of your system.
• Leave free space around the unit to allow for ventilation.
• To ensure the unit is level, adjust the feet on the bottom of the unit. The maximum
height adjustment is 3 mm (1/8").
To add, from the PS Audio manual:
The PS Audio Power Plant 12 is an actively cooled component that requires adequate ventilation at all times during operation.
Mounting
The Power Plant 12 should be placed with consideration of providing air circulation to the unit. If you wish to install the P12 into your component rack, the purchase of an aftermarket, custom-designed shelf may be necessary.
Okay, thanks. I have the PS Audio power plant 15 which has passive cooling, and while warm, it radiates minimal heat. Can you help me understand why the Bartok should not be powered by the PS Audio power plant—I am in an area with lousy power and the unit protects against power surges.
As well as the excellent answer from @Ermos, I would also refer you back to his earlier reply. Not only is there a technical risk but if a fault to the Bartok is caused by using it with a regenerator the dCS warranty may not be valid possibly resulting in an expensive remedy.
As you can read from the notice from dCS a major issue is improper voltage and/or frequency selection. This is a particular risk with PS Audio regenerators due to their “Perfectwave” feature.
Looking at your placement options I have to say that at my impression is that a dCS DAC may not be the optimum choice for you unless you are able to find an alternative location for it. A Bartok is a costly item so if you have skimped on housing e.g equipment rack, then it may be worth considering this.
I’ve had a Bartok and Rossini Clock powered-by and sitting atop a P5 in my home-office for years. The P5 is actively cooled, but the fans rarely come on and even when they do as I use the Bartok with Headphones, it’s a non-issue.
