Any insight with the Berkeley Alpha DAC ..??

Any one have more to add to this thread?

I have had the dac for roughly a year and will not be changing my digital source. I have nothing but great things to say about the Alpha dac. I run it direct to my amp and feed it a digital signal via aes3 from a Logitech Transporter (wireless). It is easily the best digital I have heard. It really shines with a Spectral amp, being able to keep up with all the speed, accuracy and dynamics of the wide bandwidth. Every upgrade I have made (including a ridiculous speaker upgrade) it just keeps getting better. It seems to have no limit. I will say that it seems important to use a good digital cable and power cord if you are looking to get the most out of it. If you are considering the Alpha, I would strongly agree. There seems to be another latest greatest every day but I have zero interest in trying them. This is all not surprising when you consider the minds behind the dac. Good luck with your quest Pedrillo.

I just picked one up recently (I kind of followed your recommendation, Richard) and am absolutely thrilled. Totally agree on cables and PC and I just started putting my SB3 into a Monarchy DIP upsampler and it definatley has equaled my Esoteric X03SE on redbook (listening to an LA 4 SACD now on the Esoteric and it is heavenly, but I digress...). I described it to a coworker who is also an audiophile (has the Puccinni and Uclock) and the most accurate description I could come up with is that the Berkeley just does it 'right'. Seemless soundstage, framed by the speakers, incredible resolution, great detail and dynamics. The way it retrieves the lowest sounds (off a squeezebox) is simply astonishing.

Congrats Cerrot! Glad to hear you are enjoying the Berkeley as much as I do. One thing I found is that the SB3 as a digital source was ok but moving to the Transporter made a significant difference (thanks Richlane where ever you are!). They are harder to get these days but still pop up from time to time and it may be worth a few bucks to make the change. I was very surprised how much better it was simply using digital out.

Thanks, Richard. I was eyeing a transporter or the Berkeley. I did put a Monarchy dip upsampler after the squeezebox, which gave the Berkeley a 96k upsampled signal. VERY nice improvement. (I also have the CI power supply, Revelation audio embilical). I am absolutely thrilled with the SB/Monarchy/Berkeley combo. I heard the touch may have a better digital out than the sb3 so may go there soon but, unless a transporter comes up real cheap (so far, $950 seems bottom price) I will pass, for now. Thanks again for your input.