Electronics and sources

dCS

British digital audio, engineered from first principles by a company that started in radar and defence electronics. Absolute Sound is the distributor for dCS in Singapore and Malaysia.

From radar to the Ring DAC

dCS was founded in Cambridge, England, in 1987 by Mike Story, an Oxford physics graduate, initially as a consultancy in digital signal processing for aerospace and defence, including radar systems for the Royal Navy. That work led to some of the earliest 24-bit digital converters built for professional recording studios, and by the mid-1990s the company had brought the same engineering into the domestic hi-fi market. Every dCS product since has been built around the Ring DAC, a conversion system the company designs and manufactures itself rather than buying in an off-the-shelf chip. That is why a dCS system can be upgraded years after it leaves the factory.

The APEX technology

The Ring DAC, refined

Watch how dCS presents the Ring DAC APEX and the engineering behind the upgrade.

Film by dCS Audio, 4 min.

The dCS range

Close-up of a dCS component's machined silver front panel with a large knob and small control buttons.
Three stacked dCS silver components, their curved front panels catching the light.
Close-up of stacked black dCS components with small round buttons and display windows.

VarèsedCS’s most advanced music system, built without compromise across its own dedicated components.

Vivaldithe reference range, splitting DAC, upsampler, master clock and CD/SACD transport into separate components.

Rossinithe same reference engineering in a more compact format, as an integrated player or as a DAC with matching clock and transport.

BartókDAC, network streamer, preamplifier and headphone amplifier combined in a single chassis.

Linaa compact separates system sized for smaller rooms, comprising DAC, headphone amplifier and master clock.

Model-by-model specifications live on the manufacturer’s site: dcsaudio.com

Common questions about dCS

Why does dCS build its own DAC rather than using an off-the-shelf chip?

dCS designs and builds its own digital-to-analogue conversion system, the Ring DAC, rather than buying a chip from a semiconductor maker. An off-the-shelf DAC chip comes with a fixed set of filters and a fixed lifespan; the Ring DAC runs on a network of FPGAs that dCS programs itself, so its filtering and performance can be refined long after a unit has left the factory.

Can an older dCS system be upgraded to the current Ring DAC?

Yes, within limits. dCS designs the Ring DAC as hardware that can be upgraded rather than replaced entirely: the current Ring DAC APEX upgrade is available across the Vivaldi, Rossini and Bartók ranges, bringing older units closer to the current flagship’s conversion performance. Speak to Absolute Sound about what a specific unit is eligible for.

What is the difference between the Vivaldi, Rossini, Bartók and Lina ranges?

All four share the same Ring DAC engineering; what changes is how it is packaged. Vivaldi and Rossini split the DAC, upsampler, clock and transport into separate components for a full reference system. Bartók brings the same conversion into one chassis with a streamer, preamplifier and headphone amplifier built in. Lina is a compact separates system sized for smaller rooms.

Does dCS make amplifiers or turntables as well?

No. dCS builds only digital source components: DACs, upsamplers, network streamers, master clocks and CD/SACD transports. Amplification, loudspeakers and analogue sources are handled by the other brands Absolute Sound represents, and a dCS system is typically built into a wider system around one of them.

Hear dCS for yourself

Come and hear dCS at our showrooms. Tell us what you would like to listen to and we will have it playing when you arrive.

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