Wow. This is a great example of dCS taking user feedback and relatively quickly rolling out a great solution.
I wish the same approach were taken for DSD256 (and higher res) where dCS lags other high end DACs… @James
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Hi everyone,
A simple question, is there the Expanse “functionality” for the Vivaldi too ? Or is it exclusively for Rossini ?
So far the new release relates only to Rossini. To be applicable to Vivaldi will require a separate update to those components. Let’s hope.
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There could be an architectural obstacle here - both Bartók and Rossini are combined upsampler/DACs; Vivaldi is DAC-only, the Upsampler (if you have it) is external.
Now, where does Expanse live? In the DAC part (probably)? Or in the upsample part? Or both?
I suspect you’re right; that the Expanse code likely lives on the Control Board DSP/FPGAs within the Vivaldi DAC.
That Control Board is rarely seen in unit pictures because it sits under the Ring DAC board. I’ve posted a picture of it in the past from one of the shows where the boards were taken out.
Somewhere towards the middle-right you can see a pair of Freescale DSPs coupled to a Spartan-6 FPGA - don’t know the exact chip models, but I’d venture a guess that the Vivaldi DAC has more than enough grunt to do anything dCS wants.
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Grunt perhaps, bandwidth is the question.
dCS has said before they have the horsepower to do DSD256, but DSD512 and DSD1024 are much different things.
This is all academic; the update will not work for me. I’ve given up. Poor support.
I have read your fuller story from your earlier posting in this thread. In another thread which you may not have seen dCS have given a response regarding the updating issues overall reported:
JamesJames CookdCS: Head of Customer Service
"I should note that the Rossini 2.1 update is a full control board update to the Rossini unit, not simply an app update or network board firmware update. This is much more like updating the BIOS for a PC, then reinstalling Windows whilst also updating every single driver.
The vast majority of issues which I have seen with updates are rectified by a hard power cycle of the unit before starting the update process, and the rest tend to come down to local network issues which for one reason or another prevent the unit from properly communicating with the update server to download the update (resulting in error messages). As @Anupc suggests, firewalls and VPNs are potential causes to temporarily bypass if issues do arise. Simplifying the network chain in cases where issues are experienced is a very good place to start.
With all that being said, these comments have definitely not gone unheard. We are going through and thoroughly stress testing the update procedure on the back of these comments to see if we can improve the process to provide a smoother experience in future."
AS you can see there are causes that lie outside of the direct control of dCS like your ISP connection and it might be worth trying again when local traffic is low.
It is also a worry that you say you have received poor support. I am sure that will be of concern to dCS . Perhaps you could expand upon this ?
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Hi Andy,
Who have you been in contact with? I don’t seem to have anything from you since December when we discussed a Clock query so if you want to drop me an email at [email protected] then we can help you out …
BR
Phil
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Freescale? So they are free? I shall complain about the price of Vivaldi!!! 
Free in name only, it’s actually tiered 
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Genuinely curious about what hardcore headphones users like myself (I mean people using the Rossini for headphones only / mainly, or the LINA or Bartok) think about the Expanse feature. Especially for classical or live acoustic recordings.
After a long term diet of successfully using the crossfeed function on by default over the past 5+ years with my previous DAC, I tried to get familar with Expanse over the last couple of months, but eventually I gave up.
The Rossini crossfeed is decent, though. I find it an useful feature although I use it very sparingly as well, i.e. limited to uber lateralized recordings or when I find the reverb on the recording overwhelming over headphones (in these cases I get an annoying feeling of direct drone sound injected to my eardrums, which the CF mitigates and the Expanse actually worsens for me).
I rarely use Expanse. I use it mostly on recordings from the 60’s or earlier or often on live recordings. On newer recordings the music sounds hollow as if everything is coming from the perimeters of the stage. When I do use it I use Expanse 2. Expanse 2 sounds good but when I switch off I perceive a fuller tone,
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Which headphones are you using? In my experience, it is partly down to personal preference and partly down to the headphones.
I’m using Stax SR-X9000 headphones and find it works well. I tried others and was disappointed with the outcome.
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I am using the Abyss AB-1266 TC and the Spirit Torino Valkyria.
The two are very different to each other, but when it comes to my reaction to Expanse, the result is the same.
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I will audition the Lina DAC with the Clock this Sunday with my head-fi setup just because of the statements after 8:45 in this video on the way the Crossfeed/Expanse technology works. I posted the challenge I have in Audio Systems with a question on interconnect cables.
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Now that I have tried the Lina, Expanse is not necessary for the Utopia22. It degrades SQ in the setup Oyaide Tunami Terzo V2 from the DAC to the amp and Cardas Clear Beyond headphone cable.
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It seemed to me that these headphones just don’t like/play nicely with it, but I have to agree. On the other hand, it works really well with my current headphones.
I tried the Cardas Clear Beyond XLR interconnects and Expanse definetly sucks a bit of life out of the Utopia22.