Logitech Transporter + Berkeley Audio Alpha DAC 2

06-21-12: Yo2tup
I didn't like the Transporter as a transport to another DAC. I tried a couple DAC's with it, and the Transporter made them all sound like the analog outs of the Transporter.

Definitely not my experience with the MW Transporter. The sound is dependent on the digital cable or PC on the DAC that I use.

DAC is like computers, I don't chase the latest or greatest. I choose to invest in mature areas of my system. I've auditioned many DACs / SACD players that costing much more and so far have not found any that has motivated me to change.

So is the Berkeley Audio DAC Series 2 a better DAC than the internal TP DAC?
I got mine tonight.
You better believe it is!
Shockingly good.

People say it sounds like vinyl.
I think it sounds better.
Well, better than my analog rig and it cost me $20K 10 years ago.
I'm running 1.5m AES and balanced silver cables direct into the power amp and feeding it with a 1m PS-Audio AC-10 cable from a PowerPoint.

It's showing the TP minimum phase filter is working, because it detects it as 96KHz.
Now I have to sell the TP and buy the Berkeley USB now.
I have to.
If 96KHz sounds this good, I want more, more, MORE!!!

ET

That's encouraging news. I have compared BADA2 using CDP as transport in one system and TP w/ Min-phase filter in another system, and I couldn't bring myself to buy the BADA2, as I didn't now whether the min-phase filter effect is additive/subtractive.

Not it appears that TP + BADA2 is a great combo. Before I go jumping on BADA as a replacement for my DAC in my 2nd system, could you run a test between TP internal DAC w/ min-phase filter and BADA2 using CDP or another source as the transport?

I don't have another transport to test with, sorry.

BUT, PureMusic will do the same software upsampling to using minimum phase filtering and you get an arguably superior transport to the TP.
It will play 24/192 native whereas the TP is stuck at 24/96.

You should be able to get a dealer to return it within a week or so if you don't like it...

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I have the Berkeley with a squeezebox touch (w/CI PS), not transporter, so thinking result may be similar. I upsample/clock the SB with an Esoteric G25U (pretty good cables)to 192k and sound is very, very good I do prefer my PC (in next room)+ 30 foot apogee (bnc) spdif out of an ESI Juli@ sound card into the Esoteric clock/upsampler. It has shown me that the SB is not as dynamic and slightly (slightly) veiled. BUT, breaks my heart to say, my multi year/multi thousand dollar forray into PC audio, it still doesn't sound as good as my Esoteric X03SE (w/G25U clock) into a regular old preamp. the randomness of music play is great but if I really want to listen, I'm still chained to physical media, being vinyl, tape, fm or cd's various methods.