Weiss Dac2/Minerva?

I'd love to hear results of a shoot-off between the Berkeley and the Weiss. The fire-wire is a nice way to go if you do not have AES/EBU output capability.

I'd like to hear that too. Something to remember tho, the Weiss Dac2 is $2000.00 less than the Berkeley Alpha. And yet it is supposed to have the same internal electronics as the $5000.00 Weiss Minerva, making the Dac2 a better buy.

A better buy than the Minerva or the Alpha?

The Weiss Medea with the Weiss Vesta Firewire unit.

"A better buy than the Minerva or the Alpha?"
Berkeley Alpha - $5000.00
Weiss Minerva - $5000.00
Weiss Dac2 - $3000.00
So if the Weiss Minerva and the Weiss Dac 2 have the same internal electronics and the same sound, it is not hard to determine which is the better buy. Weiss vs Berkeley is another matter that would have to be determined on sound & build quality rather than price alone. Also, as you mentioned, the Weiss has firewire I/O, that may be a determining factor for some. It would certainly easily interface with a mac mini or Macbook pro music server.
I have not heard either one, but my feeling in reading the reviews on the Berkeley & Weiss dacs is that the Berkeley may be the better sounding dac, but is it worth the extra $2000.00 over the Weiss Dac2?
You may find these interesting:
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Berkeley-Alpha-dac-and-Weiss-Minerva
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/Berkeley-Audio-Design-Alpha-DAC-Review