[TDinCali]

So the wait for the bartok is too long for me but I'm not familiar with other TOTL AIO units. Who would you recommend I do some research on that is on par or better than a bartok? Is there such a thing? (bonus if I don't have to wait weeks for it)

 

[DJJEZ]

So the wait for the bartok is too long for me but I'm not familiar with other TOTL AIO units. Who would you recommend I do some research on that is on par or better than a bartok? Is there such a thing? (bonus if I don't have to wait weeks for it)

I would suggest you get in the queue for the bartok cause for AIO's it's gonna be crazy hard to beat

 

[ThanatosVI]

If all in one means including streamer/Server unit then there really isn't anything else on par, maybe the Mola Mola Tambaqui.
A few cheaper and possibly worse units are available but the full package is rare.

If a DAC/AMP unit is also fine then there are more options and my top recommendation is the T+A Ha200.

 

[Pastwa]

Probably Boulder 812 would be the most obvious choice:

https://boulderamp.com/products/812-dac-preamplifier-coming-soon/

 

[mammal]

So the wait for the bartok is too long for me but I'm not familiar with other TOTL AIO units. Who would you recommend I do some research on that is on par or better than a bartok? Is there such a thing? (bonus if I don't have to wait weeks for it)

Before going for Bartók I did consider Mola Mola, but found a couple of issues with it: 1) no headphone jack on the front of the unit; 2) No volume control on front of the unit (you control it mainly in the app, so perhaps not a problem for you, but for me it would have been); 3) and most importantly, no one mentioned that it can actually drive AB-1266. I am also not good at deciphering their specs.

I see you are currently running full XI Audio stack (Sagra, Formula S + Powerman). When I spoke to Joe from Abyss, in his view, there is no better all-in-one for AB-1266 than Bartók. Not sure however, how many he tried, as their video reviews are mainly focusing on amps, than dacs.

 

[Ciggavelli]

There’s the soon to be released Mytek Empire

https://www.moon-audio.com/mytek-empire-streaming-dac-preamp.html

 

[mammal]

There’s the soon to be released Mytek Empire

The display really looks nice, I wish Bartok would show an album art.

 

[paradoxper]

Far easier to design a great amp than DAC.

Good luck finding a better AIO implementation than dCS.

 

[Pastwa]

The Mytek looks promising, however, at 20k$ they should have come up with their own 'FPGA module' instead off the shelf Sabre chip.

 

[mammal]

The Mytek looks promising, however, at 20k$ they should have come up with their own 'FPGA module' instead off the shelf Sabre chip.

I am hoping they spent all that money on making an off the shelf chip sound good.

 

[Tanalasta]

Wow. That is expensive. Especially for a chip based system.

The Naim headphone edition has my vote for best all in one that’s not Bartok and VFM. It’s not in the same league DAC, soundstage or resolution etc but it’s a quarter of the price.

Naim’s AIO implementation is better than the Bartok. SQ is much better in the latter (so it should be)

 

[mammal]

After owning Bartok for a while, I wanted to update you all on how it is to live with one. I got lucky, as I bought it before dCS raised their prices (Brexit/Pandemic I guess). Since dCS is known more for their DACs than headphone amps (this is their first one, as far as I know), I must say that I am impressed by it every day.

I had it plugged into Viva Egoista 845 tube amplifier and the difference was there, but not significant for me to warrant its 12.5k EUR price tag. To work around 1266's recessed mids, I have purchased Riviera AIC-10 hybrid amplifier and that one feels less transparent than Bartok or Viva, BUT colours the mids so much so that I prefer 1266 now over Susvara now.

And Roon, Airplay and Spotify (one day HiFi I presume) just brings it home - what an AIO device Bartok is, I highly recommend it to you all.

 

[vcoheda]

i briefly looked into dac/amp combos but decided to stick with a separate unit configuration, mainly because of the 1000+ CDs that i own.

these are the products i considered (sorted low to high in terms of price), although the esoteric and dcs were definitely outside my budget.

- Schiit Ragnarok 'Fully Loaded' ($1,799)
- SPL Phonitor XE Desktop Headphone Amplifier with DAC ($2,999)
- Naim Uniti Atom Headphone Edition ($3,290)
- Violectric V590 Headphone Amp / DAC 'Pro Model' ($4,099)
- Bricasti Design M3h DAC/Amp ($6,000)
- T+A HA 200 ($8,900)
- Esoteric N-05XD ($11,000)
- dCS Bartok wtith Headphone Amplifier ($14,500 -- new price is $18,500)

 

[ThanatosVI]

i briefly looked into dac/amp combos but decided to stick with a separate unit configuration, mainly because of the 1000+ CDs that i own.

these are the products i considered (sorted low to high in terms of price), although the esoteric and dcs were definitely outside my budget.

- Schiit Ragnarok 'Fully Loaded' ($1,799)
- SPL Phonitor XE Desktop Headphone Amplifier with DAC ($2,999)
- Naim Uniti Atom Headphone Edition ($3,290)
- Violectric V590 Headphone Amp / DAC 'Pro Model' ($4,099)
- Bricasti Design M3h DAC/Amp ($6,000)
- Esoteric N-05XD ($11,000)
- dCS Bartok wtith Headphone Amplifier ($14,500)

The T+A Ha200 shouldn't be missing on that list (6.300€)

 

[mammal]

- dCS Bartok wtith Headphone Amplifier ($14,500)

I believe dCS has increased pricing in August, new will cost you now 18'500