dCS Bartok Review

[TwoTrack]

Hey folks!

I wrote a subjective review on the dCS Bartok that I thought some here would find interesting.

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2019/10/13/dcs-bartok-dac-part-one-review/

Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[BDWoody]

Hey folks!

I wrote a subjective review on the dCS Bartok that I thought some here would find interesting.

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2019/10/13/dcs-bartok-dac-part-one-review/

Let me know if you have any questions!

You lost me at magical...

No questions from me.

 

[ahofer]

Hey folks!

I wrote a subjective review on the dCS Bartok that I thought some here would find interesting.

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2019/10/13/dcs-bartok-dac-part-one-review/

Let me know if you have any questions!

I’m curious-did you decide to post this after the two PS Audio DAC threads? I’m glad you like this incredibly expensive DAC (and the other incredibly expensive DAC), but I feel confident you will run into some skepticism here.

“I had to make a case for...spending $15k on a DAC”. I think this is a very important sentence in your review.

I’m skeptical too. For instance the “resolution” of the PS Audio DAC seems like a strange description considering its high noise floor. I’m also skeptical you could hear all the things you claim to hear in an unsighted test. I’ve even offered a large prize to charity for such challenges-presuming the two components in question measure similarly.

It does look cool.

 

[Matias]

dCS are usually very good measuring too. Wish to see them measured by Amir as well.

 

[PierreV]

That is meant to be a parody of subjective reviews, right?

 

[Dialectic]

@TwoTrack "The Bartok DAC is a lot like my new Porsche. It just works."

When "it just works" is the very low bar you set for the very expensive stuff that you're buying, one can reasonably infer that you're buying things because they're status symbols, not because they perform especially well.

I would be curious to find out whether the Bartok is competently engineered. Sadly, your review sheds no light on that important question.

I hope you enjoyed having the loaner for a few weeks or months.

 

[ahofer]

dCS are usually very good measuring too. Wish to see them measured by Amir as well.

Apparently it is another custom-download FPGA design. So it would be interesting to compare. Hope OP sends it over to Amir.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I'm pretty sure the op, Lee Scoggins, won't send it to Amir. Be nice if he would.

 

[Snafu]

"Firmware updates – it sounded to my ears like the Rossini recent update was magical and a big leap forward. "

Was there something wrong to start with ? I mean if difference was that big ?

 

[Blumlein 88]

https://www.stereophile.com/content/dcs-bartok-da-processorheadphone-amplifier-measurements

Good results in Stereophile measurements.

 

[ahofer]

https://www.stereophile.com/content/dcs-bartok-da-processorheadphone-amplifier-measurements

Good results in Stereophile measurements.

IM distortion a bit high, some interesting anomalies between filters. But overall an improvement on the PSAs.

 

[Blumlein 88]

IM distortion a bit high, some interesting anomalies between filters. But overall an improvement on the PSAs.

The IMD is high with some filters. So it is more aliasing than distortion. With the steeper filters it looks plenty good.

 

[ahofer]

The IMD is high with some filters. So it is more aliasing than distortion. With the steeper filters it looks plenty good.

Thanks for clarifying. It gets a little confusing with all the different filter tests.

 

[daftcombo]

Can't spot it from an apple dongle in an ABX I guess.

 

[TwoTrack]

I'm pretty sure the op, Lee Scoggins, won't send it to Amir. Be nice if he would.

That's up to dCS as I sent it to the Qobuz team at RMAF after the review period ended. Now it's in Brian Hunter's hands for part 2 of the review.

 

[TwoTrack]

@TwoTrack "The Bartok DAC is a lot like my new Porsche. It just works."

When "it just works" is the very low bar you set for the very expensive stuff that you're buying, one can reasonably infer that you're buying things because they're status symbols, not because they perform especially well.

I would be curious to find out whether the Bartok is competently engineered. Sadly, your review sheds no light on that important question.

I hope you enjoyed having the loaner for a few weeks or months.

By "it just works", I meant that every function was logically laid out in terms of user experience and that the sound quality was superb on every input. I've had a lot of DACs in my two systems and you would be surprised how many are a. difficult to use, and b. offer differing sound quality on each input.

 

[BDWoody]

Can't spot it from an apple dongle in an ABX I guess.

By "it just works", I meant that every function was logically laid out in terms of user experience and that the sound quality was superb on every input. I've had a lot of DACs in my two systems and you would be surprised how many are a. difficult to use, and b. offer differing sound quality on each input.

Would you be willing to bet a meaningful amount that you could tell these differences between DAC's if you made your listening impressions with the output levels matched, and the test done blind? In other words, in a meaningful listening test, rather than a marketing pitch? If you are, you will likely get a lot of takers..

 

[LTig]

Hey folks!

I wrote a subjective review on the dCS Bartok that I thought some here would find interesting.

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2019/10/13/dcs-bartok-dac-part-one-review/

Let me know if you have any questions!

Uh huh - this should suffice.

 

[BillG]

I wrote a subjective review on the dCS Bartok that I thought some here would find interesting.

You lost me at the word "subjective"...

 

[TwoTrack]

Would you be willing to bet a meaningful amount that you could tell these differences between DAC's if you made your listening impressions with the output levels matched, and the test done blind? In other words, in a meaningful listening test, rather than a marketing pitch? If you are, you will likely get a lot of takers..

Sure. I've done double blind tests before. I work on recordings and it's often part of the process when we test ADCs and microphones.