dCS Rossini APEX DAC

Powerful and graceful too, the Rossini renders music with the utmost precision and care, delivering a fluid and natural sound without the slightest hint of harshness or glare. From the softest strings to the sharpest brass, and the quietest intake of breath, it unearths each aspect of a recording to reveal a performance that feels layered, lifelike and whole.
No matter how complex the music, it never loses its composure, or its sense of rhythm and flow, tracking even the swiftest shift in dynamics and pace with a sense of utter control. With its unshakable focus and astonishing insight, it presents a holographic view of a recording, and the atmosphere and space in which a performance takes place.
Designed and hand-assembled at our headquarters in Cambridgeshire, England, the Rossini is born from meticulous craft, exhaustive development and an obsessive attention to detail - a relentless pursuit of musical purity that has inspired us to push the limits of sound reproduction.
Combining robust engineering with an elegant aesthetic, the Rossini is built to withstand even the most intensive use and deliver a truly immersive sound at all levels and outputs. With its flexible, future-proof design, it’s a system that can grow and evolve, delivering a state-of-the-art listening experience for years to come.
An esteemed cohort to our renowned Vivaldi system, it features our proprietary Ring DAC system, digital processing platform, and clocking architecture - a combination of hardware and software that is unrivalled in its sonic and technical performance.
New for 2022, the Rossini APEX benefits from the latest generation dCS Ring DAC APEX hardware. This major upgrade brings a range of measured and sonic improvements, allowing us to further enhance the performance of this much-loved and multi-award-winning system, and provide an even richer experience for listeners.

Limitless Potential

Compatible with all high-resolution music formats, from DSD to PCM, DXD and MQA, the Rossini is a system that can flex to serve whatever mood or music you ask it to. Whether you’re streaming or spinning discs, it provides stunning sound and an effortless listening experience.
Both the Rossini Player and DAC provide instant access to music from a wide range of sources - including streaming services, external devices and storage drives. In addition, each system offers internal upsampling and a choice of filtering options, allowing you to tailor its performance to suit your listening setup and musical tastes.
Playback is easily managed via our Mosaic control app, which allows you to browse music from multiple platforms - including Roon, TIDAL, Qobuz, Deezer, Spotify, Internet Radio and Apple Airplay - and control all of the settings on your system through a single, intuitive interface.
With the Rossini transport, you can experience stunning sound from CDs or SACDs, upsampling CD data to high-resolution DSD, DSD/128 or DXD for even greater resolution and detail, or playing both CDs and SACDs in their native formats. An additional downsampling option is also available for SACD data.

• Latest generation dCS Digital Processing Platform brings state-of-the-art signal processing and flexibility
• dCS Ring DAC APEX, as used in Vivaldi playback system, delivers enhanced sonic and technical performance
• High quality streaming from TIDAL, Qobuz, Deezer and internet radio via the dCS Mosaic Control app
• Roon Ready, AirPlay, Spotify Connect and UPnP compatible
• USB, AES, Dual AES and S/PDIF digital audio inputs.
• Accepts encrypted SACD data from dCS Transport via Dual AES inputs
• Multi-stage DXD oversampling design with optional DSD upsampling; user-selectable DSP and DSD filters.
• Auto clocking system improves ease of use and minimises jitter.
• Multi-stage power regulation and twin mains transformers isolate analogue, digital and clock circuitry.
• Firmware-upgradeable for future functionality and performance upgrades.
• Features a full MQA™ decoder. This MQA™ implementation is unique, as it is the first opportunity to enable a DAC which, by providing exact rendering to beyond 16x (768 kHz), matches the desired temporal response with very low modulation noise.

• Type: Upsampling Network DAC.
• Finish: Silver or Black
• Converter Type: dCS proprietary Ring DACTM topology. Operates at 6MHz (Map 1 or 3) or 3MHz (Map 2)
• Digital Inputs: Ethernet network port on RJ45 connector, accepts 24-bit 44.1 – 384kS/s PCM, DSD/64 & DSD128 in DFF/DSF format; USB 2.0 interface on B-type connector, accepts 24-bit 44.1 – 384kS/s PCM, DSD/64 & DSD128 in DoP format; USB On-The-Go interface on A-type connector, accepts 24-bit 44.1 – 384kS/s PCM, DSD/64 & DSD128 in DFF/DSF format; 2 x AES/EBU inputs on 3-pin female XLR connectors, accepts 24-bit 44.1 – 192kS/s PCM, DSD/64 & DSD/128 in DoP format; 1x Dual AES pair, accepts 24-bit 88.2 – 384kS/s PCM, DSD/64 & DSD/128 in DoP format; 1 x SPDIF on RCA Phono connector, accepts 24-bit 44.1 – 192kS/s PCM & DSD/64 in DoP format; 1x SPDIF on BNC connector, accepts 24-bit 44.1 – 192kS/s PCM & DSD/64 in DoP format; 1 x SPDIF optical on TOSLINK connector, accepts 24-bit 44.1 – 96kS/s PCM
• Analogue Outputs: 1 x pair balanced outputs on 2 x XLR connectors. Output levels: 0.2V, 0.6V, 2V, 6V rms for a full-scale input, set in the menu. Output impedance: 3Ω. Maximum load: 600Ω (10k-100kΩ is recommended); 1 x pair unbalanced outputs on 2 x RCA connectors. Output levels: 0.2V, 0.6V, 2V, 6V rms for a full-scale input, set in the menu. Output impedance: 52Ω. Maximum load: 600Ω (10k-100kΩ is recommended)
• Wordclock I/O: 2 x Word Clock Inputs on 2 x BNC connectors, accept standard Word Clock at 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 or 192kHz. The data rate can be the same as the clock rate or an exact multiple of the clock rate. Sensitive to TTL levels. 1 x Word Clock Output on 1 x BNC connector. With Sync Mode set to Master, a TTL-compatible Word Clock is output
• MQA: Full decoding and rendering of MQA data from the Network and USB2 inputs. Final rendering of unfolded MQA data only from the other inputs
• Residual Noise: 24-bit data: Better than –113dB0, 20Hz - 20kHz unweighted. (6V output setting)
• L R Crosstalk: Better than -115dB0, 20Hz – 20kHz
• Spurious Responses: Better than -105dB0, 20Hz – 20kH
• Filters: PCM mode: up to 6 filters give different trade-offs between the Nyquist image rejection and the phase response. DSD mode: 4 filters progressively reduce out-of-audio band noise level
• Conversions: User selectable PCM upsampling to DXD, DSD or DSDx2
• Software Updates: Loaded from CD-R via PCM digital inputs or PC via USB input. Download and update functionality available via dCS Mosaic App
• Local Control: dCS Mosaic App for Unit Configuration and Music Playback. RS232 interface (controlled by a 3rd party automation system). IR remote control – dCS Universal Remote available as an optional extra
• Power Supply: Factory set to either 100, 115/120, 220 or 230/240V AC, 50-60Hz
• Power Consumption: 23 Watts typical / 28 Watts maximum
• Operating Systems: Windows Vista / 7 / 8.1 / 10, Mac OSX 10.10. dCS USB driver is required for Windows in Audio Class 2 Mode
• Dimensions: 444mm / 17.5” x 435mm / 17.2” x 125mm / 5.0“. Allow extra depth for cable connectors
• Weight: 15.6kg/34.3lbs