Any better DAC then dCS Scarlatti?

Perrew - Tak for det. Min dansk er bestemt rustne, saa vil skift to engelsk...

My ambition is to control the variables such that I can isolate the DAC in question. We shall see whether such is feasible - as already noted, securing each DAC for home audition is proving non trivial.

Am intrigued by the APL but wonder if it is "Retail" ready, that is: debugged, robust, serviceable. These are characteristics ancillary to the sonic virtues but essential if a piece of kit is to prove (relatively) carefree.

To be fair such is a concern I've about several pieces on my list: MPS-5, EMM XDS1, Stahl Tek, and for the Boulder its ethernet capability.

I will touch base with APL and see whether they can oblige with a demo unit.

Wflm,

IT IS RETAIL READY!

For the 4.0-SE they went through 18 versions of the software before they were totally happy. It is debugged, robust and serviceable.
I owned the 3.0-SE before and had no problems with it and now have the 4.0-SE and never had any problem with it.

Wflm, sorry should have added the APL comes with 3 year warranty no matter what the problem is.

Perrew, Scarlatti can't be harsh/edged.
It is totally different from harsh/edged.
May be ASR or Focals are harsh/edged, but not dCS.
In some cases dCS can be too warm and too soft, which is opposite to harsh/edged.
That is why I can't trust to your comparision.
I never heard anything about APL before, so can't comment it.
Do you mean that they sell directly?
So, no way to get it for audition in another country?

All I can add is the Scarlatti is one of the finest DACs I have ever heard. All the thoughts on harsh or soft or whatever are about your system or whichever system you are used too.

My time with it has only made me respect it more. At these lofty heights of audio playback, attention to detail in the rest of your system is extremely important and may make or break your experience of it.

The DAC itself is extraordinary. All I feel you could ask for as an audiophile is can it be cheaper with the same performance?

In my system it is sweet, warm and ultra pure. Every aspect of the information put in comes out.