DCS Vivaldi

[BrazCole]

Congratulations ! It gets better with some burn in time...every time I listen to my 3 Vivaldi pieces...I am just happy. And I'm a vinyl bigot...The Vivaldi and a great SACD or DSD download can amaze. I haven't tried the upsampler yet either...but suspect I will soon. My dealer has a Scarlatti...all 4 pieces..and up sampling cds sounds better to me on his system.

Humm... Humm... I don't think so. After my experience with Paganini's 4 boxes (I sold the Upsampler after a couple of months), I could say that if you don't use computer (or another stuff) you don't need the Vivaldi Upsampler.

I have Siltech Double Crown for interconect and digital cables. The power cord is Nordost Odin. But for loudspeaker cables I use a regular electric cable, something like 40 dollars 5 meters, because IMO if the cooper is very good any speaker cable is good.

Alexandria XLF
Classe CA-M600
Classe CP-800
I have a $150.00 turntable (I forgot the name)
2 Isoteks EVO3 Sigmas

 

[jfrech]

Humm... Humm... I don't think so. After my experience with Paganini's 4 boxes (I sold the Upsampler after a couple of months), I could say that if you don't use computer (or another stuff) you don't need the Vivaldi Upsampler.

I have Siltech Double Crown for interconect and digital cables. The power cord is Nordost Odin. But for loudspeaker cables I use a regular electric cable, something like 40 dollars 5 meters, because IMO if the cooper is very good any speaker cable is good.

Alexandria XLF
Classe CA-M600
Classe CP-800
I have a $150.00 turntable (I forgot the name)
2 Isoteks EVO3 Sigmas

With your speakers...have you tried something else for speaker cable? Like Transparent, Purist or even Siltech? Just curious...

Do you many play SACD's? If so, I can better understand your comments on a upsampler...

 

[BrazCole]

Yeah, man, I tried some. None of these you mentioned, but they were respected. I prefer not to say the names.

But after I've received the Vivaldi I'm waiting out the review of the Emperor Triple Crown to find out if I’ll buy this cable or the Emperor Double Crown.

I have a few SACDs, they are hard to buy in Brazil, ie practically only have CDs.

I like the ritual of taking a CD and put it in the player.
Like vinyl, why not?

I have no computer for music.

 

[PeterA]

I like the ritual of taking a CD and put it in the player.
Like vinyl, why not?

That is fantastic. The first reference I have read anywhere that mentions the "ritual" of playing a CD and comparing the experience to playing vinyl. I guess after swiping the screen of an iPad to select music tracks, this analogy makes sense.

Someone needs to draw a cartoon of this one. Thanks BrazCole. That is an excellent and very funny comment.

 

[BrazCole]

...I guess after swiping the screen of an iPad to select music tracks, this analogy makes sense...

That's it.

Enjoy the sea.

 

[caesar]

I have only two pieces, the DAC and the Upsampler. I have an Esoteric K-01 for spinning discs, which if fine for now. I may try the clock at some point but for me the Upsampler made a huge difference and it saved me from having to get a separate device for streaming music from my NAS or the Internet . You should definitely give a listen to the Upsampler in your system and make sure it is properly setup.

Ksalno,

How would you compare the house sound of the dCS Vivaldi to the sound of the Esoteric? Obviosuly the K01 is not in the same price bracket as the Vivaldi, but to my ears, its sonic signature is very similar to the Grandioso stack, with the more expensive just having more of everything the K01 does.

 

[ksalno]

Ksalno,

How would you compare the house sound of the dCS Vivaldi to the sound of the Esoteric? Obviosuly the K01 is not in the same price bracket as the Vivaldi, but to my ears, its sonic signature is very similar to the Grandioso stack, with the more expensive just having more of everything the K01 does.

Caesar,
I haven't had an opportunity to do a true A:B between the Vivaldi disk player and the Esoteric. For almost 2x the price, I would hope it is noticeably better. The reality is, all of my CDs and SACDs are ripped to a NAS, so I stream much more frequently than I play physical disks, so even if it is better, I wouldn't get enough use from it to pay off. I understand the Vivaldi uses an Esoteric transport but I'm sure it will have an advantage with the Upsampler and DAC.

My next move will be to add the Vivaldi clock, which I can also use with the Esoteric, so it will be interesting to see what kind of upgrade I get from that.

Karl

 

[jfrech]

Caesar,
I haven't had an opportunity to do a true A:B between the Vivaldi disk player and the Esoteric. For almost 2x the price, I would hope it is noticeably better. The reality is, all of my CDs and SACDs are ripped to a NAS, so I stream much more frequently than I play physical disks, so even if it is better, I wouldn't get enough use from it to pay off. I understand the Vivaldi uses an Esoteric transport but I'm sure it will have an advantage with the Upsampler and DAC.

My next move will be to add the Vivaldi clock, which I can also use with the Esoteric, so it will be interesting to see what kind of upgrade I get from that.

Karl

The clock is a nice upgrade. More focus and more majestic. But more delicate too. It's hard to go back once you've tried it

 

[ozy]

Just went thru the recent s/w upgrade(v 1.20) on all my vivaldi components and the sound improvements are noticeable- definitely a must do.
Thank you john Quick for you help.

 

[ksalno]

Just went thru the recent s/w upgrade(v 1.20) on all my vivaldi components and the sound improvements are noticeable- definitely a must do.
Thank you john Quick for you help.

Supposed to be more to come this Fall with an upgrade/replacement of the iPad app and hopefully Roon OEM, similar to the Rossini

 

[Enatai252]

I will be updating my Vivaldi stack to v1.20 this week. I have previously updated to v1.10 and the process is relatively simple. It does take some time as each update requires a audio file to run and they are each about 45-50 min long. I have also heard that a more substantial update is coming this fall. I have had the Vivaldi stack in my system for 2+ years now and have yet to hear anything that works better in my system.

 

[microstrip]

I will be updating my Vivaldi stack to v1.20 this week. I have previously updated to v1.10 and the process is relatively simple. It does take some time as each update requires a audio file to run and they are each about 45-50 min long. I have also heard that a more substantial update is coming this fall. I have had the Vivaldi stack in my system for 2+ years now and have yet to hear anything that works better in my system.

Do you know if the fall update will be just a software update?

 

[Enatai252]

Do you know if the fall update will be just a software update?

That is my understanding. SW updates to DAC and upsampler to improve performance and provide new features

 

[Enatai252]

That is my understanding. SW updates to DAC and upsampler to improve performance and provide new features

Also should be an update to the iOS app

 

[microstrip]

Also should be an update to the iOS app

Thanks.

 

[Enatai252]

I upgraded my clock, up sampler and DAC to V1.20 today along with up sampler firmware update to V63. Really easy to do. The changes from V1.10 are minor. If you don't have V1.10 yet then I highly recommend the update. Otherwise I don't think you miss much waiting for the new software later this fall which should be substantial

 

[Enatai252]

Went to listen tonight and noticed the Vivaldi app updated and has a different look and feel. Not sure it added much but is working well. Still awaiting the next round of software updates. Performance of the DAC continues to amaze me

 

[ksalno]

Agree, I discovered the new version last Tuesday night but since I don't normally use the app, I didn't realize it was different until you mentioned it. I'm hoping to get an update on the "big" update for the firmware this coming weekend from John Quick at a local dealer event.

 

[Enatai252]

Agree, I discovered the new version last Tuesday night but since I don't normally use the app, I didn't realize it was different until you mentioned it. I'm hoping to get an update on the "big" update for the firmware this coming weekend from John Quick at a local dealer event.

Here is my understanding of changes to app


Improved Browsing
· Grid based album art view
· Improved indexing display
· Improved support for large libraries
· Search box and search capability
· New album view with album art background

iPod/iPhone/iPad browsing and Playback
· Limited to 48kS/s Apple limit and wireless network capability

Input Selection
· The app has a new user interface where it presents the user with an Input Selection bar. (CD, Queue, along the top of the ‘Play’ view.

Input Naming
· Using the app the user can rename Vivaldi Upsampler inputs

CD Transport Control
· This requires a RS232 crossover cable between VUP and VTT and allows the user to control Vivaldi Transport from the app. Functions provided include track selection, open/close, play/pause, stop etc

DSD Playback
· Updated the MIME type conversions to allow for direct DSD playback support.

 

[jfrech]

My dCS Vivaldi Upsampler arrives tomorrow. I can't wait I'm at v1.2 on the other Vivaldi components