If you visit https://dcsaudio.com/ and scroll to the bottom you’ll find under Support “Find a dealer”. It’s not a great tool. You need to specify dealer and then I’d enter USA and search. Then if you type FL, into the browser’s URL it will show that there are only a couple of dealers - Coral Gables and Melbourne.
And, I think, an internal lead to the volume control rotary knob, either a new one or put the existing one back. And swapping the back plate is time consuming.
This is all pretty standard stuff. All of the connection posts are identical. Open it up, remove connections, unscrew old board, screw in new board, plug all of the same connectors in, remove screws from back plate, swap, screw back in. Not rocket science.
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Like rocket science, it is simple. Count in QC (quality control) and testing, and if it all works… 
@stevebythebay Thanks Steve. Earlier today that link wasn’t working for me. Must’ve been operator error. The upgrade seems simple enough. The only thing I’d be concerned about is if the tech has some before and after measurements to check on a scope as you pointed out was done on your Vivaldi.
I had mine upgraded by Miguel at Audible Images in Melbourne, FL. He was very professional and we tested my dac in the shop right after the upgrade. He had also done several prior upgrades of their Vivaldi and Rossini DACs they had in the showroom. I don’t know if he put it on the scope. I got the dac last December and when the Apex upgrade was announced I was in touch with them right away expressing my interest, so I guess I was able to do it sooner than many on this forum. All in all everything is working fabulously and as I mentioned previously, this was a very obvious and significant upgrade, a must have considering its price in relation to the price of the Vivaldi system. You will know exactly what you paid for when you get it back. Now I’m just waiting for my order of upgraded transparent xl cables from the same dealer to hopefully take my system a little bit further. P.S. again, he mentioned that swapping out the dac board was not the challenging part, but really the back panel was the labor intensive part.
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I must agree that the APEX upgrade is a “must have”, pretty much ahead of anything anyone may be considering for their system. At least for the Vivaldi.
I’ve been listening since I put it back into my system Tuesday afternoon. Seems to keep getting better in stages. Just when I thought it hit a final plateau around 100 hours it took another leap just under 120. More of everything it’s been demonstrating, it seems.
It’s driving my mono blocks harder, I think (chassis cover’s getting a tad warmer to the touch). And it seems the noise floor has kept pace, dropping even more. Wonder if it’s fully settled in…
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Guys: I have a scope, I know what it does, it does not help you with this upgrade checks. Using a scope to troubleshoot or test this is a really complex endeavor. Checking that I got a sine wave from a pure tone before and after is NOT a check. Lets not perpetuate this hear-say.
Best check? It works and plays music.
yes… I was a little surprised that the scope was mentioned tbh
Glad to hear you are enjoying yours. It is always a little difficult for me to articulate the areas of improvement, but to me it just has a much more alive music feel to it. I think some of it has to do with the imaging - the music just exists there in the space, unrelated to the system, but I can also hear different layers of music in much better definition. For example, I can follow the piano in all its clarity as the main instrument and then get distracted by another instrument in the background, yet that other instrument or melody is as well controlled and defined and could stand on its own, even though it is not in the foreground so to say.
In my case, they validated before/after for some settings of the DAC. They didn’t let me know what other validation steps were taken during the upgrade.
Absolutely get this in classical symphonic pieces, especially with piano and other instrumental concerti. I no longer need to focus on these principal performers, as they are now distinct. Distinct layers, as you say, like a cake. This speaks well to a far deeper soundstage than before.
It’s as if the DAC has been unleashed. I notice longer sonic decay as well as hall reverb when it’s present. The bass is far more defined and present. And instruments that are percussive are more realistically rendered, while violins are less apt to produce a shrill tone (like too much rosin on the bow).
It’s all so much better.
That makes sense. I imagine that some settings such as filters and maps are stored locally in the DAC board. But I have no idea if this is the case. 
Interestingly, though I’ve yet to more fully test these, I’ve sensed a less distinct difference between Mapper 1 and 3.
In the past, I’ve favored Mapper 1 most of the time. Will wait some more before I fully evaluate this.
THAT is a characteristic of higher fidelity.
See, I wish there were an audiophile dictionary to describe these things:). Then, everybody including the professional reviewers would be consistent in describing it…whether it is higher fidelity or deeper sound stage, otherwise, there is just going to be a significant subjectivity in describing it. I would just say it in numerical terms that this is at least a 15-20% upgrade in my system, and at the level of these DACs and the accompanying electronics and cabling, getting this much improvement is impressive and a high value per dollar, indeed.
Seems reviewers rely more on using examples of music in their library, in a sort of A-B before/after comparison of sonic effects. I guess this makes it easy for them to describe differences. However, we readers really don’t get a more complete view at any comparative system level. And the terminology used, is never fully explained. Much of the problems arise due to the fact that some of the characteristics we discern are less about normal sonic attributes than how our brains get the sonic cues surrounding the spaces in which recordings are made and captured by microphones. The spaces between the notes are rarely described, much less measured in the audiophile world.
Yes, I agree. In your previous comment you also noted that the rendering of the instruments is more realistic…. There is more tonal accuracy to the instruments and yet they also have more space to breath. This is my impression as well.
…all the units that go back to Jim at our US Service Centre get hooked up to a scope and subjected to a series of qualification tests (just as they would if they’d been in for a repair) both before and after the upgrade to check for pre-existing and post-upgrade audio faults so a little more than a few screws and an ESD strap.
Cheers
Phil
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@Phil @miguelito There goes that ‘scope’ word again. Phil, perhaps you can elaborate on the before and after measurements a scope is used for.