Ah…I was not aware you are using the Rossini APEX. I’ve not used one. So I’m not familiar with the ways the filters operate. With the Vivaldi, there are filters in each of the DAC and Upsampler. Maybe the options differ a bit on the Rossini.
Our recommendation has not changed with APEX. We recommend that you set the Output Voltage setting to match the equipment that the DAC is connected to. We have found that a preamp generally wants 2V and a power amp wants 6V. Ensuring the gain for the system is set up correctly is of prime importance to avoid overdriving or clipping any part of the system (which could of course cause damage) however if you feel that a lower output voltage setting hits a sweet spot within your own system then that is perfectly valid.
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Thanks James, that was, and now still is, clear.
I got my Apex upgrade on the first week of August.
It was factory reset, so new configurations.
First, I set my previous configuration to be able to compare.
I let it sounding for about 40/50 hours before listening.
I listen to mostly classical and acoustic music.
What’s new:
More silence, sound is more natural and “analogue”.
IMHO a major upgrade.
It is a Vivaldi One
My settings:
DSDx2 upsampling
PCM filter 2
DSD filter 5
Mapper 1
Output 2V
Vivaldi Clock: No dither
Addendum: Upgrade was performed at dCS headquarters.
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As a first time user of Rossini Apex (and Rossini Dac as such and first time dCS owner), what I found is both of the 2v and 6v outputs are mostly similar except that they give u different operating ranges of volume control in your preamp.
I use McIntosh c2300 (all tube) which does support up to 9V in balanced inputs mode. I connect the c2300 to 2 x Mc 275 McIntosh Power amps in mono block setup.
Initially I found 6V output to my preamp to be bit jarring at higher volume. But slowly over a period of time that went away.
At present this is what I get. With 2V the sound is always relaxed. I can keep on listening to music for hours. With 6V it is more punchy but creates some fatigue after few hours (say 2-3 hours) of listening.
Regards,
Sourav
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Maybe you can elaborate on your statement “ Ensuring the gain for the system is set up correctly”. I have a Spectral SV preamp that does not provide for any such gain manipulation. It never displayed any problem with being overdriven or clipping, and did sound clearly better when the non-APEX Vivaldi DAC was set to 6v rather than 2v. Yet the system sounds substantially better now that the APEX upgraded unit is lowered from 6v to 2v. Seems there was a change in some aspect of the hardware that caused this.
It is all about matching the output voltage of the DAC to the input voltage, or input sensitivity, of your preamp or power amp.
Overdriving the input causes distortion and clipping, but underdriving will make you loose SNR and overall SQ. Thus, matching.
I really wish we could see a volume limiter feature in a future firmware update. Driving my amp direct to rated output for example needs ~3V. 2V is too little 6V is too much. A volume limiter would help keep the user and their family out of trouble 
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Interesting topic. I’m finally getting my Rossini APEX upgrade this week. And this topic sparked some extensive music listening over the past few days. Just wanted to have heard as much as possible in the ‘old’ situation.
Right now the only thing I can say is that the Rossini is sounding just amazing as it is right now. My current system, including the Rossini, is providing by far the best music listening experience I’ve ever had in my home.
Now, bring on the upgrade!
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Honestly, I think people are fretting about nothing here. Almost always, if you play something louder it will sound “better” as long as it doesn’t distort/clip.
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I’m talking about a safety feature for users who connect directly to a power amp. My amp for example requires 3V for full power, which necessitates a 6v output from my Bartok. if one accidentally cranks the volume too high… voice coils could blow!
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Ok I see. Yes understood, and now I understand better your point.
If you were using Roon, you could do this limiting in there, just make max volume be -6dB and set output to 6V.
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To clarify: Roon volume control changes the device’s native volume just as you would if you used the volume knob. You can verify this by changing the volume on Roon and see the volume displayed on the device’s screen.
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Hi Chris,
Hint: give yourself the opportunity to hear what Q-points bring to the equation. If, according to you, they bring nothing, so much the better. You save yourself some money! For others, who already invested $$$ in a Vivaldi-stack, it will be a no-brainer.
The rack itself is isolated from ground vibrations.
Each piece of equipment is perched on Nordost Kones, which themselves sit on a very vibration/resonance-dead A Capella-base. A Nordost QPoint sits under each piece of equipment, except the clock (no improvement there). This setup also vastly improves the sound delivery of the analogue combo phono-preamp/ power amp.
A Capella bases are difficult to source. I am convinced other combinations work equally well. A little experimentation can bring much joy.
In general, I make two observations:
- manufacturers pay too little attention to vibration/ resonance. Or the wrong attention: just perch your equipment on Nordost Kones or similar. They vastly improve on the OEM feet, incl those of dCS
- cable-mania: unfortunately, cables make a HUGE difference, starting with the power cords; I was fortunate to buy my eye-wateringly priced Nordost Odin-loom 2nd hand; so why do manufacturers not chose the Clearaudio Statement phono - pictured - solution: battery-powered? One battery-pack to power the whole Vivaldi-stack. Goodbye to all these viciously expensive power cords. And probably even better results too.
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In my system 4V is a sweet spot. Playback designs provides lot more options than dCS on output voltage settings. I keep missing that switching to Vivaldi.
@James I did not understand your point of 6V for power amp. Did you mean 0.6V? If I have to run direct from Vivaldi with my power amp I have to go down to 0.2V to get the listening volume in 30 to 10 range.
I would say it depends on the gain in your amp, the sensitivity of your speakers, etc. What I would do if I were connecting directly to a power amp is I would choose an output level that makes my average listening level be at -20dB or so in the volume setting of the DAC.
I have an integrated amp - an Audio Note Kondo Ongaku - that does not have a remote… 
so I set output to 2V, set the volume on the Ongaku to the max volume I would want to play at (about 1/2 of the way) and then trim down my Rossini with Roon by -10dB or so. That way I have some leeway to tune but still close to max volume.
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Hello,
DCS system NBR + Vivaldi Dac and just got my apex upgrade. First day and first impressions; darker background, better bass texture and more relaxed analogue life like sound. I was also very happy before the upgrade and this is much better for now. I have single driver Cube Audio Nenuphar speakers and classical music is not their strongest side. With Apex upgrade classicial music sounded much better. Hope this feeling will not go away after burn-in…
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Reading to Apex forum I feel dCS is going back head on differently. dCS and Analog sound is not a right match. dCS has its own signature as a digital pioneer. I tried comparing and never was successful to get the sound from Vivaldi close to vinyl. I could do this with my previous DAC, however, how Vivaldi sounded I liked it because I have two different flavors to enjoy.
If Apex is getting close to vinyl then there are several cheaper options to move to from dCS, which I left and moved to dCS. These reviews put me think over the upgrade to Apex. I wish and hope dCS will still support non Apex Vivaldi’s in their future software upgrades.