I am a soundstage freak. Holography and realism is what i am seeking for in this hobby. I had msb premier, ch precision c1.2 with power supply dacs before but none beated tambaqui for soundstage depth and width with holography. I am usinn qobuz over roon . So i want to upgrade my dac. Normally system is more in line with Vivaldi but most peaple using dcs tells me to tey Rossini with Clock and it will give more of what i want about soundstage than Vivaldi( dac alone with a streamer)
Welcome to the forum, hopefully youâve come to the right place! This question comes up intermittently, whether to buy a certain DAC or the next model down + clock.
As someone for whom part of my job is conducting range progression demos (as well as clock demos) I have to agree with @ChrisK. Two of the most noticeable improvements as you move up the line are the size and delineation of the soundstage and the depth and texture of the bass. If SQ, particularly soundstaging, was my priority I would personally go for a Vivaldi DAC + Network Bridge or Upsampler over a Rossini DAC + Clock every time.
My system is Aurender W20SE, dual AES/EBU connected to a Vivaldi Apex dac (wordclock output in use to sync Aurender) directly into Audio Research Ref. 160S into TAD E1TX-K speakers. Very happy with this, a great match and not only because of the huge holographic soundstageâŚ
Ahmedâ I âve had several dacs and sources for streaming through the years. I had Bartok, Rossini and finally a full Vivaldi stack. I can tell you as a user interested in soundstage is paramount for me as well. the Vivaldi dac and upsampler not only generally improved the depth and width of the soundstage, but more importantly they made the elements more discrete within it. there is nothing more satisfying than listening to classical piece and hearing the sections where they need to be hearing the solos and stars pop out at the appointed time. it is really like watching your favorite piece being played by an orchestra without the video. You KNOW, and you can HEAR where the instruments are and can anticipate when the basses pop. I cannot say enough about these pieces of gear that make up the Vivaldi line.
and it took me awhile of being patient and listening before buying!!
I wanted to add a slightly different perspective that may matter to some. The Rossini (with the Clock) has the best minimalist highâend setup/soundstage ratio IMO. Iâm really grateful dCS chose to make that âsweet spotâ exist. Paired with active speakers, the Rossini feels like a gift to anyone who wants worldâclass soundstaging without turning their system into a stack of boxes.
Today i had the chance to try Rossini apex with clock and compare it with my Mola Mola Tambaqui at my dealer The system was Plium pre-power and YG speakers.
Dsc was more refined and transparent. Lows were more bodied , textured and tighter. My trusted tambaqui dac felt like distorted especially at upper mids and highs.
BUT clock did not made a big difference. Ok maybe the sound became more organised (without it was like scattered) but not a difference in soundstage width, depth or hight. Most of the revievers say it makes a huge difference. They even say do not buy it without the clock.
I just listened to the 192kHz 24bit and the 44.1kHz 16bit versions of Summertime with the Rossini clock on and off (speakers Avantgarde Acoustic Zero iTRON). With the 192kHz 24bit file, the clock makes a huge difference for breadth and depth of the soundstage, delineation of instruments and texture. The bass is way more dynamic and the overall sound more engaging. With the 44.1kHz 16bit file the difference is more subtle, I have to admit.
The 192kHz 24bit versions of the Oscar Peterson albums just rock on my setup.
No ! You tried by yourself instead of trusting the comments of other people, so whatever your conclusion, it is the result of your own hearingâŚYou donât miss anything, or may be a listening session with a Vivaldi
Rossini + clock budget comes to a Vivaldi dacâs budget. I would go that way with a transport lumin etc. if i had a chance to try and feel vivaldi is better even with a cheaper transport than vivaldi upsampler.
You should try finding a second hand dCS Network BridgeâŚThe matching is great with the Vivaldi DAC, that is what I had before buying the Upsampler. Now my son use the Network Bridge with an old Naim DacâŚIt is great on his stereo.
