Unclear there will be an upgrade for Bartok Apex for $3k. It does make sense to produce new Bartok units with Apex boards for less than $9k - you’re not “throwing away” a Ring DAC board.
Rossini is not the same hardware as Bartok, it has multiple power supplies. I have heard both when they were both non-Apex and v2 - not the same.
Finally dCS has used software to differentiate - there might still be a v3 Apex for Rossini/Vivaldi coming.
I don’t think Lina is Apex is it?
It seems to be APEX.
However, I wonder if there is a difference between the upsampler and The upsampler PLUS VIVALDI ?
Ahh, so it was the Bartok Apex! (Can’t really complain I guess, its very hard to imagine the Vivaldi Apex being leap-frogged, sonically, or aesthetically for that matter! 
)
Thanks Pete! You’re right, quite a few interesting nuggets in the review that aren’t covered elsewhere.
I’ve only had a cursory view of the measurements; noise floor looks significant cleaner than the Vivaldi 1.0 measurements JA did (perhaps no surprise). Technically, it would have been nice if JA had measured with Mapper 2 (for 1.0 equivalence). Just realised I don’t think I’ve ever seen a detailed Vivaldi 2.0 measurement 
No, it is not.
Rossini has double the power supply that Bartok does. In the Rossini, the digital and analogue sections each have a separate power transformer and supporting capacitor bank. In Bartok, the same transformer and capacitor bank exist, however, that single transformer and its associated components serve to power both digital and analogue sections. The Rossini also has thicker, better isolation via its casework.
Those power supply elements produce non-subtle improvements in performance as anyone that has compared Bartok to Rossini pre-APEX can confirm. So the same order of magnitude will apply to APEX versions of Rossini and Bartok.
The advent of APEX for Bartok also better rationalizes the Lina and Bartok products as Bartok APEX, at least for now offers considerably higher performance than Lina.
I suspect you are correct—that software V3 for Vivaldi and Rossini are in the works as I have stated here previously. In that case, who knows if dCS will offer it first on Vivaldi or also for Rossini simultaneously.
Bummer, I was hoping for crossfeed / expanse on Rossini …
So relieved in as much as I got Rossini Apex back from upgrade today. Loving it straight from the box - I was dreading an announcement of a Rossini replacement straight away.
In hindsight it’s logical it is just the Bartok, why would dCS snow the Bartok Apex under by bringing a new Vivaldi or software at the exact same time.
It’s their best selling unit.
Strangely no upgrade prices yet
It’s good to hear that you’re happy with the Apex upgrade straight from the box.
I’m in the queue for my Rossini Apex upgrade, which I’m told should happen in the next 4 to 5 months…
Ever the optimist, I’m hoping it’ll be sooner!
I am kind of happy.
I did not want to see the money I invested just 6 months back (in my Rossini Apex stack) go kind of partially wasted for another upgrade to get a best out of it.
The teaser was misleading though.
Regards,
Sourav
Congrats! Mine arrived last Friday, after 3 months waiting.
8 months for now…hope to have it back this week (that’s what my dealer told me)…
Given the timeline we’re seeing Rossini customers go through, I am wondering what Bartok upgraders might experience. This timeline lends further credence to the notion that we might not see a Vivaldi successor for quite a while. With reviews of the Apex version so glowing, dCS may have the luxury of keeping the next gen powder dry for a while longer.
Thanks. It would be good if mine is done in 3 months…
I realise that it’s too early to form a definitive view (unless you’re already north of 100 hours burn-in ?), but how are you finding the Apex upgrade so far?
I’m aware of the differences, but am a bit skeptical about how much a second power supply can make a difference.
Especially with Apex most likely costing double for the Rossini. That + the up front cost compared to Bartok make it a bit less clear cut if one should upgrade to the Rossini Apex or just get a Bartok Apex. Then again I’ve never heard them side by side. Or Any Bartok separately, just Lina.
More rigid case work is a bit irrelevant in my case since I only have a headphone system.
What has been the upgrade prices for apex compared to product prices previously? What should be expected for Bartok Apex upgrade?
Bartok APEX upgrade availability and pricing have not been announced but there are rumors that it might be $4500 and $9000 depending on when you bought your Bartok (2 years or less vs longer than that).
I think I paid around $15k more than two years ago; investing another $9k, or over 50% of the original price to upgrade to APEX is a very challenging decision. Also, if this were true, the overall investment in the Bartok with the APEX upgrade ($24,000) would be more than the current retail price of the Bartok APEX with HPA ($22,950). Something is not adding up.
Thanks Andrew, will be interesting to see. Hopefully dCS handles upgrades also directly, as we don’t have a local dealer in Finland.
Totally agree hard decision if the upgrade will be $9k. I bough my Bartok as a demo unit from a dealer about two years ago. Would be nice to know what actually has changed in the unit two years ago.