D'Agostino vs. Ayre

Imgoodwithtools I had a similar revelation a while ago that caused me to sell almost all of my existing equipment and convert to "the dark side" as some might feel.

I now use a Synology DS1815+ NAS (32TB) fronting a dCS Vivaldi 2.0 Upsampler, Clock, and DAC which drives my S-250 directly all through Transparent XL Gen V to the YG Sonja 1.2s and I've never looked back. Big fan of Roon and Tidal also. 

The Berkeley Alpha Ref is an amazing unit and certainly one of the best values. I really appreciate MSB's DACs as well.

As before I look forward to your comparisons. You might prefer the MX-Rs on your Alexias but the D'agostino worked magic with my YGs. I wish I had never listened to that Boulder 2160 however🔊🎶

Only a Month til the D'Agostino arrives! Lol. Have you heard the Berkeley Ref V2? Maybe you saw my posts elsewhere, but the upgrade to V2 Is Not Subtle. Its substantial. Great DAC. Its improvement in the upper mids and highs is causing me to sell my Atma Sphere MA-1s. The highs thru the Ayres are now as crystal clear as they were thru the Spheres.

Yes I have heard the Ref V2 but never the original. Obviously I'm a dCS fan but could live with the Berkeley easily. It's clearly in the vanguard of digital evolution. Saw your posts on the digital forum BTW. 

About three more weeks til I should see the D'Agostino amp. Was chatting with an old friend yesterday. He has listened to a Lot of Wilson speakers over the years. He said the best sound he ever heard from Wilson's was with VTL amplification. He suggested I check out a VTL S-400 II. (Sigh)...