Looking back at my last system pic Dec 2023 I was surprised how much kit I’ve swapped out, only the Rossini+Clock and 77” TV remain. Not sure how to link to a specific post, gave it a go
Not really on topic for a digital forum, maybe a few will be interested, moving from the 1200G to SL-1000R was a huge step up in sq, first TT where I’ve found it easy to differentiate changes in mats and head-shells without straining and concentrating to pick out what’s better/worse. The Dynavector TKR is a fantastic cart. In November I’m visiting a dealer to hear some speakers and hopefully an Ortofon M90X on his 1000R. Gratuitous TT pic.
Welcome! It’s always great to see new members diving into the world of dCS. Your setup sounds really solid—Innuos Zenith MK3 into Mark Levinson 585, Wilson Sophia 1s, and Chord Signature cables is no small feat. The plain Ethernet per dCS’s advice is a nice touch too; sometimes the simplest solutions really do work best.
As for tweaking, it often comes down to small refinements rather than massive changes. Things like speaker positioning, room treatment, and even cable dressing can subtly influence the sound. Some people also experiment with isolation platforms or power conditioning, but it really depends on how happy you already are with what you hear.
I’d be very curious to hear more about your listening environment—rooms and acoustics can dramatically shape the experience. Also, your thoughts on control options: do you mainly stick to Mosaic, or do you integrate Roon as well?
Personally, I find it fascinating to see how others marry their dCS kit with amps and speakers, and what tweaks they find meaningful. Looking forward to seeing more photos and setup details from you and others—it’s always inspiring to compare approaches and see the creativity people bring to their listening rooms!
For phono you’re quite right - the 3900 cannot accommodate a phono stage - I’ve been waiting for the Accuphase c57 to be available, which it now is…so I’m adding one of those when I can convince my wife of a second rack!
…in the interim I’ve been using the Dynavector P75 Mark 4 - which for the money (£800) is absolutely stellar…especially with Dynavector cartridges clearly. It doesn’t fit so well ON the rack, but ticks away behind it.
And yes - in the context of Linn - the Revolver is a third party outer platter, which makes a HUGE difference to the sound of the LP12 over the stock outer platter.
I’ve missed this recommendation - but happen to follow it, as my previous streamer had fibre networking built in, which I used straight from my Melco Switch - so when the dCS arrived I just slung in a (best basic) Blue Jeans LAN cable I had from when I had a Naim streamer, whilst simultaneously rolling my eyes at how dCS have clearly missed a trick when only building Network DACs with “old world” RJ45 Ethernet.
I’m sure there is a thread that explains these two seemingly illogical preferences of basic LAN cable and no optical network port.
I think Accuphase are such a brilliant company - small progressions from product generation to product generation, no hyperbole “everything we have ever made is instantly massively outdated” marketing associated when new generations are released. I believe they think their customers are with them for the long haul, and know many skip multiple generations maybe upgrading every 10 or 15 years and that’s fine, they are deliberately limited in scale so I think are kind of as big as they want to be.
Looking forward to the C57 - very much - and already (I’m in my early 50s) consider it my last phono stage.
We are constantly following developments in order to keep abreast of changing market requirements. As things stand SFP+/fiber still has quite a small market share in consumer networking products (routers/switches supplied by ISPs for instance), but it is definitely something we will continue to monitor.
However, it is important to address one misconception that we see quite a lot. Fiber-based ethernet (IEEE 802.3ae-2002 and onwards) was developed to address two main limitations of copper-based ethernet: bandwidth and range, neither of which are really limitations in the context of domestic consumer audio. The idea that fiber provides superior galvanic isolation to twisted pair copper, or that fiber networks have a superior ability to shield your DAC from network noise is a fallacy. The signal pairs in an IEEE 802.3u (100 Megabit) or 802.3ae (Gigabit) twisted pair copper cable are terminated in transformers, providing full galvanic isolation. According to the standard the only part of the cable that is not galvanically isolated is the shield, so with an unshielded cable (UTP) galvanic isolation is maintained. This is why we recommend customers use unshielded cables for the connection to their dCS DACs.
So in our view fiber has not superseded twisted pair copper for domestic use cases, even those requiring much higher bandwidth than streaming audio (there is even a standard, IEEE 802.3n, for 10 Gigabit Ethernet over unshielded twisted pair). And since fiber usually means additional cost and complexity I don’t think a preference for copper, where the bandwidth and range are sufficient, is really at all illogical.
My language was perhaps a little clumsy - by “seemingly illogical” I meant “not what the rest of the market has seemingly agreed upon”
I have an ADOT kit on loan and was going to try and take the fibre out from my Melco to the back of the dCS then bounce it back on to RJ45 - but I’m guessing that just adds needless complexity for no benefit?
(I’ll also read the thread on ADOT shared above to educate myself)
I would say “some parts of the market”. As the market evolves vendors spot opportunties, some of which may be solutions to real problems and some of which may be solutions looking for problems. Or they may simply be looking to differentiate and that’s fine too. Think back to the heyday of CD and the aftermarket that evolved for green pens, anti-vibration dots, cloths and liquids for “disc treatment”, etc. As digital audio moves to the network it is inevitable that the same will happen.
Just to be clear I am not saying that fiber networking is bad, that it is snake oil, or that it doesn’t have relevant use cases. All I am saying is that we don’t think we’ve missed a trick and fiber connection is not necessary to address any glaring design flaw in our DACs. The Ethernet input on dCS DACs is fully galvanically isolated, per the standard (as is the USB input, which goes beyond the standard) apart from the shield. They both provide a bit-perfect high-bandwidth conduit for streamed audio, and since both are asynchronous interface jitter is not an issue.
Thank you for the spectacular explanation of the current thought stream re Fibre. I have to admit to being curious as to why Linn’s new flagship player, the Klimax DS NG, included a Fibre connection, while the Varese did not. On a side note there have been comments on the HiFi Kabin forum (where Linnies congregate after the demise of the Linn forum) where users do not really see any improvement using the optional fibre input into their DS vs. standard ethernet cable.
Bonus points to Linn for taking the same approach as dCS re what type of Ethernet cable to use (Although Linn actually predate dCS in bringing ethernet ready players to market - Klimax DS introduction 2007). They recommend standard compliant network cables - nothing fancy.
Thankyou! …I actually didn’t - I just figured I was investing in my last rack, so make it a good one!
Ordered it with Bamboo shelves originally - then changed at the last minute to black. Occasional visible dust apart, I’m really glad I did. Black and Brass with Accuphase and Black dCS (chefs kiss )
Just reading all the above comments. I too have an ADOT which connects to my Melco S100/2. I use the SFP ports on the S100 and Melco N1. Ethernet from my Bartók to the S100.
The ADOT actually died on me a couple of weeks ago, so I have a new one. I have to be honest, I couldn’t notice any difference with, or without the ADOT..
I can’t see all your system, what amp are you using with your Pre?
Interesting on the ADOT - good that your experience matches the recommended approach!
I use Accuphase Amps - a C3900 pre amp, and an A80 Class A Power Amp - and very lovely they are too. Work brilliantly with dCS to my ears, bringing an ever so slight warmness to the sound, whilst losing none of the PRaT and the Drama.
Were you able to compare it to the SVT?
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