Vivaldi vs Vivaldi Apex Impressions

[Ermos (Erno)]

FWIW, also reported is a combination of break-in and dull:

Bartok break-in - dull sound on RCA

I am currently evaluation the Bartok. My integrated primaluna amp don’t have balanced in so I am using RCA The dealer has only used XLR and has been playing for around 200 hours. Now to my question: Does the RCA circuit need break in when the XLR’s has been in use? The reason I am asking is because the sound is dull. Missing air and attack. I had the Chord Dave for a visit in my system using the same cables and setup and there was air and attack. My dealer can not recognize my description …

Upsampling bartok

That is almost certainly a burn in issue. To give you a little confidence that this is the case here is a thread from a few months ago. Note especially the change of the OP’s opinion over the course of the thread and the final two posts: If the Bartok did sound lacking in transparency or “dull” as the OP originally found before burn in , then that would surely have been noted in the dozens of exceptional reviews that the Bartok has received. According to this thread you have only had the B…