Vivaldi One v. Rossini Apex

SME 20/3, SME V arm, Dynavector XV-1s. I do not care for Qvortrup’s products, thank you.

Sorry, that was rude. You might love his products.

Also, van den Hul The Grail phono pre. Lovely.

I will accept donations :joy: ruin is knocking at the door :rofl:

It is a love - hate on Qvortrups products.

I am a Audio Note Kondo Japan person. Have an Ongaku amp.

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I have been sitting on the fence AN or SME, no other options on my book.

Well here is a picture of the inside of Vivaldi One:

Vivaldi One interior

And here is Vivaldi DAC:

Vivaldi DAC

Clearly identical ( not). See what I mean?

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My preamp is Audio Note M6 with phono preamp … if not, I would have gone SME option

Ok yes, that looks very different. What I saw was 5 yrs ago so hard to say. But you’re assuming you’re looking at the same boards. The One is a stack of many boards.

But still asking for Vivaldi - Rossini Sound quality gap :thinking:

Consider this: the Kondo turntable, the Ginja I think it is called, has an SME V 12" arm (Kondo-branded) and the platter adheres to high mass design, very much like SME. The 20/3 turntable plinth is incredibly massive, holding the arm to the platter spindle structure with incredible authority. I think the 20/3 is closer to the Kondo philosophy and design than the AN UK.

I think that gap shrunk quite a bit with Rossini v2 software. But separate power supplies definitely matter here so I am sure Vivaldi still has an edge over Rossini. I am curious as to what Apex will actually be (I don’t really trust any speculation).

My guess is Vivaldi One v Rossini Apex is a wash, but the functionality is very different (Vivaldi One has the transport but also the possibility it will fall off support sooner).

Just look at the power supply ! you could not substitute one for the other. I think that you are also looking at the ring DAC as you can see the latches.

No you cannot expect parts from Vivaldi to fit Vivaldi One physically.

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3 AM here, I better go to bed.
A pleasure taking to you guys, this forum is an exception. Educate and knowledgeable people, a rarity :blush:

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Also, I do expect dCS to update all of the network card software which def needs a refresh. There are some known bugs that have persisted for years!

Hi Miguel,
Nice to reconnect with you : )

I was late to the digital/Roon platform but decided the advantages were too great to chase any real (or perceived?) degradation versus a spinning disk. Once you make the switch you can never go back to CDs

Further, my car will accept lossless files (albeit with far worse reproduction than dCS of course), and my entire music collection can now fit on two thumb drives in lossless (!)

Over time a greater portion of music will be recorded in native HD, thereby, IMHO, also mitigating the need for upsampling. As this happens I’m hoping that digital can close the gap to vinyl…

Cheers

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So I am playing an SACD rip of Depeche Mode’s Music For The Masses. It sounds amazing through the Rossini. Then I pick up my ole vinyl copy, slap it on the SME… And my fecking pants fall off. Yeah.

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I have always kept a great vinyl player/phonostage.

I also have a Vivaldi. So is one better than the other? It is inconsistent and, as with this hobby generally, it depends not just upon the home reproduction method but upon the original recording master and how it has been handled subsequently by the record company and ( as we are now often talking about a long history) its successors.

I remember working with some masters at one point in my bizarre career and realising that for some the original master sounded dreadful and the only reason the subsequent release was commercially acceptable was the ability of the cutting engineer to turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse. His/her digital successor may not have had the same skill.

So digital release v. vinyl release is unpredictable in SQ terms irrespective of your home system. At the best they are equivalent but different.

NB: For those who have followed the Mercury Living Presence podcasts that dCS have funded I have both the SACD of Stravinsky/Firebird that Wilma Cozert Fine engineered using a dCS ADC and the recent vinyl remaster that her son Tom has cut. The vinyl has not yet been played by me. Anyone interested in a comparison?

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My conclusion is they are different. Sometimes one is better. Always different.

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Yep.

OK it’s nearly 3:00 a.m. here so time for me to get my beauty sleep. I figure if I sleep enough I will look like George Clooney. But shorter. And older. Much older.

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Yep!, I am interested.