We have had a long relationship with the dCS Bartók and have been champing at the bit, awaiting it to be blessed with the Ring DAC Apex tech of its peers. So we are pleased to announce the dCS Bartók Apex's arrival.

The dCS Bartók Apex is the latest generation of the network streaming DAC. The original received an Applause Award after a deep-dive review where we said, “it moves digital audio another step closer to musical reality.”

Then Bartók was updated with its 'Bartók 2.0' software last year. This saw an upgraded mapping algorithm that controlled its dCS Ring DAC technology and introduced new digital filters and improvements to its DSD upsampling, the result of which we announced as “a revelation” in our review, and it duly received a Product of the Year Award!

The Bartók Apex gets more advanced hardware and software via the company's Ring DAC Apex technology which promises a further evolution in performance.

This technology, introduced to dCS's top-end Vivaldi and Rossini products in 2022, features changes to the reference power supply that feeds the DAC circuitry alongside new components with a reconfigured layout on the circuit board. There is also an all-new output stage.

Additionally, the software has been revised with Bartók now featuring three Mapper settings as well as DSD128 capability and an additional filter setting for DSD.

We are told that Bartók Apex sees noise and distortion further reduced and linearity increased by over 12dB.

With the launch of Bartók Apex, dCS is also making its Ring DAC Apex hardware available to existing Bartók owners through a global upgrade programme from March 2023. Owners of the dCS Bartók are eligible to purchase upgrades, allowing them to receive the latest generation hardware without buying a new system.

Customers who purchase an upgrade (£7,500) will receive the new Apex hardware, plus a new Apex escutcheon. dCS will also issue a one-year warranty on all upgraded units, free of charge.

The dCS Bartók Apex is available either with an integrated headphone amplifier (£21,500) or without (£19,000) in black or silver.

Visit dCS for more information