In a few weeks (23 November) my local US Dealer is hosting Emron Mangelson and the new Varese. At this invitation only event, they will be doing a direct comparison of Vivaldi vs Varese. I am truly looking forward to this opportunity, not only to hear Varese but to see how it compares to the prior top of the dCS line.
Has anyone else been able to directly compare the two and if so what were your observations?
Yes, as reported on my âNew Kidâ thread, albeit in an unfamiliar system and with speakers that have a very different sonic character to my own. Nevertheless I had the system all to myself for a good part of an afternoon and had the opportunity to play several well known test tracks and compare back-and-forth.
At the risk of creating insurmountable expectation bias my observations were that Varèse was better on every obvious parameter, and not subtly so. Two that are particularly dear to my heart are:
To me, these are critical ingredients of the âmagic trickâ of momentarily allowing your brain to fool you that you are actually somewhere else, âthereâ. My summary was that it sounded like âthe very best analogâ which I intended as a supreme compliment but wasnât necessarily taken as such by my hosts. Oops! 
Itâs swings and roundabouts though. I was even able to hear a dub on one familiar track, where two takes had apparently been spliced together. It breaks the âspellâ but itâs still pretty amazing when youâve never noticed it before. In retrospect I wish I had listened to the 1981 Gouldbergs (I didnât). I wouldnât mind betting that Gouldâs humming would be as clear an âinstrumentâ as the left and right hands and the âmouse orchestraâ would be audible even at normal listening levels!
Yes, I spent over 90 minutes with the Varese and Vivaldi back on the 19th. I posted my initial thoughts in a separate thread (Varese Review(to come) ). Both units were connected to. dâAgostino Relentless pre amp for easy switching I did not have to alternate too many times to hear the difference.
So, I had my opportunity to hear the new Varese first hand (with David Stevens flying in for the US launch). They A/Bâd the Vivaldi Apex 3 box stack vs the Varese 5 box stack. The audible difference/improvement was immediately apparent. Everything had more depth, tonality and realism.
But was it ânight & dayâ different as some have described it, not for me, While technically I think it is revolutionary but sound wise I thought it was more evolutionary. And you have to address the elephant in the roomâŚ. is it worth the price of His AND Hers Porsche 911âs??? Or a nice vacation cottage?
I guess for some that may not be an elephant but rather a small pet as I overheard one of the earlier auditioners putting a down payment on a Varese for delivery early next year.
Thanks naperaudio- so youâll stick with your âpoorâ 
Vivaldi and wait for the next generation?
I am sure itâs better, but then so it should be at the huge price it is at.
As i said for me the vivaldi will do me fine, and whatever updates it might get going forward.
I certainly wonât be changing mine for whatever replacement comes for it, as itâs certainly going to cost me a lot to do that, and for me i cannot see much point.
At this pricing level, the potential customers are audiophiles, obviously, but with almost unlimited revenue, they just donât care about buying a 911, even a GT2 RSâŚThey had 25 of them when they were 18 years oldâŚThey are more concerned about being able buying a 2.000.000 $ Patek PhilippeâŚ
T38.45 ⌠if only I was just âpoorâ instead Iâm virtually homeless (only own a Rossini)
ChrisK ⌠well said, if your wearing your Patek and drinking â89 Romanee Conti while listening to your new Varèse, money doesnât matter.
Off thread but Iâm down on Patek. Too many maintenance issues. Like a Ferrari. Great to look at, not to own. I donât like wizbangs. I like things that work, reliably. dCS: zero maintenance issues in ~15y.
(Big thumbs up).
Rolex: classic, âboringâ, no maintenance issuesâŚ
Just sayinââŚ
; )
???
Mechanical watches really should be serviced every 10-15 years for lubrication etc. That said collecting watches was my poison many years ago - and I still have several. Patek - purchased in 1998, never serviced, and still running. Lange & Sohne - purchased 1994 upon relaunch of the brand. Kept on ticking, never serviced, until 2021 when it needed an overhaul. Jaeger Lecoultre - purchased in 1985. One service in its entire life cycle - passed on to my daughter. Breguet - purchased in 1985 - still running never serviced.
I would say for an object which has moving gears, springs etc. - that is pretty damn good.
dCS - other than the âvolume controlâ - no moving parts. Not a fair comparison.
Back to the regularly scheduled program 
Rossini Player
Rossini Transport
Vivaldi Transport
Vivaldi One
Moving parts! Lots of maintenance issues! (And obsolescence)
: )
(However, I was comparing two mechanical watch brands among themselves, and clarifying a personal preference on design philosophy of simplicity, not comparing a mechanical Rolex to a dCS product, as I hope was obvious in the post)
Cheers,
R
Hi Richard
Understood. That is why I swore off of CD drives when Linn introduced the Klimax DS in 2007. I still have my Linn KDS, it has been constantly updated, and it still serves me well (in my headphone setup).
Rolex - âboringâ - agree 100%. Personally I never understood the love. I am a mechanical Chronograph kind of guy.
Iâve had just 2 service instances for my Vivaldi Transport in 12 Years! So, hardly âlots of maintenance issuesâ 
My Linn Sondek CD12 and Unidisk 1.1 had maintenance issues every.single.year that I owned them It wasnât a big surprise when Linn decided to chuck mechanical disc players for good.
I guess itâs all relative. To me, thatâs a lot!
: )
Naim CDX2 started acting up the first day in service. The dealer came over, heard it, and carted it away immediately. New one ordered.
Naim CDS3 started acting up the first week of service.
This is why I swore off of CD players. The mechs dCS use may be of higher quality however I would not like to have to ship one back for repair from NY to UK.
My last CD player was the Naim CD555. Once I heard from the owner of Naim USA they were not capable of repairing units here in the States and they would have to go back to the UK, I decided the time had come to abandon the spinning disk. Klimax DS has been flawless during all these years of ownership.
We are of the same mind Gregg. For me it was this, and the realization that my stacks of CDs, piled high from floor to ceiling, could now all fit in the palm of my hand, in uncompressed format.
I sent everything off to some place in Minnesota to be digitized, sold/donated the returned disks for peanuts in NYC, and that was that.
Iâm homeless too, bad times for audiophilesâŚ
But at least youâve got a nice car stereo âŚ
Always wondered what people thought when Lange relaunched, it was well before my time, but must have been quite an event! If you like Lange and chronographs youâre really on the right track 