Manufacturer's Comment
Editor: While many readers will likely consider this month's review of the dCS Bartók DAC to be a favourable one, dCS is concerned that it is not a very effective one.
Reviews in audio publications have been a useful way for a consumer to gain a better understanding of a product, its designers, and the company that manufactured it. Sadly, we feel that this review has failed to deliver on most of the above and does little to make the reader more informed about the Bartók.
This deficiency is especially illustrated in the listening notes. For instance, a considerable amount of space was spent discussing a failed attempt at a comparison using an analogue source. Later, when attempting to compare the Bartók to a different DAC, the reviewer once again spends many paragraphs discussing the test (one of which is technically flawed) rather than details of his actual impressions of the Bartók—which, in the end, are summarized as wholly positive overall.
As always, everyone at dCS is proud of how the Bartók measured on the bench, and we hope that John Atkinson's very thorough and informative measurements help readers gain some insights from this section of the review.
To the readers who have walked away from this experience with more questions than answers, dCS invites you to visit us at https://dcs.community and ask us your questions directly.—David J. Steven, Managing Director
John Quick, General Manager, dCS Americas
John Quick, General Manager, dCS Americas
