The differences in sound between mappers is based on their different balances of second and third-order distortion. As Quick explained during a break at Definitive Audio's Music Matters 14 event in Seattle, "Of the new mappers, MAP 1 has a slightly higher proportion of third-order to second, which is considered more 'solid-state' sounding; MAP 3 is the inverse, with more second-order to third, and is considered more 'tube-like' and benign."
Using Rossini v2.0 and the Rossini transport and upsampling to 24/352.8 DXD, I heard major differences between MAPs 1 and 3 while playing divine jazz vocalist Sarah Vaughan's 1982 studio recording of "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," from Crazy and Mixed Up (JVS XRCD VIC-J 60098). Through MAP 3, Vaughan's voice sounded smoother and warmer, Roland Hanna's piano warmer and less tinkly; with MAP 1, color differences and the artificial reverb around Vaughan's voice were more apparent, and Harold Jones's brushes sounded crisper and realistically hot. Similarly, using Roon to play the London Symphony Orchestra's recently released live recording of Beethoven's Triple Concerto, with Bernard Haitink conducting violinist Gordan Nikolitch, cellist Tim Hugh, and pianist Lars Vogt (DSD 64, LSO0745), timbral contrasts and subtle shadings (aka "microshadings") were more contrasted with MAP 1.
While MAPs 1 and 3 certainly sounded different, I'm not convinced that solid-state vs tube generalizations are particularly useful descriptors at a time when some tube products actually sound more neutral and detailed than their solid-state counterparts. Regardless, for the remainder of my listening, I opted for the greater detail and color differentiation of MAP 1. With PCM files, I alternated between PCM filter F2 for files with sampling rates of 48 and 96, and PCM filter F6 for CDs upsampled to 24/352.8 by the Rossini transport. For DSD files and SACD, I chose DSD filters F1 in Rossini v1.10 and the new F5 in Rossini v2.0. Evaluations were conducted solo and with visitors from the Pacific Northwest Audio Society. A final listening session included PNWAS member/photographer Rey Alvarado, a Port Townsend resident and music lover who has photographed many rock and jazz artists.
Given that I used the Rossini upsampling SACD transport for disc playback, it's germane to note that it's an entirely different animal than my former reference, the discontinued Paganini transport. The second I heard a familiar CD, Murray Perahia's performance, on piano, of Handel's joyous Harpsichord Suite in E, HWV 430 (CD, Sony Classical 62785), my mouth opened wide at how much more air, hall resonance, and realistic depth the Rossini SACD transport conveyed.
Using the Rossini transport or Roon-sourced files together with the Scarlatti Clock for all comparisons, I began by torturing myself with final listens to the Vivaldi DAC v2.11/Network Bridge v.1.02 combo before the DAC was sent back to dCS. The pairing produced a bigger and noticeably more open sense of acoustic space, greater three-dimensionality, and superior transparency than the Rossini v2.0 did. Images were weightier, rounder, and more substantial, with considerably more texture and detail. At the beginning of the aforementioned Mahler Symphony 3, instruments were set farther back in a more spatially convincing soundstage. Through Rossini v2.0, huge bass drum thwacks had less impact, and cymbals less sizzle, than they did with the Vivaldi. About 5 minutes in, when Mahler transitions from dark pessimism to a brief burst of light-filled hope, the magic of shimmering strings scented with the fragrance of spring conveyed by the Vivaldi was diminished through the Rossini. The scale of this grand symphony was better conveyed by Vivaldi v2.11/Network Bridge. Those improvements don't come cheap—$41,749 vs $23,999.
Regardless, Rossini v2.0 represents a major step forward from Rossini v1.2—at no cost to Rossini owners. Mahler's Third had far less sense of acoustic and tonal depth with the old software—v2.0 reached deeper into the music and revealed far more richness of tone. On very different music, John McLaughlin & The 4th Dimension's "Discovery" and "Lost and Found," from the CD To the One (Abstract Logix ABLX 027), Rossini v2.0 was far better at conveying three-dimensionality and the hot clatter of cymbals. Rossini v1.2 sounded flatter, cymbals glassier. With the old software, chimes were less sustained—less multi-dimensional—and the background drone was less colorful. Rossini v2.0 conveyed more liveliness and color differentiation across the board, granting keyboards more natural resonance, sparkle and color.
Alvarado said about these recordings by McLaughlin, whom he's hung with and photographed, "Rossini v2.0 is more emotionally engaging. You can hear how the electronic keyboard overlaps the acoustic one without competing for attention, and how the musicians articulate different timbres. You couldn't hear that with v1.10."
I went to town with Rossini v2.0 on two blasts from my distant past, Santana's "Black Magic Woman" and "Gypsy Queen" from the MoFi hi-rez remastering of Abraxas (UDSACD 2152). I loved the depth around voices, the warm midrange, the excellent colors. Rossini v1.2, by comparison, sounded more lightweight. Voices had a fuzzy edge and piano less color—the presentation was less substantial. Differences between Rossini before and after remained consistent on the aforementioned DSD64 files of Beethoven's Triple Concerto, Harrison's Violin Concerto, that good old Mahler, and a number of other tracks. Whatever I threw at it, Rossini v2.0 was well ahead of Rossini v1.10.
Summing Up
In late 2016, in his review of the Rossini Player and Clock, John Atkinson wrote, "The combination ... produced what was, overall, the best sound from digital I have experienced in my system." I wonder what he would have written had he experienced the new revelations dCS's v2.0 software brings to the Rossini DAC and Player.
Given that I used the Rossini upsampling SACD transport for disc playback, it's germane to note that it's an entirely different animal than my former reference, the discontinued Paganini transport. The second I heard a familiar CD, Murray Perahia's performance, on piano, of Handel's joyous Harpsichord Suite in E, HWV 430 (CD, Sony Classical 62785), my mouth opened wide at how much more air, hall resonance, and realistic depth the Rossini SACD transport conveyed.
Using the Rossini transport or Roon-sourced files together with the Scarlatti Clock for all comparisons, I began by torturing myself with final listens to the Vivaldi DAC v2.11/Network Bridge v.1.02 combo before the DAC was sent back to dCS. The pairing produced a bigger and noticeably more open sense of acoustic space, greater three-dimensionality, and superior transparency than the Rossini v2.0 did. Images were weightier, rounder, and more substantial, with considerably more texture and detail. At the beginning of the aforementioned Mahler Symphony 3, instruments were set farther back in a more spatially convincing soundstage. Through Rossini v2.0, huge bass drum thwacks had less impact, and cymbals less sizzle, than they did with the Vivaldi. About 5 minutes in, when Mahler transitions from dark pessimism to a brief burst of light-filled hope, the magic of shimmering strings scented with the fragrance of spring conveyed by the Vivaldi was diminished through the Rossini. The scale of this grand symphony was better conveyed by Vivaldi v2.11/Network Bridge. Those improvements don't come cheap—$41,749 vs $23,999.
Regardless, Rossini v2.0 represents a major step forward from Rossini v1.2—at no cost to Rossini owners. Mahler's Third had far less sense of acoustic and tonal depth with the old software—v2.0 reached deeper into the music and revealed far more richness of tone. On very different music, John McLaughlin & The 4th Dimension's "Discovery" and "Lost and Found," from the CD To the One (Abstract Logix ABLX 027), Rossini v2.0 was far better at conveying three-dimensionality and the hot clatter of cymbals. Rossini v1.2 sounded flatter, cymbals glassier. With the old software, chimes were less sustained—less multi-dimensional—and the background drone was less colorful. Rossini v2.0 conveyed more liveliness and color differentiation across the board, granting keyboards more natural resonance, sparkle and color.
In late 2016, in his review of the Rossini Player and Clock, John Atkinson wrote, "The combination ... produced what was, overall, the best sound from digital I have experienced in my system." I wonder what he would have written had he experienced the new revelations dCS's v2.0 software brings to the Rossini DAC and Player.
