dCS
Bartok APEX with headphone amplifier
Introduced 2023$24,100 MSRP
The dCS Bartók is a network-attached DAC and headphone amplifier that brought dCS's flagship Ring DAC™ topology, previously reserved for the multi-box Vivaldi system, into a single-chassis "entry-level" model for the British manufacturer. It combines an asynchronous USB, dual AES/EBU, S/PDIF and network streaming inputs with an optional Class A headphone stage, and has since been upgraded through "2.0" and "APEX" hardware revisions that add improved mapping, DSD128 upsampling, and refined analog output stages.
MSRP
$24,100
Used market · Good
$8,500
-65% vs MSRP
as of Sep 1, 2026MSRP to used market
From $15,500 at launch to $8,500 today.
Specifications
- Inputs
- Ethernet network (Roon Ready, UPnP), USB, 2x AES/EBU, 2x coaxial, optical
- SNR
- 118 dB
- Weight
- 14.8kg / 32.7lbs (base spec sheet) to 16.7kg / 36.8lbs (with headphone amp)
- Max DSD
- DSD128 native/DoP
- Max PCM
- 24-bit/384kHz
- Outputs
- RCA, XLR, balanced and unbalanced headphone
- Dimensions
- 444mm x 115mm x 430mm (17.5" x 4.6" x 17.0")
- DAC topology
- dCS proprietary Ring DAC™
- Launch price
- £9,999 (DAC), £11,999 (with headphone amp) in 2018
- Analog outputs
- 1x balanced XLR pair, 1x unbalanced RCA pair, plus 4-pin XLR and 6.35mm headphone outputs on Headphone edition
- Digital inputs
- 2x AES/EBU (XLR), 2x SPDIF (RCA/BNC), 1x optical TOSLINK, USB 2.0 Type B (async), USB-OTG Type A, Ethernet/UPnP network
- Power consumption
- 25–33W typical, 50W maximum
- Current apex price
- £19,000 (DAC), £21,500 (with headphone amp); $20,950 / $22,950 in the US
- Max PCM resolution
- 24-bit/384kHz (via USB/network); up to 32-bit/384kHz cited in some spec sheets
- Chip or architecture
- dCS Ring DAC APEX with FPGA oversampling and Mosaic streaming platform
- Signal to noise ratio
- 116.0dB (line out, A-weighted, 0dBFS re. 6V)
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