Paganini + network bridge vs bartok

I am a paganini dac owner , i want to ask if i add a network bridge, or just sell the dac and buy a bartok , i want to know beside the function want which one sound better?

The Bartok would absolute sound better, and that you just need one unit instead of two. Here you will not have any potential signal loss / interference if the Bartok is shield of internally witch i know it is.
The Bartok sound very much like the Rossini because it is a trickle down version with only one power supply and a slight less advanced FPGA dsp algorithm to distinguish the Bartok from the Rossini.

I would wait and see if someone from dCS comments on your question. Although the Bartok is of a later generation, by putting everything in a single box you lose the advantage of the Paganini and the Network Bridge not sharing a single power supply section.

There is , of course, also a financial consideration when considering a Bartok v. a Network Bridge with your existing DAC so it is worth finding out if DCS’ upgrade programme is applicable for the move from Paganini to Bartok, rather than just selling the former on the open market.

The Paganini is a great DAC and with the addition of the Network Bridge is very competitive with a number of current offerings from other manufacturers. Having said that, the Bartók is far superior in every conceivable way.

Thanks for reply , is that u mean the sound quality of bartok is better than paganini + network bridge ?

the Bartok got much better overall SQ

Borrow a unit for home demo👍

Sound quality, construction, features, user experience, etc. Everything.

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Thanks for reply , as recommendation, i just buy the bartok , so wait to see the result

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Jumping in this thread: I have an opportunity to go network bridge + scarlatti, or Bartok, for roughly the same price. I already have a full vivaldi in my main system, and I am pretty amazed with it’s SQ What’s your take @Andrew?

Scarlatti is last gen though, so Bartok is surely better.

That is the reason of my doubts. I understand Bartok being the lastest release. But the scarlatti was the flagship for many years, only superseded by the vivaldi.

I recall Andrew saying that the Bartók is on the same level as the Scarlatti, so it’s no surprise they are similar in price. If there is a possibility of firmware update of the Bartók to allow more advanced mapping (sound improvement) then it can better the Scarlatti.

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