Questioning about dCS Bartok Dual aes

Hello everyone!

I am new to dCS line despite heard about their product in every high-end audio meetings.

I am considering buying a Bartok, but the dual aes feature still bit unclear to me. Is it similar to the one that in esoteric? I got a cd transport from esoteric that is capable of having two left right channel aes output. I don’t know if it could use with the dual aes on the Bartok.

Thank you :))

Hi Edge1215, welcome to the dCS community :slight_smile:

dCS’ dual AES is based on the AES3 (2003) standard thats defined by the International AES organisation. It’s compatible with other dual AES implementations such as from Chord Electronics which are also based on the same standard.

If Esoteric complies with the same AES3 international standard, then it should work. I assume the Esoteric must be both a CD transport and a network streamer or upsampler? (the only reason why it would need Dual-AES is if the data rate is beyond that supported by a single AES).

Hi Anupc,

Thank you for your response.

Yes my esoteric cd transport is a upsampler and yes is based on AES3. So I guess it will work. Thank you for the information!

Hi @Edg1215, I need to add a caveat. Most ( all?) Esoteric transports are CD/SACD players. The dCS transport/DAC combinations use a proprietary encryption system for SACD replay via dual AES in order to meet the requirements of the SACD patent owners. Therefore I am afraid that your Esoteric transport will not work with any dCS DAC for SACD replay.

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