Hi all,
I am considering upgrading my Bartok, non apex, for a Rossini apex and hope to having a home demo soon… is there anyone here that has made the jump and regretted it at all?
Daft question I know, but just curious as it’s hard to imagine a better sound than I already have.
I sincerely doubt that anyone has regretted it!
In which case, you will be in for a very pleasant surprise!
Please let us know your impressions.
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I certainly will.
Mac
Night and day. Recently upgraded to a Rossini plus clock. It is as if I was there at the recording session, sitting in the prime seat. Hope this helps.
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I have heard (using headphones) the Apex and non-Apex versions of Bartok side by side at a local dealer. The former (Apex) was clearly better. This was a blind test, by the way. Everything I read suggests Rossini Apex will be better again.
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Well, I’ve taken the plunge and put down a deposit for a new Rossini apex… it’s taken a lot of soul searching and discussions with my good lady as I’ve never made such a large financial outlay for a piece of kit before.
Admittedly, the dealer has given me a very good deal, taking my Bartok plus cash in exchange, still a lot of money though.
Mac
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Congratulations!
Whilst it’s a big outlay, IMO, it’s worth every penny!
Did your dealer give you an estimated date for delivery/set up?
I knew that this was going to be the outcome 
Just a couple of points:
I too have suffered that feeling when spending far more that I could rationalise easily. Believe me that your remembrance of the cost will eventually fade and only the pleasure will remain.
As this is going to be a brand new Rossini Apex you probably won’t find its full significance until it has has had a fair period of use, about 100 hours. At some point around here you will switch it on and be amazed.
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You and me both @PAR
That has certainly been the case for me
I concur but, in my case, it took circa 150/200 hours for my Rossini Apex to really get into it’s stride.
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Congratulations!
Recently I made the same jump, from Bartok Non Apex to Rossini Apex and clock…
So 3 upgrades in one go…
Wow!
The only difference with your case is that I didn’t discuss it with my lady.
So, self reflecting…, big investment that I feel it’s 100% worthwhile.
Enjoy!!!
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I “did” regret purchasing the Rossini Apex player at the very beginning. I also demoed the Bartok apex before the purchase. Didn’t think the jump was worth it from the Bartok to Rossini. It didn’t give the wow factor as I was hoped for. Never a clock believer but…later I added the Vivaldi clock to the Rossini Apex Player… okay this comb transformed to something I was hoping for and more…. But the down side is the price increase beyond my initial budget. I just wished I had started with Vivaldi DAC…. But that said, I am happy with the results I have now. I use this Dac and clock mainly for my electrostatic headphone (Stax 9000 and HFM Shangrila Sr.) set ups.
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Andy, my only regret was purchasing a Rossini Clock to add to my Rossini Apex. I don’t think I’d pass a blindfold challenge of the SQ with and without the Clock. Lots of folks have mentioned that it’s not about hearing the difference a Clock makes. This seems to be another way to say the Clock isn’t worth it. Maybe a Vivaldi Clock does improve the SQ but I’m not taking another blind leap of faith.
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Hey Brian, sorry about hearing the Rossini clock didn’t work for you. I was never a clock believer since the very beginning back in the ‘90s. Like you said, it didn’t “enhance” enough for me to justify the cost. But many people from this forum have positive things to say about the dCS clocks. So I did take a leap of faith on the purchase of the Vivaldi Clock.
. I did not know how it would turn out. And I didn’t go cheap on the BNC cables. To be honest, it could go either way for me. But I am happy with what I got now.
No it isn’t. However you cannot hear what it does and that is fine. There are many things that some people cannot appreciate ( serial music and heavy metal are amongst my blind spots). However the fact that you have been unable to hear any difference could depend on numerous factors. Whatever the case, others find differently.
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Pete, I have the highest regard for all you do for this dCS forum but we can agree to disagree on this one. Perhaps the combination of the Vivaldi Clock mated with a Rossini Apex DAC does make for a better listening experience. I’ve got to the point in my life that if I can’t hear a discernable difference in SQ a component makes, it’s not for me. This hobby is too expensive to justify components that don’t truly enhance the listening experience. There are so many other reasonably priced options that improve SQ such as the Shunyata Altaira noise reduction grounding system.
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Brian, I am in agreement that if you say you cannot hear any difference. That must be so as I cannot comment meaningfully on your subjective experience. However you are not saying that the wordclock is not worth the money to you and your circumstances, but you have made this statement of value as something universally applicable ( did you intend this?).
There are objective reasons why the addition of Rossini clock can be an improvement and this is not arguable. However the circumstances where this results in something subjectively significant may not be applicable to you.
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Pete, it’s really simple, I have a 2 channel audio system for a single reason - SQ. If a component isn’t adding to the SQ experience, then it adds little if any value to me, no matter the cost. I’m aware that my ears aren’t what they used to be. If that’s what’s going on then looking at the bright side, I’ll be able to save $$ on marginal components.
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I had a non-Apex Bartok with a Rossini clock for about three years. Six months ago, I traded the Bartok in for an Apex-upgraded Rossini. The difference, primarily more clarity and detail, were well worth the upgrade. I kept the clock so the comparison no is just due to the DAC upgrade.
Not everyone brain is as susceptible to timing as others, and so a clock might not be something you will hear the benefit off.
Plus in a single box system adding a clock may not bring much, depending on the clocks used in both.
The biggest gains are when you have multiple clocks in a system and then use a master clock to feed them all. Plus separation of the master clock in it’s own box, and power supply could also bring gains.
But i have always found that i never notice switching a separate clock on, it was when i switched it off i noticed the difference.
Also, it’s not like the clock is going to add anything to the music, i find it makes it’s simpler to follow the music, and that the things have move space around them. Just makes it more real, maybe?
But i don’t think actually sitting down and trying to hear the difference works. I found it took my brain a few days to really pick out what was going on.
But whatever if you can’t hear it, then bonus. You have just saved yourself a packet.
Macspur,
I own a Bartok Apex and a Rossini Apex + clock. (I know. Don’t ask.)
I did not hear the Bartok pre-Apex. I have owned the Rossini pre- and post-Apex. I can assure you that things are as they should be. The Rossini sounds significantly better post-Apex than it did pre-Apex. I’m sure the same would have been true for the Bartok. The Rossini Apex sounds significantly better than the Bartok Apex.
And I’m sure a Vivaldi Apex sounds significantly better than Bartok-A or Rossini-A. Given the cost difference between the various models, dCS would be pretty daft to have things any other way.
Enjoy your listening,
Roger