Has anyone found a preamplifier that improves the sound from a Berkeley Alpha Reference DAC? If so, what preamp? Mine sounds amazing feeding my amplifiers direct, DAC to amps.
One factor here might be the sensitivity of the amps used. With my BAR feeding the Ayre amps, the volume control is usually in the 45-52 range. Berkeley recommends a setting of 54 if connected to a preamp, so I suspect I'm losing little data at that level. If run thru a pair of LAMM amps, my BAR volume was down around 32-34. I definitely preferred preamp when listening to the LAMMs.
Joeinid - In your opinion with the AR Ref 6, is the preamp super highly resolving, and thus makes imperfect recordings sound just that way, imperfect? Or is it distorting the signal somehow, resulting in the forward soundstage and punchy on-steroids feel?
The sensitivity of the Berkeley Reference is adjustable. It is then possible to run the volume control at a higher setting. Since that adjustment increases the resolution that argument for the necessity of a preamp is thereby eliminated.
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
