Upgrading to dCS Rossini

Audio Systems
#1

I’m currently considering upgrading my dCS Bartok to a dCS Rossini.

Considering that is somewhat an old model, is this a good idea or is there a risk that it could be replaced with a new model in the short/medium term?

Second question: I could have the opportunity to trade in my Accuphase CD player and buy the Rossini CD. Is the Rossini CD a good player? Would I be losing anything vs the Rossini DAC?

Of course, I’ll have to add an external HP amp but that’s another story.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Happy Easter to everyone.

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#2

Yes there is always such a risk but that exists for just about everything. Manufacturers do not often announce their timetable of product replacement until it is virtually happening. Inevitably Rossini will be replaced but when is unknown at present . I would also speculate that the cancelling of audio shows due to covid-19 may have put some product launches on hold for the moment. You may find a clue when Vivaldi is replaced as dCS’ history to date is that the flagship is the first in the product line up to be replaced. The second in line will come later and so on down the range. The whole cycle may take place over some years.

If you did commit to Rossini when its replacement comes along I would expect a generous trade in against purchase of the newcomer. Of course the trade in sum would diminish the older the Rossini becomes so the best offer would be against a relatively new one.

I doubt that Rossini player is in any way intrinsically inferior to your Accuphase in respect of CD replay though , of course, they will not sound identical.

Further to the above a great player is a great player. Rossini will not become a poor player at the the stroke of midnight on the day it is replaced. Sometimes the replacement may not even meet your needs. That happened for me when Paganini was replaced with Rossini. Rossini just did not have all of the features that I enjoyed with Paganini so I did not upgrade until four years later when I was able to go for Vivaldi.

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#3

I agree, of course. But you do will feel sorry for yourself if a better replacement appears shortly after you got it.

I am in the same boat as Franco: waiting for a clear replacement path announcement, before I pull the trigger.

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#4

I doubt that there will be anything as distinct as that. It would not be in dCS’ interest to put out a press release saying e.g. ( just a date at random) Rossini will be replaced by Locatelli in Q3 2022 as they will then not sell a single Rossini unit during the intervening time.

On past experience once the Vivaldi replacement is out then Rossini may be replaced within 12 - 24 months and Bartok anything up to 3 years after that. But dCS may not hold to their previous form of course.

It is just a risk you have to take when purchasing. It isn’t like buying a Japanese TV when you know that its replacement ( and the replacement after that etc.) will reach the shops in June of every year.

There is also an effective “opportunity cost” to holding back. You may decide not to upgrade until Rossini’s replacement is announced and made available. Meanwhile by doing this you may well have lost 2 years listening to what remains a superior product . I have already written here of a childhood friend whose father refused to buy a black and white TV as he knew that colour was coming. So it did - ten years later. So presumably they had no TV for ten years.

My take in any case is that I would tend not to buy from the initial production batch but give it a year to settle down and for the major bugs in the field to be discovered; sceptical or just realistic?

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#5

I just upgraded from Bartok to Rossini. I live for the present; enjoy the moment if you can afford and worry not about the future. I value the enjoyment I get from my new Rossini and don’t care if it will be replaced a year or two from now—I could be dead by then

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#6

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven :innocent:

Amen.

#7

Blessed are the poor in bank accounts, for theirs are Vivaldi stacks.

(Still resisting for now, but when the right one comes along — and I’m faster this time — it’ll happen. Had I been one day quicker I’d be stroking a three-box pile of aluminium by now. I’d have been poorer for a while, but as mwilson says…if it’s possible/fun, why the hell not?)

#8

You talkin’ to me Erno?

#9

@Frankie67 I am in a similar situation. I have the opportunity to upgrade to the Rossini from my Bartok due to the sale of my D’Agostino progression preamp (decided to go direct from the DAC into my amp after extensive side by side comparison). I am still hesitating since I use the headphone amp in the Bartok frequently and wondering if there is a Rossini successor with headphone amp on the horizon… Given dcs’s relatively generous upgrade trade in program and relatively long product cycles and even longer product support cycles I am getting less concerned about the latter, however still trying to figure out whether I would miss expanse too much and what the appropriate headphone amp and setup arrangement with the Rossini are. Keep us apprised of where you end up here :slight_smile:

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#10

@slange00 I also use the Bartok quite extensively with my headphones and I love Expanse too. I agree with you that Rossini with an HP amp option would be an excellent choice.

For now, I’ve just purchased a Carbon electrostatic hp amp which I will use with my Stax 009s. If I will go for Rossini I’ll need a separate amp to pair with my Abyss 1266.

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#11

Yes, and I meant to say:

Sometimes it is better to wait a little bit, in order to get what you really want. It saves some money, and the anticipation is also great. Everything now? Instant gratification, why?

#12

Because I can :grinning:

#13

Ha ha — I subscribe to both approaches (instant and delayed gratification) depending on…I don’t know what.

The weather? A particular photo on the classifieds winking at me? Whether a deal is sufficiently amazing?

Likely all of the above. It definitely passes the time between meals :stuck_out_tongue:

#14

I agree with all of the above. My only issue is that I would hate to purchase a device which gets replaced only a few months (or even one year) down the road. I appreciate, however, that there will be some degree of uncertainty.

Happy Easter again everyone.

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#15

Hi,

Why do you want to upgrade ? Is it because you are after a better sound quality ? If so, don’t buy a Rossini, because as soon as you get it you might want to improve the sound quality and then buy a Vivaldi…So my advice, keep the Bartok or buy a Vivaldi or save money for buying the system which shall replace the Vivaldi, you probably have a couple of months before it happens.

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#16

@ChrisK, would love to improve sq. What you say makes sense to me. Don’t know if it’s going to be that early though.

#17

What Chris says makes sense so long as you have the money. At present Rossini v. Vivaldi is ( UK prices) £19,500 v. £ 45,500 for similar facilities (as near as possible) i.e. DAC + upsampler+ network streaming. Then you can add the clock as there is no point in skimping at this level.

The cost increment is not minor unless £26K is of no particular significance to you. In which case I congratulate you.

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#18

You just destroyed the sale of Rossini :smile:

#19

Yes you are right, but I sold a Vivaldi :wink:…and believe me, I had a chance to compare them before buying a Vivaldi Dac…Add how many clocks and cables you want to a Rossini…it is far from a Vivaldi Dac + Network Bridge…But it is true that the price is very different too…but with a Bartok playing you can spare money as long as needed because you already have something very good in your stereo system…

#20

To be fair the bartock is good enough and just about affordable for most people, after that the value to sound performance gets less and less as you spend more.
The rossini and clock is certainly the sweat spot in the dCS range and for me its a good place to stop, for sure it will get replaced as will all of it, as digital keeps going forward, but for now atleast i am happy that dCS keep on supporting it and may even offer a new better upgrade to it going forward? But it sounds wonderful, warm, detailed and most importantly real.
For sure the vivaldi is next in line to be upgraded, but for me if it keeps to its 3 box set up, then no thanks, for sure its better than the rossini, but even my dealer agrees that its probably not worth the extra expense over the rossini, unless you have amps, speakers, etc and the room sorted, to make the most out of it, if not then pointless really.
Also as i have found out lately a very good turntable and cartridge is very hard to beat, also much cheaper than a very good digital source.

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