Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Hifial, I own the Totaldac USB cable and it is very good. I would be curious to hear the dac as well. Vincent Brient seems to be a very earnest and sincere engineer who does not wander into hyperbole or defamation to promote his products. The only issue is the crappy exchange rate....

I'm also pretty shocked/disappointed that the Berkeley doesn't include a USB input.

Yeah, you're a legend in your own lunchbox Audiolabyrinth. Real cool.

Want something that will beat any computer, hands down IMO, either the Totaldac or the Antipodes DX.

It's a shame that this thread has degenerated to product touting by a persistent small manufacturer.

I believe that there has been more than one manufacturer "touting" his wares. However, because each has identified themselves, I welcome and encourage their comments!

-must be from a company that will still exist in 5 years (I think this is the biggest challenge right now)

1) Whatever I would buy will be essentially worthless 2 years later since it will be very very quickly woefully outdated.

Matt, with all due respect, these kinda' seem to be mutually exclusive comments; with the exception that with the former, you may still have direct support, which is probably the reason for your "5-year" viability concern.

Speaking of direct support, my best finds/purchases have come from boutique manufacturers. The manufacturer of one such piece has indeed left the scene. But before doing so, he provided schematics, which tended to counter my biggest concern.

At any rate, I'm not really concerned! Perhaps I have had satistically unusually good experiences over the years. With the exception of a 1970's Phase Linear 400 amp, and a nearby lightning strike, I have never had problems with the dozens of components that I have owned. In fact, many are either mothballed or have been handed down to my son with nary a problem.

So, while I understand your "5-year" sentiment, I for one, don't put much emphasis on any one manufacturer's (U.S. U.K., Europe, Asia, or otherwise) stability!

I put more emphasis on a component's design and perceived quality. While researching the pages of forums such as this, there are many well respected components -- electronics, speakers, turntables etc. -- that are being traded repaired, rebuilt, etc. sans their OEM. So, I'm pretty sure that if the worst happens, finding someone to diagnose and repair an item wouldn't be as difficult as imagined. At least for me, taking the off-chance that a component’s OEM leaves the scene, has paid dividends that have surpassed any perceived chance taking.