dCS Audio Varèse
The most ambitious music system dCS Audio has ever built.
The system
A multi-year rethink of digital playback
Varèse began when dCS Audio asked itself how to create a more profound and immersive experience for music lovers. The answer took years: new platforms, new processes and new products, engineered together rather than one box at a time, in pursuit of sound reproduced with greater precision and clarity than the company had ever achieved.
dCS Audio calls it the most challenging undertaking of their careers in audio — a system intended to redefine the state of the art while transforming how listeners access music and control playback.
“We knew we had to embrace a singular vision — to bring listeners a system that is measurably and demonstrably special.” — dCS Audio
Every chassis speaks to the others over ACTUS, the dCS Audio interface that carries audio, control and timing through a single connection. Setup becomes radically simpler, and performance is set by the system rather than the wiring between boxes. Varèse is the first dCS Audio platform built around it.
The components
Six chassis, one instrument
The Varèse System is the Core System and the Mono DACs together — $250,000 as configured — and grows from there: Master Clock, CD/SACD Transport and I/O Module as the listener’s library demands. Each chassis joins the system through a single ACTUS connection.
Included in the system
Varèse Core System
The heart of the system. The Core handles streaming and inputs, then the conversion, noise-shaping and filtering stages ahead of the Mono DACs. Supplied complete with the Varèse User Interface, Remote Control and ACTUS cabling.
Included — one per channel
Varèse Mono DACs
One Ring DAC per channel, each in its own chassis with its own power supplies — the conversion architecture dCS Audio is known for, given an entire enclosure per side for full electrical isolation between channels.
Add-on — $44,000
Varèse Master Clock
A dedicated timing reference that disciplines every chassis in the system, tightening focus, stability and the sense of ease that separates reference digital from everything else.
Add-on — $45,000
Varèse CD/SACD Transport
For listeners with a disc library: a dCS Audio transport engineered for the system, reading CD and SACD into the Core over the same single ACTUS connection.
Engineering
The details that carry the system
ACTUS is the connective tissue of Varèse — one connector carrying audio, control and timing between every chassis. Around it, dCS Audio machined a remote from solid aluminium and built Mosaic ACTUS, a dedicated app for the system.
Film
Making Varèse
The event
When Varèse came to Austin
dCS Audio brought Varèse to our Hill Country Galleria listening room for a dealer event. It is not on our floor today — but we are an authorized dCS Audio dealer, and an audition starts with a conversation.
Configurations
How a Varèse comes together
dCS Audio
The system and its add-ons, US MSRP, May 2026:
dCS Audio Varèse System — Core System with Mono DACs — $250,000
With I/O Module — $265,500
With Master Clock — $294,000
With Master Clock and I/O Module — $309,500
With Master Clock and Transport — $339,000
The complete system — $354,500
System prices include 1.5-metre ACTUS cabling. Longer runs and the I/O Module are quoted at order.
The Varèse System is dCS Audio's flagship: the Varèse Core System and a pair of Varèse Mono DACs, working as one instrument. The Core handles network streaming, inputs, conversion, noise shaping and filtering; each channel then receives its own Mono DAC built on the dCS Audio Differential Ring DAC, the most significant redesign of the Ring DAC architecture in a generation, with the patented Tomix clocking protocol holding both units in complete synchronicity. Every chassis connects over ACTUS, which carries audio, control and timing through a single cable. Supplied complete with the Varèse User Interface, Remote Control and ACTUS cabling; the system grows with the Varèse Master Clock, CD/SACD Transport and I/O Module.
Specifications
| The system | Varèse Core, User Interface, Remote Control, two Mono DACs, ACTUS cabling |
|---|---|
| Conversion | dCS Audio Differential Ring DAC, one dedicated mono DAC per channel, synchronised via the patented Tomix protocol |
| Streaming and inputs | Ethernet (RJ45) network streaming, USB Type A for storage; optional Digital I/O Module adds USB 2.0 and 3x AES/EBU |
| Supported formats | 24-bit PCM 44.1-384kS/s, DSD/64 to DSD/512, native DSD and DoP, FLAC, WAV, AIFF |
| Analogue outputs | Balanced on XLR and unbalanced on RCA; 0.2V, 0.6V, 2V or 6V rms full-scale, set in menu |
| Residual noise | Better than -118dB0, 20Hz-20kHz |
| System interface | dCS ACTUS single-cable connection between every chassis |
| Expandable with | Varèse Master Clock, CD/SACD Transport and I/O Module |
| Finishes | Silver or black anodised aluminium |
Options & Upgrades
| Varèse Master Clock System total $294,000 |
+$44,000 |
|---|---|
| Varèse CD/SACD Transport Listed configurations pair it with the Master Clock — system total $339,000 |
+$45,000 |
| Varèse I/O Module Adds USB 2.0 and 3x AES/EBU inputs to the Core |
+$15,500 |
Prices shown are for the base configuration. Ask us about options and factory upgrades when you visit.
Call or visit the showroom about availability. Contact our team for pricing, a demonstration, or system design — get in touch.