Hi Everyone,
So Billy and I were extremely privileged to be invite to dCS Audio on Wednesday to be one of the 1st in the world to hear the new 5 box flagship Varese music system.
Now I must try and keep my enthusiasm in check here as it is not very often that I am left speechless but when doing a direct comparison to the incredible Vivaldi stack the difference really was quite startling but it is really hard to put it into words as it is like nothing I have head before.
It wasn’t just better in the normal area’s like you would expect, ie more detail, more clarity and separation, tighter bass etc, yes it did all that stuff but it was fundamentally a very different presentation, it was just so big, it went beyond the walls, you felt like you could climb into the recording and have a look round, sounds mad I know but it was quite a confusing experience, Billy and I just sat listening gobsmacked at what we were hearing.
We started off listening to the Vivaldi and it really did sound excellent and I was sitting on the sofa infront of the Wilson Alexx V’s hoping I could hear a difference, how embarrassing would that have been but once switched to the Varese the whole system came alive, not in a subtle way but in a way that I have never heard a source change things that much before.
As I said at the time when we switched from Vivaldi to Varese it was as if the guys at dCS had also changed the amps and speakers too as the speakers sounded much bigger and the amp more effortless, it really did give the whole system a massive lift.
We sat through a really interesting presentation on how over 5 years or R&D has gone into Varese and how it is a 100% new ground up design where they really have re-invented what is possible with digital audio, there are so many innovative ideas that have gone into this and several patents it really does feel like a new dawn for digital music playback.
It is also worth mentioning that even though this is arguably the best source on the planet now it has been designed to be extremely easy to setup and use, each box is connected by one single, very clever, ‘Actus’ cable now and all the clock settings are now automatic, this really is high end plug and play. There will be a new Varese CD/SACD Transport coming along soon + the Core has slots in where you can plug in optional cards with other feature sets you may like such as an HDMI board or even adding some analogue inputs for people that have a turntable or reel to reel but don’t want a preamp, it really does have all the bases covered.
Ah yeah I forgot to mention that screen, other than being very cool that again is the heart of what makes the system so easy to use, basically the user interface, being touch screen you actually don’t need to open up your iPad now to get music playing as with one click on either the screen or the new funky remote you’ll have music filling your room, it really does sound like dCS have thought of everything here. Also when the new CD/SACD transport is launched that will be controlled by the screen.
So what more is there to say other than well done to everyone at dCS for achieving something very special indeed, my only sadness is that not everyone, in fact most people, will not be able to afford it but the good news is that as we will have our demo model shortly so at least anyone coming into HFL will be able to have a listen and get lost in it as I did, we are planning to build a very special system with the Varese at the heart of it so watch this space.
We are also in the process of arranging with dCS an open day in the Autumn at dCS where everyone can experience what Billy and I did earlier this week, more info on this to come shortly.
Now I am just counting down the days till our demo Varese arrives as I can see myself spending many an hour getting lost in my favourite music once here.
Please feel free to get in touch for anymore information on Varese or dCS in general, please find the full range in the link below and some pictures –
https://hifilounge.co.uk/product-category/brands/dcs/
All the best,
Regards,
Paul.
