dCS Varese Music System

$412,985.00
By dCS
Minus Plus
Description

Varèse is our most ambitious undertaking to date – the culmination of a series of intensive projects that began when we asked ourselves: how do we create an even more profound and immersive experience for music listeners of the future?

Our engineering team have developed new processes, products and protocols, once again stretching the limits of audio engineering to create our best-performing, most revealing and most intuitive music system to date.

CORE

The Core is the heart of the Varèse Music System. This technological powerhouse supports most hi-res formats and major streaming services. It handles a multitude of operations, from audio input to the conversion, noise shaping and filtering stages carried out before signals are output to the Varèse Mono DACs.

The first dCS product of its kind, it utilises our novel ACTUS protocol to radically simplify setup whilst taking sonic and measured performance to new heights.

Varese Core System - includes Core, UI, Remote Control and ACTUS Cable

MONO DACs

The Varèse Mono DACs encapsulate our relentless focus on absolute performance. Driven by a desire to further enhance the sonic and technical capabilities of our DACs, we embarked on a radical reinterpretation of our DAC architecture and technologies.

We created a dedicated DAC for each audio channel, along with an all-new version of our renowned dCS Ring DAC™ hardware. We also devised a patented clocking protocol, dCS Tomix, to ensure perfect synchronicity between the Mono DACs.

These innovations have enabled us to take our signature ultra-low distortion performance to a new level whilst significantly lowering noise floor, bringing listeners an even more compelling and visceral sonic experience.

Discover new depths of detail and emotion in your music, and prepare to fall in love with your favourite recordings all over again, with the sublime capabilities of these extraordinary components.

Varese Mono DAC Pair - includes 2 ACTUS Cables

MASTER CLOCK

The Varèse Master Clock brings all the benefits of a dedicated dCS master clock – including improved imaging, focus and presence – to the Varèse Music System. It ensures absolute timing accuracy and synchronicity for optimal performance at all audio sample rates.

The Master Clock utilises our new ACTUS and dCS Tomix protocols to deliver unrivalled jitter performance, providing our lowest jitter, lowest drift and most accurate clocking signal yet.

Its design is informed by our decades of experience developing audio master clocks for both professional and home use.

Varese Master Clock - includes 1 ACTUS Cables

USER INTERFACE
The Varèse User Interface works in tandem with the Varèse Remote Control and dCS Mosaic ACTUS app to deliver a rich and engaging playback experience. Its full-colour touch screen displays full album art plus detailed track data, play queues and other settings, allowing you to view more information at a glance. Display modes and visible information can be tailored to suit your preferences, with customisable views, adjustable text size settings and optional dark mode. The User Interface connects with the Varèse Remote Control via Bluetooth LE. It also enables compatibility and integration with UPnP control point renderers and servers.

REMOTE CONTROL
With its ergonomic design, backlit touch icons and focused hot keys, the Varèse Remote Control provides an intuitive and highly tactile way to interact with your Varèse Music System. Use the volume dial to adjust levels or perform a range of functions such as play, skip, pause and mute with just one tap, all whilst remaining immersed in your music.
The Remote Control charges via USB-C and connects to the Varèse Music System via Bluetooth for maximum convenience. Meticulously crafted, it features a capacitive touch glass screen with illuminated icons and CNC-machined aluminium casework.

MOSAIC ACTUS
The new dCS Mosaic ACTUS app offers a rich browsing experience and refreshingly simple navigation. Its intuitive design allows you to set up your system, browse music and control playback with the greatest of ease, so you can spend more time immersing yourself in your favourite recordings.

ACTUS CABLE
The Varèse system utilises a bespoke interface, dCS ACTUS, to deliver audio, control and timing signals between Varèse components. This means that components can be connected with a single ACTUS cable running from the Varèse Core to each unit.
The ACTUS cable is made up of six twisted pairs of copper cable, carrying asynchronous & error corrected audio signals, control signals and a master clock signal sent via the patented dCS Tomix protocol.

ACTUS PROTOCOL
ACTUS is a bespoke interface that delivers audio, control and timing signals between Varèse components. This novel innovation enables the Varèse Music System to be connected with a single cable running from the Core to each unit. The ACTUS protocol is unique to Varèse. Building on learnings gained through four decades of audio design, dCS set out to radically simplify setup whilst further enhancing musical performance. This novel innovation removes the complexities associated with multi-component audio systems and provides a simple yet high-performance solution for listeners.

Specifications

Dimensions

All dimensions given as height x width x depth. Allow additional 60mm depth for ACTUS cable connectors plus 120mm  for ACTUS cable bend radius. Allow space for airflow around the unit.

  • User Interface: 131mm x 444mm x 450mm (includes Bluetooth aerial depth)
  • Master Clock: 131mm x 444mm x 437mm
  • Left Mono DAC: 131mm x 444mm x 437mm
  • Right Mono DAC: 131mm x 444mm x 437mm
  • Core: 244mm x 444mm x 438mm 

Weight

  • User Interface: 14.6kg
  • Master Clock: 15.7kg
  • Left Mono DAC: 18.7kg
  • Right Mono DAC: 18.7kg
  • Core: 33.1kg 
D/A Converter Type dCS Differential Ring DAC
Analogue Outputs - 2x pair balanced outputs on 4x XLR connectors. 
Output impedance: 1.5Ω. 
  • 2x pair unbalanced outputs on 4x RCA connectors. Output impedance: 52Ω. 
  • Maximum load: 600Ω (10k-100kΩ is recommended).
  • Output levels: 0.2V, 0.6V, 2V, 6V rms for a full-scale input, set in the menu. 
Digital Inputs - Ethernet on RJ45 connector for network streaming. 
  • USB Type A connector for mass storage devices (navigated using Mosaic ACTUS). 
If the Digital I/O Module is fitted to the Varese Core:
  • USB 2.0 interface on B-type connector, accepts 24-bit 44.1 – 384kS/s PCM, DSD/64 & DSD128 in DoP format. - 3x AES/EBU inputs on 3-pin female XLR connectors, accepts 24-bit 44.1 – 192kS/s PCM & DSD/64 in DoP format. AES1+2 act as a Dual AES pair, accepts 24-bit 88.2 – 384kS/s PCM, DSD/64 & DSD/128 in DoP format.
Digital Outputs If the Digital I/O Module is fitted to the Varese Core, 1 x S/PDIF interface on RCA Phono connector, outputs 24-bit 44.1 – 192kS/s PCM, DSD/64 in DoP format. 
Wordclock If the Digital I/O Module is fitted to the Varese Core, 1 x Word Clock Output on 1 x BNC connector. I/O Outputs a TTL-compatible Wordclock at either 44.1kHz or 48kHz depending on the input sample rate.
Sample Frequencies and Formats Supports the following audio formats and sample rates: - 44.1-384kS/s up to 24 bits - DSD/64, DSD/128, DSD/256, DSD/512 - Native DSD + DoP - FLAC, WAV, AIFF 
Residual Noise Better than -118dB0, 20-20kHz 
Spurious Responses Better than -115dB0, 20-20kHz 
Power Supply Self-selecting for 100, 115, 220 and 230V AC 50-60Hz 
Power Consumption 30W
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