Berkeley Alpha DAC Reference Series 2 MQA

Mike

Mike

Audioshark
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The Berkeley Alpha DAC Reference Series 2 MQA is now available. $595 for the "kit" will be sent via FedEx and it can be installed by the end user or dealer in under 30 minutes.
 
Mike said:
The Berkeley Alpha DAC Reference Series 2 MQA is now available. $595 for the "kit" will be sent via FedEx and it can be installed by the end user or dealer in under 30 minutes.
Click to expand...
I'll have my upgrade kit on Monday! Thanks Mike! :celebrate008_2:
 
Just as a functional point of clarification... From what I understand the Berkeley MQA upgrade acts as a renderer only (as Peter from Lumin previously stated), so full MQA decoding requires it to be used with a server which provides MQA Core decoding.
 
audio.bill said:
Just as a functional point of clarification... From what I understand the Berkeley MQA upgrade acts as a renderer only (as Peter from Lumin previously stated), so full MQA decoding requires it to be used with a server which provides MQA Core decoding.
Click to expand...

Correct! Aurender is considering it (or working it). But no promises as they are in the feasibility phase. Lumin U1 will have it soon. Way to go Lumin!

Using a computer with the Tidal desktop app might be the short term solution for MQA resolution above 24/48. Hearing MQA in 24/192 (an album recorded in MQA) is absolutely a game changer.


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Mike said:
Correct! Aurender is considering it (or working it). But no promises as they are in the feasibility phase. Lumin U1 will have it soon. Way to go Lumin!
Click to expand...

I think it'd be possible to use the MQA Digitial Output mode of Lumin S1 / A1 / T1 / D1 and connect a BNC SPDIF digital cable to Berkeley. This way MQA Core is sent from Lumin to Berkeley, which will perform MQA Rendering.
 
I should have my new Berkeley Reference 2 DAC with MQA in about a week. I'm very excited!

Ken
 
I am excited for you too Ken. I am waiting for your thoughts once you get some time on it.

Alpinist said:
I should have my new Berkeley Reference 2 DAC with MQA in about a week. I'm very excited!

Ken
Click to expand...
 
Mike said:
Correct! Aurender is considering it (or working it). But no promises as they are in the feasibility phase.
Click to expand...

Would be great to see it happen, hopefully it works out.


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Early impressions - sound is more relaxed and natural sounding, tonality is richer, denser, and more organic (didn't want to say more natural again), and detail, especially low level detail, is off the chart!
 
Addendum: Of course, this is a firmware upgrade so there's nothing to "break-in" per se, but you do have to power down the unit at least twice. So there is some improvement as the caps recharge and/or whatever else happens when you turn a component off and on.

Me likely.
 
b6ddb33c418ebea4ca59548cc9239554.jpg


Installed this morning the MQA rendering update for the Berkeley REF2.

WOW WOW WOW! As Howard said above. PCM and MQA sound amazing.


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So Mike how do you know its MQA,, for something that cost over $10k you would think the display would be a whole lot better if that display is supposed to indicate MQA and what bit rate is playing ? .
 
Mike I assume you're using Lumin U1 with the Berkeley REF2 for the MQA to work. I'm very glad it works for you, since we don't have a REF2 to test with. Which connection did you use - USB or AES?
 
CPP said:
that display is supposed to indicate MQA and what bit rate is playing ? .
Click to expand...

Since it works in conjunction with a MQA Core decoder such as Tidal desktop app, Audirvana, Lumin U1, any of these will display the MQA sample rate.
 
wklie said:
Mike I assume you're using Lumin U1 with the Berkeley REF2 for the MQA to work. I'm very glad it works for you, since we don't have a REF2 to test with. Which connection did you use - USB or AES?
Click to expand...

I'm using AES since the Berkeley doesn't have a USB input. Berkeley feels USB is a major degradation to sound.


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I just realized this is likely the world first demonstration of the success of connecting a dedicated non-Meridian MQA Core Decoder transport (Lumin U1) to a non-Meridian MQA Renderer (Berkeley REF2). :congrats:
 
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