Hi. I’m new here. I’m currently looking to update my Scarlatti.DAC. And I was wondering if anybody here had a Vivaldi.apex DAC for sale. Finished in silver.
Please pm me if you have one for sale or are thinking of selling.
I’m located in Evesham. Thanks for reading my post.
Remember this facility :
https://dcsaudio.com/certifiedpreowned
Before jumping make sure that Vivaldi is the correct product for you as you may require the Vivaldi Upsampler too ( as this not only upsamples but also provides streaming) and the system clock. If you are currently using Scarlatti clock this is not compatible with Vivaldi as the latter requires a clock that can produce two frequencies simultaneously.
Didn’t realise I would need the Vivaldi clock. I’ve got a Scarlatti clock I assumed it would be compatible.
I wasn’t interested in the upsampler option.
I got onboard early on with dCS. I had the original Elgar. Upgraded to Elgar plus when it was released and took the full stack. Purcell, Verdi. Verona. The upsampler didn’t get used.
Hi Pete. Had a bit of a panic when I read your comment. So I contacted DCS support.
I’m not interested in streaming, and I’ll only be playing cd and sacd using the scarlatti transport.
Under these circumstances, I was advised that the Scarlatti clock would be compatible as it would be set to 44.1 and would not require two simultaneous clock frequencies
There’s a full stack available in France, sold by a dCS authorized dealer (1877.audio - I don’t know them).
All Silver: 60k€
I’m sure they can ship it to UK.
Risk: custom fees since Brexit???
Yes, I was thinking of adding that the clock is not an issue if your sole use is silver disc. Of course if you only play these the penalty is that by not streaming or file storage you not only miss out out ton hearing he vast amount of music that you do not own copies of but are not likely to have access to high resolution files, these being a major reason for own Vivaldi in the first place.
Another big issue with using only a silver disc transport is that it will eventually fail. The laser degrades over time. Spares are now hard to find though dCS has ( or had) a stock of them for the Neoteric drive that is used in Scarlatti. I do not know the current situation. Most people here have moved to mainly streaming/file storage for this reason.
Bear in mind that Rossini Apex or ( probably) Bartok Apex will still be an improvement on Scarlatti. You also get streaming with these with no fuss further than trying the free test that the services provide. You will probably find that you will not want to give it up 
.
Vivaldi Apex is less common to find used as if you own one then you keep it, in the main only those being able to afford Varese are likely to move.
Good luck!
does the Scarlatti use that drive? I thought it was teac vrds mechanism
I don’t think there would be any way of avoiding import tax on something like that. I’ve purchased several high-end cables from a dealer in Europe, and they’ve come through without any additional tax. But they are bits of wire. It would be fair to say that the folks working in UK customs are unlikely to know one cable from another. So I got the dealer to declare a value of £90. And it passed through the system without any additional cost. I doubt I’d be able to pull the same trick with a Vivaldi.DAC
It is a VRDS design. Esoteric is the premium range of Teac. Neoteric is ( or was) the top drive of the Esoteric line. That’s one reason why Scarlatti CD/SACD player cost so much 
.
I thought that I had better add that Rossini Player would not suit you as it cannot play SACDs.
There is a Vivaldi Apex dac on eBay right now and the seller also has the Vivaldi upsampler, but they are in black.
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To help the OP it may assist if you let him know which eBay you refer to as there are different ones by territory and your profile does not show where you are.
The black DAC and upsampler belong to Nick at the Emporium. I had it under consideration, but my preference is for a silver unit.
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Search for dCS Vivaldi on hifishark.com.
Before importing from abroad, check for customs and duties.
Search for Vivaldi DAC is over. Now need to find a new home for my Scarlatti DAC. Does this forum have a thread where members can offer equipment for sale?
I am afraid not. There was a thread about this subject a couple of years ago and I think that this from Phil ( from dCS and a moderator) sums up the position:
However forum members can carry out transactions by DMs. You therefore might hear from someone who wants a Scarlatti.
Oh. Ok. Well, if anybody is in the market for a Scarlatti just send me a message. It’s advertised in the usual places. eBay , hi-fi for sale uk and Maverick.
Hope I don’t get sellers remorse, once I take delivery of the Vivaldi Apex. I should be getting that piece of kit sometime in the next week or so. It’s coming from Paul at Weald audio. A good guy, and an authorised reseller of used DCS kit.
I think that will be unlikely. However full realisation of what Vivaldi can do may not be immediate. So give time to explore it. I was listening pre-Apex in the days when I first installed it and Apex is a yet further significant improvement.
Give it a couple of weeks and let us know how you are finding it.
Will do Pete. Apparently there is only 10 hours on the unit. How long does it take to burn in?
I guess it takes as long as it takes you to decide that it is burned in. From new ( not used before) I guess that , for me, a couple of weeks switched on 24/7. It may have got a little better thereon. However that may not be relevant as yours is a pre-used unit. 10 hours? Then did you find out why he sold it?