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dCS Audio Rossini APEX Player
Our integrated player combines a DAC, music streamer and CD transport in a single, elegant design. Featuring the latest generation dCS Ring DAC™ APEX, this complete playback system is renowned for its precision, composure and musical purity
Key Features
- 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
- Integral, high quality CD transport for silver disc playback
- 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
Sound Quality
96/100
Reviewers describe the Rossini APEX as powerful, impressive, taut, and naturally balanced, with strong bass depth, convincing tone, and very fast transient attack. Across the reviews it is also praised for sounding transparent and unobtrusive, with a more organic and less forced presentation than most digital front ends.
Tonal Balance Musicality
96/100
The sound is repeatedly described as natural, with real midrange color and heft, plus a powerful yet controlled character. Reviewers also call it taut, open, and inherently musical rather than etched or mechanical.
Resolution Detail
97/100
Reviewers hear crystalline clarity, clean decays, and very high resolution, with low-level detail coming through easily. One reviewer says it is dramatically better resolved than almost all other digital sources he has heard, and the other finds it easy to distinguish subtle remaster differences.
Digital Performance
96/100
The Rossini is praised for its clean, distortion-free presentation, excellent timing, and superb openness. The built-in disc transport is also singled out as excellent, supporting the sense of a very polished and controlled digital front end.
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Build Quality
93/100
Reviewers describe the unit as extremely well-engineered, handsome, and highly future-proofed, with firmware updates adding to its long-term appeal. There is little detailed commentary on mechanical feel or long-term durability, but the overall impression of craftsmanship is very strong.
Features Usability
94/100
The Rossini offers a broad and practical feature set, and the app-based control is presented as central to its use. Reviewers emphasize native streaming support, extensive digital inputs, Roon readiness, UPnP compatibility, MQA support, and flexible control options, making it highly versatile for modern systems.
Streaming Software
94/100
The Mosaic app is used for unit configuration and music playback, and reviewers note native streaming of major services plus Roon-ready and UPnP compatibility. That combination makes the day-to-day software experience sound well thought through and broadly capable.
Features Connectivity
94/100
Reviewers highlight the wide range of inputs and outputs, including USB, S/PDIF, AES, Dual AES, analog outs, and MQA support. The connectivity is described as bristling, and the product is presented as unusually flexible for integration into serious systems.
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Value for Money
88/100
At around £28,000, this is unquestionably a costly player, but the reviews frame it as a superb, state-of-the-art component rather than an indulgence without payoff. The value case is tied to its performance, format flexibility, and future-proofing rather than bargain pricing, and no reviewer calls it overpriced in the passages provided.
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Verified Dealers
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Authorized dealers for dCS Audio Rossini APEX Player
- Resolution A/V — in-store — New York City, New York, United States (website)
- 3mA Audio — online and in-store — Houston, Texas, United States (website)
- A 10 Audio Room 4 Music — in-store — Amsterdam Nieuw-West, Noord-Holland, Netherlands (website)
- Absolute Sound (SG) — in-store — Singapore, Singapore (website)
- Absolute Sounds — in-store — London, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Abt Electronics — online and in-store — Glenview, Illinois, United States (website)
- Alen Audio — in-store — Extramurs, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain (website)
- Alpha High End — online and in-store — Brasschaat, Vlaams Gewest, Belgium (website)
- Analogue Seduction — online and in-store — Whittlesey, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Audible Images — in-store — Melbourne, Florida, United States (website)
and 89 more verified dealers