Unveiled in the summer of 2024, the Varèse series topped the British company dCS’s catalog, surpassing the products in the Vivaldi series.
But while the launch featured an impressive Core, which is both a filter, converter, and streaming box with RJ45 and USB digital inputs at the heart of the system, a two-chassis mono digital-to-analog converter based on a new Differential Ring DAC, a Master Clock and a user interface for use with the new Mosaic ACTUS smartphone app or a remote control, this fine collection was missing a CD/SACD transport.
Recently released, we were able to hear it in exceptional conditions in Tokyo, on Hiro C4CS speakers specific to the Dynamic Audio store there (see our Instagram/Facebook video), and we plan to listen to it again soon in France or Switzerland, perhaps to offer you a test review.
Even purer than a Vivaldi—as we were also able to verify—the Varèse Transport is completely vibration-free, making it undoubtedly one of the finest CD/SACD mechanisms ever created. Connected to the Core via a dCS ACTUS cable, this new transport is designed to work exclusively with the Varèse series, as it has no other inputs or outputs apart from the mains socket, of course.
With its redesigned tray based on Sound United D&M SACD mechanics and a total weight of 20.1 kg due to the extensive use of aerospace-grade aluminum to minimize interference, this new transport is fully configured to optimally play the 44.1 kHz format of CDs and the DSD64 format of SACDs, with the signal then reprocessed by the other Varèse components.
Available since the end of September, the dCS Transport has not yet been priced in euros, but it costs £35 000 in the United Kingdom, to which you must add at least a Core (88 499 €/£75 000), the Mono-Dac (105 999 €/£90 000) and the user interface (£20 000), or even the Master Clock (37 999 €/£32 500). Then you can find yourself alone, as if on a desert island, dreaming for hours on end of perfect music, perhaps while listening to Déserts… of Varèse!
29/10/2025
