I’m not sure if you mean MQA specifically or you’re talking about DACs in general, and if so, I think you’re talking about oversampling within the DAC chips, not upsampling. There’s a difference.
Yes, I’m well aware MQA CDs contain less than 16bits of actual musical content.
Other than the math used to interpolate/increase bit depth, what is the difference between upsampling and oversampling?
Understood, but that is my point: upsampling is a mathematical method to interpolate effectively. Oversampling is essentially a simpler method of upsampling. And as upsampling goes, the methods to do so are many.
Regardless, my point is very simple: MQA is choosing some upsampling method but it is simply upsampling rather than unfolding. Unfolding actually decodes higher frequency “true” data buried in the 8 LSBs.
You might have misunderstood. I was actually agreeing with your point that, yes, various 16bit MQA render (not decode) differently depending on the original source master (re-read my post).
No upgrade anymore ? I am waiting mine…
What do you mean?
It’s a long time We do not see any member having received his upgrade. Normally, mine will come in 2 or 3 week.
By and large, I expect improvements to make bad recordings sound even worse, and good recordings sound even better… In my experience, the best systems make different recordings sound more different.
Yeah, I agree, but I don’t think they’re necessarily mutually exclusive outcomes.
If we assume that an upgrade is positive (an enormous assumption 
), then I reckon:
…a crap recording can be more enjoyable, perhaps because I’m hearing more of what’s there.
…an amazing recording can be more enjoyable, for the same reason.
And simultaneously, the two recordings might sound more different to one another than they did pre-upgrade.
What I’m not after (personally) is a system that only lets me enjoy perfect recordings. Lots of the music I love is terribly recorded.
A DAC is a rather unusual beast. It’s taking a digital bitstream and converting that into an analog form for downstream amplification. Seems to me that until dCS delivers a clearer explanation of all the areas where it made changes, and what these mean to the ultimate sonic characteristics we hear, we can merely guess at what we’ve now got on our hands.
It’s a bit like the parable of the blind men and the elephant (nice description here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant).
The improvements wrought by the upgrade represent a virtual cornucopia of changes; a sort of smorgasbord of flavors that emerge with every recording we listen to, and in all manner of unexpected ways.
At least in my system I’ve needed to get used to how utterly “balanced” the APEX represents each recording. What had been previously emphasized now blends into a more proportional sonic picture. It takes quite a few listenings of a song to “get it”. I suppose it’s like listening to a sound engineers remix, though I’ve never sat in that chair (a particularly refined 
- shaken, not stirred).
Actually, yes, agree. I have some really old mono recordings. As I’ve improved my system, they sounded more and more like “AM radio”, and yet you can get more into the music. A better system transmits the entirety of it better: the restricted dynamics and frequency extension limitations but also the nuances that make music be enjoyable.
I‘m waiting now since August for a schedule and my dealer can still not give me a final date for upgrade!
While I can’t comment on APEX - I can say that my Bartok 2.0 + Rossini clock shines a new light on a lot of old digital recordings I thought were a lost cause. (I’m talking classical recordings from the 80’s and 90’s) Seems the engineers of these recordings were able to capture a heck of a lot more than I imagined possible.
Hope we will see a Bartok Apex at some point.
I’m in the UK and have been waiting since May (ish) for my Rossini to be taken in for the upgrade. It was collected today and I’ve been told to expect it’s return in 3 to 4 weeks. I’m hoping my dealer is being sensible and is giving me a timescale he expects to beat. As stated earlier in this thread it will be going back to DCS HQ for the upgrade.
I’ll keep folks updated with progress…
Mike.
Mike, my Vivaldi for Apex upgrade was collected today. I too am in the UK but was given a slightly shorter turn round than you but, after all, these things are only estimates.
Thanks Pete. Out of interest, is yours going back to your dealer before being sent to DCS or is it going direct? Mine is going via the dealer which seems a bit unnecessary to me? Cheers, Mike.
Coincidentally, I just picked-up my Vivaldi Apex upgrade today as well! 
(Alas, business travel unfortunately getting in the way of a thorough shakedown).
I’ve had my upgrade at the Dutch distributor last Friday.
First impressions were already positive, straight out of the box after one hour warm-up. More defined bass and more air and openness in mid and high. I’ve let it run for the past few days while not at home and plan to spend some serious time listening later this week with at least 100+ hours of burn in.
@miguelito Miguel and other Rossini Apex owners. My Rossini Apex upgrade was done this past weekend. How much break-in time should I allow before doing some critical listening to evaluate the differences? I have about 25 hours currently logged using a burn-in track.
Thanks in advance.