A dCS is not finished on the day it is delivered. The company has a long record of improving machines already in owners' homes, through software where it can and through hardware where it has to. This page explains the three ways a dCS moves forward: the APEX hardware upgrade, firmware, and adding to or trading up from the system you have.
APEX
APEX is the current generation of the analog board at the heart of the Ring DAC, released in March 2022. dCS reworked the output stage and the voltage regulation, and says the APEX board lowers noise and distortion and is around 12 dB more linear than the board it replaced. Every Vivaldi, Rossini and Bartók DAC and player built since then has it, which is why those models carry APEX in their names.
Earlier units can be brought up to the same specification. dCS offers the APEX upgrade for the Vivaldi DAC, Vivaldi One, Rossini DAC, Rossini Player, Bartók DAC and Bartók Headphone DAC. The upgrade replaces the Ring DAC analog board, and the unit comes back as a current-specification APEX model. It is arranged through a dCS dealer and scheduled in advance so you are without the unit for as short a time as possible. If you own one of these, tell us the model and serial number and we will confirm what applies and what it costs.
Firmware
Much of what a dCS does is defined in software running on the dCS Digital Processing Platform, so new filters, new mappers and new streaming services arrive as free updates installed from the app. Recent examples include the 2.0 software for the Lina Network DAC, the v3.0 firmware for Bartók and Rossini in October 2026, Qobuz Connect across the range, and the Mosaic 2 control app in November 2026. Our page on Mosaic and Mosaic ACTUS covers the apps and how updates are installed. When we deliver a dCS we bring it up to the current firmware, and we are glad to help existing owners do the same.
Adding to a system
The range is designed so that the next step is usually another box. A Lina, Bartók or Rossini DAC can take a master clock; a Rossini can take a transport; a Vivaldi DAC can be joined by the Upsampler, the Master Clock and the Transport one at a time. Choosing a dCS explains what each addition does.
Trading up
dCS runs an official Upgrade Program in the United States and Canada that lets a listener put existing audio equipment toward new dCS components, and it supports pre-owned dCS through its authorized retailers, either as Dealer Approved units or as dCS Certified Pre-Owned units inspected at the factory in Cambridgeshire. What applies depends on what you own and what you are moving to, so the simplest thing is to ask. Call (503) 222-2599 and we will work it out with you.
