Varèse: The New flagship Music System from dCS

Reinterpreting state-of-the-art with dCS Varèse

Radical Innovation, Exhilarating Realism

dCS Varèse reimagines playback for a new era, utilising a suite of new innovations to bring listeners an even more immersive and revealing musical experience...

At dCS, they strive to reproduce each aspect of a musical recording with absolute fidelity. This ethos has guided their work for over 35 years, driving the development of everything from their earliest digital converters to their current product range. dCS has devised some of the most sophisticated audio technologies available in their efforts to reveal the full impact of the music our listeners love – allowing them to appreciate the full breadth of detail and emotion in the works that inspire them.

As they’ve evolved from developing professional audio equipment to making high-performance music systems and separates, they’ve broadened their focus to explore how they can provide the most accurate sound and the most rewarding playback experience. As music lovers themselves, they understand the importance of music in their customers’ lives and aim to honor this with exceptional equipment that makes listening an even greater pleasure.

The new system, dCS Varèse, embodies these philosophies. It is their most advanced music system to date and offers a level of performance beyond anything they’ve ever created. At the same time, it brings a simpler, more intuitive user experience and an ambitious design that marries cutting-edge mechanics and hardware with a striking and tactile form. 

The Varèse Music System

The Varèse Music System comprises five components: a Core; a User Interface, an optional Master Clock, and two Mono DACs – one for each audio channel. It also includes a dedicated Varèse Remote Control and a new app, dCS Mosaic ACTUS.  A dedicated CD/SACD Transport will also be available from 2025.

Varèse features a unique architecture devised for total precision and absolute fidelity. Its novel design and bespoke technologies bring a level of performance beyond anything dCS had previously dared dream possible.

New technologies & innovations

Varèse utilises a suite of new technologies that have enabled dCS to further enhance performance and deliver sound with even greater precision and clarity.  

These include dCS Tomix, a patented new clocking technology: ACTUS, a bespoke interface that carries audio, control and timing signals between components; and the Differential Ring DAC, a new version of the dCS Ring DAC™ that represents the biggest change to their DAC architecture in a generation.

Varèse also features several mechanical and electronic innovations, from new circuit design to enhanced power supplies. The benefits of these advancements are wide-ranging: they’ve further reduced jitter, whilst increasing linearity, lowering noise floor and eliminating crosstalk, once again setting a new standard for measured performance in the process.

core

Ultimate Performance. Infinite Possibilities.

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 utilizes the dCS novel ACTUS protocol to radically simplify setup whilst taking sonic and measured performance to new heights.

The Varèse Core System comprises of the Varèse Core, Varèse User Interface, Varèse Remote Control and the Varèse ACTUS Cable. The Varèse Core System retails for $111,000 excluding tax.

MONO DACs

Unprecedented Realism.

The Varèse Mono DACs encapsulate dCS’s relentless focus on absolute performance. Driven by a desire to further enhance the sonic and technical capabilities of their DACs, dCS embarked on a radical reinterpretation of their DAC architecture and technologies. dCS created a dedicated DAC for each audio channel, along with an all-new version of their renowned dCS Ring DAC hardware. dCS also devised a patented clocking protocol, dCS Tomix, to ensure perfect synchronicity between the Mono DACs.

These innovations have enabled dCS to take their 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.

The Varèse Mono DAC Pair includes 2 ACTUS Cables and retails for $105,000 excluding tax.

MASTER CLOCK

Precision Engineering at its finest.

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 their new ACTUS and dCS Tomix protocols to deliver unrivalled jitter performance, providing their lowest jitter, lowest drift and most accurate clocking signal. Its design is informed by their decades of experience developing audio master clocks for both professional and home use.

The Varèse Master Clock includes 1 ACTUS Cable and retails for $38,000 excluding tax.

USER INTERFACE

Enhanced Displays, For a Richer Experience.

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 customizable 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

Ergonomic Design, Effortless 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 aluminum casework.

MOSAIC ACTUS

Discover Music and Manage Playback With Ease.

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 favorite recordings.

dCS’s history of innovation stretches back to the 1980s, when they brought hi-res recording and playback to studios and homes around the world with a series of pioneering digital converters. In the decades since, they’ve developed a succession of revolutionary products and technologies. Their developments in clocking, signal conversion and audio engineering have shaped the course of digital audio and led to better experiences for all.

Varèse continues this long tradition of technological advancement. It utilizes several exciting new technologies created by their expert engineers: a formidable team with decades of experience working at the vanguard of audio design. Through exhaustive development and their unwavering dedication to technical mastery, they have developed a unique DNA that musically and technically exceeds their wildest ambitions. This new blueprint allows dCS to deliver huge gains in sonic and measured performance, setting a new standard in fidelity, whilst at the same time delivering a world of new possibilities for how we experience music.

ACTUS

Audio - Control - Timing - Unified - System

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.

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 their patented dCS Tomix protocol.

DIFFERENTIAL RING DAC

Achieving the Impossible.

The dCS Ring DAC™ has earned global acclaim for its technical and sonic abilities. This unique digital-to-analogue conversion system resides at the heart of all dCS DACs. It has been carefully refined over many years to reproduce sound with the utmost clarity and precision, bringing listeners a profoundly natural and highly detailed musical performance. In 2022, dCS delivered major enhancements with the launch of their Ring DAC APEX hardware. Not content with their achievements, dCS continued exploring how they could build on their accomplishments and once again improve the capabilities of dCS DACs.

After thorough investigation, dCS decided this could only be achieved with a comprehensive redesign of the Ring DAC’s architecture and operations. dCS made a number of developments, creating a new design with twice as many current sources and introducing a new differential mode of operation. Their extensive changes have made it possible to further increase linearity whilst significantly lowering noise floor and delivering a host of additional benefits. The biggest change to their DAC architecture in a generation, the Differential Ring DAC elevates the dCS experience once again, bringing an experience of even greater presence, immediacy and intensity.

dCS TOMIX

A Novel Approach to Mono DAC Synchronisation.

dCS Tomix is a patented clocking technology which enables the Varèse Mono DACs to operate in complete synchronicity – ensuring the left and right channels of each audio sample are converted at exactly the right moment – whilst simultaneously maintaining the highest degree of clocking accuracy within each DAC.

While developing Varèse, dCS carried out an exhaustive review of existing protocols and found that no current technology enabled them to achieve perfect synchronicity when sending signals via IP link. dCS felt there was scope to create a novel solution and their investigations led them to develop dCS Tomix.

This breakthrough allows dCS to harness the sonic benefits of a Mono DAC arrangement whilst maintaining the exacting standards they have set for clocking performance

Reinterpreting the dCS experience

Varèse is the culmination of a series of projects that began several years ago.

In addition to researching and developing updates to existing products, dCS had spent a great deal of time exploring how they could further improve the sonic and measured performance of their DACs.

dCS also begun investigating whether they could develop a unified system to transport audio, timing and control signals and improve clocking arrangements between audio components.

Alongside this, they’d been considering how they could make it even easier and more rewarding for listeners to discover music and manage playback, conducting interviews with dCS owners around the world and exploring what future music interfaces could look like.

As these strands of research converged, they decided to embark on an ambitious project to reinterpret the dCS experience for a new era – devising a complete playback system that reimagines how we interact with and listen to music.

A more palpable presence

For music listeners, Varèse offers all the qualities people have come to expect from dCS on an even grander scale, building on the exceptional capabilities of their current range to deliver a new level of realism. Listeners have noted an even broader, more expansive soundstage; an increased sense of effortlessness, musicality, and rhythmic flow; even more tangible vocals; improved texture, timing, and impact of bass instruments; and enhanced speed and tunefulness at lower frequencies, among other qualities.

Each person's experience is unique, but there's one thing that all who have encountered Varèse agree: it has the ability to connect them even more intimately with their music. Varèse's many innovations combine to provide the most transcendent dCS experience to date, bringing listeners a performance where sound has a more palpable presence than ever before.

A singular vision

Developing Varèse has been a huge undertaking for the entire team at dCS: “[Varèse] is the most challenging undertaking of our careers in audio,” said dCS Managing Director David Steven. “We set out to redesign state-of-the-art whilst at the same time creating an entirely new and immersive user experience. We knew we had to embrace a singular vision, and be brave and relentless in our pursuit of this, to bring listeners a system that is measurably and demonstrably special and exceeds the capabilities of our current body of work.” 

Andy McHarg, Technical Director at dCS, added: “I’ve been at dCS for over 30 years, working across every major project for audio professionals and consumers. I think it’s fair to say that Varèse is the most complicated and challenging project I’ve been involved in, but I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of the team and the system they have created.”

“The Varese had this addictive, relaxed reproduction that made me not want to leave the listening seat.  This digital experience was very similar to when you hear a great tape or LP being reproduced; you get pulled in, you feel relaxed, the system disappears, and it’s just the music. It may have been the best digital reproduction that I have ever experienced.

The delta between the two is not subtle, and I was having trouble understanding how they elevated the already fantastic Vivaldi APEX. Thirty minutes was just a teaser, but it definitely got my attention.”

Above are a few quotes from Mohammed Samji’s exclusive first listen of the dCS Varèse system at the dCS factory in early June.

“But it was immediately clear that Varèse has redefined “reference” and taken musical reproduction close to real musical performances that I had never dared to imagine, because that would be crazy, yes? Well, the answer is clearly no! What I heard was a step change.”

“In some magical way, the Varèse presented micro-timing information that was, previously unknown to me, multilayered with colour and texture dramatically elevating my emotional response to the music. Until today I did not know that level of timing information towards a new level of communication existed.”

“The new connector protocol I think is fabulous engineering that you would only really see in high-end defense, aerospace, and communications. And in common with those environments, those solutions require the best talent, a lot of time, and millions of pounds of investment. Again, it is super clear that’s what has resulted in the success of the Varèse.”

“The Varèse is a true step change in high-end audio. The sort of thing that only happens once in a generation.”

Above are a few quotes from a “Thank You” email from Paul Soor’s exclusive first listen of the dCS Varèse system at the dCS factory in early June.