[pippen99]

The suggested upgrade price is $9000. I believe dCS dealers have some flexibility depending on the dealer/customer relationship. The price to upgrade my Rossini to Apex was considerably less than retail due to our relationship. Since you would be buying used expect to pay full price. I cannot speak to the effectiveness of the Apex upgrade in the Bartok but the difference the Apex upgrade made in Rossini was significant.

 

[mt-hifidelity]

Quick question btw, if i don't want to go all-in on the Bartok Apex, is it possible to buy a second hand Bartok and then upgrade it later into the Apex version ? If so, anyone knows the price tag on the upgrade ? Thanks guys !

I looked at this option too. One dealer told me its about $9K-$10K for the upgrade service (I'm in the USA). I decided to wait because the cost of a used Bartok plus the upgrade didn't make a ton of sense at that time, maybe prices for used Bartoks have come down though.

 

[ThanatosVI]

I looked at this option too. One dealer told me its about $9K-$10K for the upgrade service (I'm in the USA). I decided to wait because the cost of a used Bartok plus the upgrade didn't make a ton of sense at that time, maybe prices for used Bartoks have come down though.

I wonder wether a used Bartok Apex would make sense financially.

They are probably uber rare tho

 

[Andrewteee]

If you have a dCS dealer nearby, check with them to see if they may have them available used at times. If you buy it from them, you may be able to negotiate a little off of the APEX upgrade. Plus, used from a dealer may be safer than buying individually, as they will service it if there are any issues.

 

[turbofeet]

If you have a dCS dealer nearby, check with them to see if they may have them available used at times. If you buy it from them, you may be able to negotiate a little off of the APEX upgrade. Plus, used from a dealer may be safer than buying individually, as they will service it if there are any issues.

Good advice.

Also bear in mind that typically if you buy second hand from another customer then DCS will not transfer the warranty to another individual.

You can certainly get a good deal second hand if it's a trusted source though and I'd expect if they upgrade it you will then likely possess a warranty.

 

[pippen99]

The warranty will only be on the RingDac(1 year) That is the Apex upgrade.

 

[Jarlaxe]

Thanks for the advices guys, unfortunately no DCS retailer around me or close enough, just checking on the 2hand market and i could find a couple of Bartok used around 9K€ but not sure whether it's original or Bartok 2.0.

 

[pippen99]

That does not matter. 2.0 is a software upgrade and can be done over the air.

 

[Jarlaxe]

Thanks, i thought that i addition to the software some of the hardware was also upgraded ! Have a great holidays all of you !

 

[notofthisworld]

I am currently using the Bartok with HA as an all in one box for headphone listening from various streaming services. Is there a straightforward way to incorporate a turntable with the ability to listen to vinyl through the HA?

 

[572217]

I am currently using the Bartok with HA as an all in one box for headphone listening from various streaming services. Is there a straightforward way to incorporate a turntable with the ability to listen to vinyl through the HA?

I am using a Bartók myself. Just looked at the specs. It has no analog inputs. I guess the short answer is no. You would need a separate amp which has at least two analog inputs – one for Bartók and one for the turntable. The other route would be adding an Analog–to–Digital converter, but that kind of defeats the purpose of having a turntable.

 

[pippen99]

I am not very technical but would a turntable with USB output work.

 

[572217]

I am not very technical but would a turntable with USB output work.

Yes, that should work as the Bartók has a USB input. The sound quality one gets might be questionable though, because the turntable digitises the analog signal inside and the DAC converts it to analog again.

 

[notofthisworld]

I am not very technical but would a turntable with USB output work.

Yes, that should work as the Bartók has a USB input. The sound quality one gets might be questionable though, because the turntable digitises the analog signal inside and the DAC converts it to analog again.

Thank you for the suggestion, I hadn't thought of that! IIRC the USB inbut had to be formatted correctly and have files structured in a certain manner. I'll have to see if the USB output of a turntable would be compatible.

 

[turbofeet]

Thank you for the suggestion, I hadn't thought of that! IIRC the USB inbut had to be formatted correctly and have files structured in a certain manner. I'll have to see if the USB output of a turntable would be compatible.

Maybe..something like this:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/844849-REG/ART_USBPHONOPLUS_PS_USB_Phono_Plus_Phono.html

Or this:

https://www.rega.co.uk/products/fono-mini-a2d