dCS Rossini vs. Berkeley Reference dac 2

I have a Berkeley Ref (1st gen) in my system currently. It is so outclassed by my AMR DP 777 SE and my AMR CD 77.1 I simply can’t understand any adulation for the unit. My AMR gear sounds like my turntable, the Berkeley sounds like hard digital. The Berkeley is certainly not terrible but there is absolutely nothing that would draw me to its presentation. The dealer also told me (great dealer by the way) that they (manufacturers) always claim that the difference with the mk2 is huge, but that in reality (in this case at least) it is subtle.

I have experience with the Vivaldi stack and it is far far beyond the Berkeley. The Berkeley is the type of sound that has analog only people still believing digital can’t compete. I have two turntables and a fully sorted R2R system so I know that digital when done right can get very close to pure analog.

My Museatex Bidat is far better than the Berkeley Ref. I honestly don’t understand some of these online reviewers, unless they are on the take, and a LOT of them are on the take, I would say my former Metrum Acoustics Hex would easily upstage the Berkeley.

Well I may as well re-enter this old post of mine to see if there is any life left in it, and to close by reporting my decision- i bought a Vivaldi DAC. I never got to hear any of the dCS products compared to the Berkeley Ref. Series 2. For that matter, i never heard the Series 2 at all. Nor did I hear the Linn product. In case you are not aware, Berkeley has not resumed its upgrade process for original Series 1 owners, nor will they discuss the future of the process. All of this straight from the horses (bite tongue) mouth- Michael Ritter. Final straw! Now I’m left to accept a pittance for the used Berk. But aside from whining, I REALLY like MQA, which rules out Linn. And i really don’t want to be DAC shopping any time soon. And the Vivaldi really does deliver a bit of magic. Now I have to see how long I can go without buying the clock? Thanks everyone.

True shame about the Berkeley upgrade, and not good for business, one would think. I was afraid that might happen when the upgrades crawled to a halt late 2016. That's why back in Feb 2017, I bit the bullet and traded my Berkeley Ref 1 for a Ref 2. No regrets. I Love my Berkeley Ref 2 MQA. Although I've never heard dCS components in my system, they have always sounded outstanding when I have heard them. So you should be well equipped, aldenberry.

Thanks imgoodwithtools and amg56.  AMG56, I'm going with the Network Bridge as well, building a Roon Server around that (maybe Nucleus)  to replace my Aurender server.  Hopefully a Clock when the piggy bank refills.  But I could live very happily with what you've assembled, and probably with a Berk. Series 2 as well.