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Berkeley dac2/Alpha USB vs ps audio perfect wave ?


I want to try going without a preamp but want to have very good quality dac sound to make it a fair right (I will demo vs the existing preamp before I pull it out ). I've kinda narrowed this down to these two set ups based on reviews , features, and ease of resale if I change my mind. Perfect wave is about half the total cost if you pick it up on Audiogon. Both Computeraudiohile and absolute sound raved about Berkeley, and both gave very good reviews to the perfect wave 2 but without comparing it directly to Berkeley .

(I already have the Berkeley USB but I know I could resell easily so im not locked into that choice ).
audiojbva
jdoris
972 posts
 
That's interesting, Edorr; I recall that you've enjoyed the PWD. What did you like better about the EMM -- I'm hoping lots of things at plus 5x-7x the money! :)

John
edorr
714 posts
 
Can't beat the PWD MKII for the price. I sold mine with bridge for $2400.
The EMM Labs is a big notch up though. Hard to pin it down. Somehow
there appears to be more going on with the music, and most definitely there
is a better sense of the acoustic space, more depth, more air, better decay
of notes, more fluid. Timbre of instruments is not that much different
though.
jdoris
972 posts
 
I don't know the Berkeley, but I agree with those saying the PWD is a good sounding DAC (the MKII is considerably better than the I). I'm in the group that has experienced better sound using a preamp instead of the volume control.

Two potential reasons for hesitation for the PWD:

MSRP on the PWD seems to be frequently undercut, which contributes to what looks like a fairly weak resale market. Of course, if you get the savings on the buy in, it won't matter.

As all the discussion on the boards seems to indicate, the PWD is a work in progress, particularly on the software side. If you are using a computer as a front end, you may experience hassles in implementation. If you do (as I did), and cannot sort it out yourself, PSA, which is an audio firm and not a software firm, may not have the know how (or inclination) to help you sort it out (in my case,they didn't for me). Of course, there is a general issue about the kludgy mating of computers and DACs, but it might be cause for hesitation with PSA.

Best,

John
jdoris
972 posts
 
Btw, nice kit, Edorr. I was very impressed by the Evolution Acoustics monitors at RMAF; I'd love to hear the bigguns.

John
ejlif's avatar
ejlif
1,375 posts
 
John,

What do you mean by hassles in implementation? I have mine hooked up via USB and can't imagine what could be a problem. I've also had not one problem with the optical input either. I'm guessing you may be referring to the bridge? I have not tried that though Paul from PS Audio said there will soon be a direct way to hook up via Ethernet that will be as simple as using the USB connection.
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