2. amps-preamps
  3. 1254577435

Berkeley Alpha DAC vs Theta Gen VIII and stuff...

More ramblings of a madman...

So my search for the preamp has lead me here. Thanks to all who posted in my thread about the Spectral pre but i think i have narrowed it down to an odd pair, the 2 Dacs in the title. This arose from a long phone conversation yesterday with the guy who sort of mentored me in this whole audio mess. I had bounced the idea of the Spectral DMC 30SL i was ready to buy off of him and we had gone round and round about the options. A friend of his has some similar gear, WP's and the like, and had had that Spectral as well as the 30SS + the Spectral CD/DAC. He had also been searching for the right fit and came across the Berkeley Alpha Dac. His comments are strong but they mirror what Robert Harley stated in his TAS article, the BAD is better than the Spectral System...the DAC and the Pre...he has replaced all that Spectral gear with the BAD run directly to his amp. WOW! I am in. But...I must complicate this...If i am going to go the DAC/Pre combo route I might as well include the one I personally have always lusted after...the Theta Generation VIII. Ok...so now I have narrowed this down to the final 2, this is great progress. Help me drive this home fella's...

Has anyone compared these 2 fine devices? Anyone have experience with both that may help me close the door? It is not realistic to get them both here to do a listen, that is out. Gotta go on my gut and some input from the forum.

I suppose my first thought is the newer BAD is a better option given the progress in digital these days as well as the higher rez but the Theta is a classic sweet DAC which has been among the finest available for some time. It is also Theta, A company that seems to be a shell of itself since ATI got involved. Hmmmmm.

Whichever i chose will still be a challenge as neither has a solution for ht pass through. I will need to find some sort of switch at the amp or just change cables when I watch TV/Movies.

So this is where I stand. Input on these 2 devices, experience or comparison, greatly appreciated...

Rest of the system (for now!):

Krell FPB 600c
Wilson WP 7's
Logitech Transporter (will be the only source acting as tranport only)
MIT MH850 speaker cables
MIT MI350 CVT Proline Reference interconnects
MIT Oracle AC1 power cords
MIT ZStabalizerIII HG conditioner/filter/surge

HT stuff to pass through some how...

My home theater will pass through.
richard_stacy
rja's avatar
rja
2,374 posts
 
Richard_stacy,
Did you ever receive the Berkeley? If so, how about some thoughts? You like? You no like?
richard_stacy OP
686 posts
 
rja...

yes. after a really long wait it finally arrived and i am very pleased. rarely do i find a piece of gear lives up to the hype but this has and much more (for me). i am generally a skeptic.
i suppose the easiest way to do this is to say robert harley nailed this thing in his review. i am listening as i type and it is just simply hard for me to imagine how it could be better. i have been spending some time on configuring the rest of my network and am experimenting but think i have the basics in place. this week i moved all my files to a nas drive and replaced my router so i am streaming files from the nas to a logitech transporter to the berkeley then run direct to my amp. the volume control is as good as the rest of the dac and although i have not tried it with a preamp, i would think one is not necessary. they recommend running direct and suggest a preamp will degrade the signal.

so...i like! i cannot see myself changing dacs/digital source for a long long time.
honest1
586 posts
 
Hi all, I borrowed a BADA from my dealer, and am comparing to THeta GenVIII s1. Initial thoughts are BADA is generally more refined sounding, iwth more detailed highs and smoother, easier to listen to upper midrange. From some of the descriptions, I thought the BAA would lack sparkle or definition on cymbals, but this is not the case; it is brighter than the Theta in this area, but gentler in the upper mids - a good thing. My only reservation is that it somehow seems to shift the focus of the sound away from the upper bass/lower mids to the upper mids/treble, and I am not convinced this is such a good thing, at least with my current system. Has anyone else noticed this? Ideally, I'd like the improved resolution and gentleness of the BADA with the tonal balance fo the Theta, but from people's comments, I'm not sure this is what the S2 upgrade would do - or would it? HELP!!! (I can't audition the S2 before buying)
worldcat
160 posts
 
I owned the Gen VIII for a long time and had the Series 2. I demoed the BADA and a Ps Audio DAC and TRANS. I thought the Bada was better but the Theta really had a nice suck you into the music. I ended up buying the PS audio combo which i though sounded in between the Bada and Theta. The PS combo was better than the Theta and it had the sound i was looking for. I have not demoed the Bada with the PS Transport. I really want to do this now to see how it compares. I will tell you this the upgrade on the Theta does make a big difference. You should demo the PS Audio as well.
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