[SuperBurrito]

My bartok has finally arrived at the dealer ....

Congrats! I look forward to your impressions.

 

[Jon773]

My bartok has finally arrived at the dealer .... a mere 8 weeks after I placed the order. I should be able to get my hands on it by wednesday I think. This is by far the longest I have ever waited for a component but I’m hoping that this will be it ( at least for a while). In this time I’ve also picked up a used viva audio egoista 845 and Will pair it with the bartok. has anyone paired a tube amp with the bartok?

Did you get the DAC only version of the Bartok?

Be interesting to hear your comparison if you have the HP version.

And dont worry, you can always get the Rossini Clock if you need that little bit extra

 

[Acemcl]

Did you get the DAC only version of the Bartok?

Be interesting to hear your comparison if you have the HP version.

And dont worry, you can always get the Rossini Clock if you need that little bit extra

I got the headphone version as i figured it would be easier to sell when and if i decide to upgrade to a Rossini. When i did some of my demos, my ranking in increasing order of preference was:

Bartok
Bartok + clock
Rossini
Rossini+clock

Will def post impressions once I've run thru the burn-in cycle

 

[Jon773]

I got the headphone version as i figured it would be easier to sell when and if i decide to upgrade to a Rossini. When i did some of my demos, my ranking in increasing order of preference was:

Bartok
Bartok + clock
Rossini
Rossini+clock

Will def post impressions once I've run thru the burn-in cycle

Ah good; and same ranking i had from my research. Although i added Vivaldi and Vivaldi+Clock to the bottom

Enjoy your Bartok, it really is a superb piece of HiFi equipment; and I look forward to hearing your updates.

 

[Acemcl]

Ah good; and same ranking i had from my research. Although i added Vivaldi and Vivaldi+Clock to the bottom

Enjoy your Bartok, it really is a superb piece of HiFi equipment; and I look forward to hearing your updates.

might have to sell a kidney or two before i can think of a Vivaldi

 

[Jon773]

Yeah I think i am done with Bartok + Rossini Clock to be honest, the performance is exceptionally good. Next step up is an expensive one as I would need a HP amp with the Rossini DAC + cables. Best not to listen to one i think

 

[buzzlulu]

I started out with a Bartok HA for a separate headphone only system away from my two channel room. It so impressed me that after two months I traded it back and moved to a Rossini/Clock which now suppliants my Linn KDS in my 2 channel system. The Linn now does headphone duties.

The Linn costs almost double what the Bartok does - yet the Bartok was constantly nipping at it's heels. It is an impressive box. With that said try the Bartok with an external amplifier like a GSX Mini and let me know what you think

 

[Jon773]

I have a friend with a Benchmark HPA4 and after lockdown we were talking about trying it with the Bartok to see how it performed against the internal HP amp. I have read a few positive reports from people who have this setup.

 

[Acemcl]

I have a friend with a Benchmark HPA4 and after lockdown we were talking about trying it with the Bartok to see how it performed against the internal HP amp. I have read a few positive reports from people who have this setup.

I have heard the Bartok paired with the HPA-4. You definitely get more low end grunt. Interestingly this was evident not only for the Abyss 1266 which is hard to drive but also in the case of my Focals

Where this gets tricky is for the price of a Benchmark HPA-4 you can get a barely used Luxman P750u.... choices choices

 

[Jon773]

I have heard the Bartok paired with the HPA-4. You definitely get more low end grunt. Interestingly this was evident not only for the Abyss 1266 which is hard to drive but also in the case of my Focals

Where this gets tricky is for the price of a Benchmark HPA-4 you can get a barely used Luxman P750u.... choices choices

But is the Luxman a step up from the HPA4... I hadn't read that it was...

 

[Acemcl]

But is the Luxman a step up from the HPA4... I hadn't read that it was...

it's not so much as a step up, it's more a matter of taste....the point was in that price range, there's quite a few options

 

[Peti]

I'm wondering if someone can enlighten me about the sonic qualities of the usb dongle input. I am planning to use the Bartok offline, with a USB stick attached and navigation will be made on the front panel. All my music is 44.1-192 & DSD64-128 so I'm good on that front with the usb dongle input but does it sound as good as with the other inputs? Thanks in advance!

 

[Skywatcher]

I'm wondering if someone can enlighten me about the sonic qualities of the usb dongle input. I am planning to use the Bartok offline, with a USB stick attached and navigation will be made on the front panel. All my music is 44.1-192 & DSD64-128 so I'm good on that front with the usb dongle input but does it sound as good as with the other inputs? Thanks in advance!

In terms of sound quality there's no reason why you shouldn't get the same quality, as the files will be "local" to the DAC, so you are actually removing several possible points of failure (a dodgy cable, network troubles, etc.). The bits will be there at the DAC's disposal at all times so, barring any hardware failure on your USB stick, you should be all set.

I would probably use the Mosaic app for navigation of the USB stick contents though. Sounds a lot more intuitive and less "fiddly" that trying to use the more limited menu navigation with the front buttons (limited in the sense of less intuitive/harder to use). This would mean connecting the Bartók to the network, even if just to receive commands from the Mosaic app.

Edit: Of course connecting the DAC to the network is also advisable for firmware updates. Mine is alwys connected as I only use it as a Roon endpoint for both local files and Qobuz streaming. I actually need to test if the USB works as I've never tried it

 

[Jon773]

I'm wondering if someone can enlighten me about the sonic qualities of the usb dongle input. I am planning to use the Bartok offline, with a USB stick attached and navigation will be made on the front panel. All my music is 44.1-192 & DSD64-128 so I'm good on that front with the usb dongle input but does it sound as good as with the other inputs? Thanks in advance!

This question has been asked before on the dCS forums and the best SQ is from Ethernet. This was the response from a dCS person.

 

[Peti]

I would love to hear your feedback on the (potential) differences between the input you use now vs. usb stick

I actually need to test if the USB works as I've never tried it

This question has been asked before on the dCS forums and the best SQ is from Ethernet. This was the response from a dCS person.

I am not sure if I understand it right, but for the "Ethernet" input you would need a streaming service, right?