[alxw0w]

My understanding is that all signal processing is carried out by SHARC FPGAs, with the signal then fed to a discrete FIR DAC.

Math is done in SHARC dsp chips and yes, actual conversion happens in discrete components. Kinda similar to what Rob (Chord) is doing with his dacs alas he uses FPGA to upsample and delta sigma modulation, different tools but the goal is similiar.

 

[technomagus]

Math is done in SHARC dsp chips and yes, actual conversion happens in discrete components. Kinda similar to what Rob (Chord) is doing with his dacs alas he uses FPGA to upsample the data, different tools but the goal is similiar.

When I was auditioning DACs, I was doing so without preconception as to architecture (I've had both ESS and AKM as well as TDA1541 DACs), but it was interesting that, after a lot of auditioning, I ended up with a shortlist of three, all of which were custom FPGA architectures: the Bartok, the Dave and - of course - the Tambaqui

 

[alxw0w]

When I was auditioning DACs, I was doing so without preconception as to architecture (I've had both ESS and AKM as well as TDA1541 DACs), but it was interesting that, after a lot of auditioning, I ended up with a shortlist of three, all of which were custom FPGA architectures: the Bartok, the Dave and - of course - the Tambaqui

Most likely that's because of interpolation filters used by chip companies.
Many companies that use off the shelf dac chips use default filters. With custom ones you have to do it yourself - most of the times these custom filters are better - subjectively at least.

That's my POV after testing couple of high end and cheap dacs and also playing with HQPlayer and different filtering options (with NOS dacs)

 

[coldbru]

When I was auditioning DACs, I was doing so without preconception as to architecture (I've had both ESS and AKM as well as TDA1541 DACs), but it was interesting that, after a lot of auditioning, I ended up with a shortlist of three, all of which were custom FPGA architectures: the Bartok, the Dave and - of course - the Tambaqui

Which version of the Bartok?

I never warmed to the original.

I’ve just heard the APEX, at a dCS demo at Innovative Audio NYC, and — without the benefit of a direct comparison — it seems better. Worth considering. Of course, it’s a 9k upgrade, so it’s an entirely different price level.

Interesting demo, anyway, we compared tracks between, variously, Lina with and without clock, Bartok APEX, Rossini APEX mostly with clock, and the full Vivaldi APEX stack. All through Dan D’A gear and enormous Wilsons, not my cup of tea, a remarkably staid, suburban sound. But anyway, interesting differences to be heard.

Only with the Vivaldi stack did I get some is-it-real sensations with handheld percussion elements.

 

[technomagus]

Which version of the Bartok?

I never warmed to the original.

I’ve just heard the APEX, at a dCS demo at Innovative Audio NYC, and — without the benefit of a direct comparison — it seems better. Worth considering. Of course, it’s a 9k upgrade, so it’s an entirely different price level.

Interesting demo, anyway, we compared tracks between, variously, Lina with and without clock, Bartok APEX, Rossini APEX mostly with clock, and the full Vivaldi APEX stack. All through Dan D’A gear and enormous Wilsons, not my cup of tea, a remarkably staid, suburban sound. But anyway, interesting differences to be heard.

Only with the Vivaldi stack did I get some is-it-real sensations with handheld percussion elements.

It was the pre-Apex 2.0 - the Apex was a non-starter on price grounds. It was very, very good, but I was surprised that it improved significantly with the addition of a decent streamer, replacing the on-board connection (Auralic Aries G1.1), which of course added to the cost of the system. The Tambaqui is, probably more than any other piece of digital equipment or amp I've tried, determinedly resistant to changes in SQ from changing external streamers or external resampling (e.g. HQP). I'm now using a very vanilla playout chain - dropped HQP and just driving the Tambaqui via the network connection from Roon Server on a Mac Mini M1. What I have done is use some basic optical isolation on the network, and that does seem to make a useful but marginal difference

 

[celo83]

When I was auditioning DACs, I was doing so without preconception as to architecture (I've had both ESS and AKM as well as TDA1541 DACs), but it was interesting that, after a lot of auditioning, I ended up with a shortlist of three, all of which were custom FPGA architectures: the Bartok, the Dave and - of course - the Tambaqui