Berkeley Audio Reference 2 DAC

Mike

Mike

Audioshark
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Apr 2, 2013
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Sarasota, FL
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Using Siltech Royal Signature AES/EBU and Aurender N10.

Special thanks to Howard (sandman) for letting me be the first to try his - even before him. I was breaking it in...yeah...let's go with that.

Vocals are gorgeous, absolutely freaking GORGEOUS, with such a nice sweet bloom. The "weightiness" of piano and acoustic guitar is the best I've heard. The piano sounds so full. Joni Mitchell's guitar has such beautiful decay.

The Ref2 is a definite step up from the Ref1, an already great DAC. The Ref2 takes things to another level. The vocals...wow. Wow. Wow. Checking now to see if there is a 300b stuffed in there somewhere.

Is the upgrade worth it? HELL YES!!!!!

The vocals. Holy crap. Listening to Gregory Porter gave me goosebumps. There is just no digital hash, no digital edge at all anywhere, at all. None.

Wow.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
CPP said:
Mike have you compared this version to the first version you have ?
Click to expand...

It's definitely a big step up as I said. Specifically in the "weightiness" of piano and guitar and VOCALS! Did I mention vocals? [emoji6]
 
Some more notes: as I moved on to Andrea Bocelli, I am struck by how balanced the bass is. Nicely define too. On the first track of the album Amore, near the end, the bass can over power the rest of the song. Not so with the REF2. His vocals are as smooth as butter, with no detection of any digital hash.

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As a side note, I like the Berk Ref2 volume set at "58" (out of 60).
 
apdoc2004 said:
Mike,

How does it compare to Chord Dave for PCM?

Thanks,
Anshul
Click to expand...

Are you trying to get me shot? :rolleyes:

The Chord Dave exhibits more detail, more layering, deeper soundstage. The Berk Ref 2 has richer, fuller tonality and better vocals. Both are equally quiet SUPER quiet. The DAVE does DSD natively without external conversion. The DAVE has a headphone amp (if that's important). USB only folks (like Aurender N100H) will require the Berkeley Alpha USB. Berkeley has MQA plans and things are in the works. Chord does not. Both are exceptionally good direct into amps.

I would say it comes down to the listener and the system. If you're a detail fan, go for the DAVE. If you're a tonality/vocals fan, go for the Ref 2. But seriously, both are top drawer and neither gives up much to the other in any area.

And to be fair, my listening to the REF2 was not as extensive as I would have hoped. Howard has already come and scoffed his Ref 2 from me (damn!) I really love the N10 --> Siltech Royal Signature AES/EBU --> Ref2 combo. I could listen to those delicious vocals and piano/guitar for hours! Really, redbook should NOT sound this good!

If I was strictly a PCM (mostly/only) guy, I would go with the REF2. If your listening is split down the middle between PCM and DSD, then the Chord DAVE. If you're primarily DSD, then the Lampi. If you want an all-in-one solution that plays all formats, then Lumin!

That's my two cents.
 
Mike said:
Are you trying to get me shot? :rolleyes:

The Chord Dave exhibits more detail, more layering, deeper soundstage. The Berk Ref 2 has richer, fuller tonality and better vocals. Both are equally quiet SUPER quiet. The DAVE does DSD natively without external conversion. The DAVE has a headphone amp (if that's important). USB only folks (like Aurender N100H) will require the Berkeley Alpha USB. Berkeley has MQA plans and things are in the works. Chord does not. Both are exceptionally good direct into amps.

I would say it comes down to the listener and the system. If you're a detail fan, go for the DAVE. If you're a tonality/vocals fan, go for the Ref 2. But seriously, both are top drawer and neither gives up much to the other in any area.

And to be fair, my listening to the REF2 was not as extensive as I would have hoped. Howard has already come and scoffed his Ref 2 from me (damn!) I really love the N10 --> Siltech Royal Signature AES/EBU --> Ref2 combo. I could listen to those delicious vocals and piano/guitar for hours! Really, redbook should NOT sound this good!

If I was strictly a PCM (mostly/only) guy, I would go with the REF2. If your listening is split down the middle between PCM and DSD, then the Chord DAVE. If you're primarily DSD, then the Lampi. If you want an all-in-one solution that plays all formats, then Lumin!

That's my two cents.
Click to expand...


Man, did you ever navigate those dangerous waters. Politics is in your future......hehe.
 
The change from the Ref1 to Ref 2 is YUUUUUGE

Better? [emoji631][emoji631][emoji6][emoji631][emoji631]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
So what exactly is upgraded in 2 vs 1? Still can't find details on what is actually upgraded for $3.5k.
 
Berkeley recommends that no critical listening be done for at least 12 hours after plugging the unit in due to its very high thermal mass. in fact, they put in in bold letters like I just did. :)

The unit is now fully warmed up and I did a long listening session today. Mike's initial impressions are correct but incomplete, as certain aspects of the sound were evident even when the DAC was cold but others took some time to show themselves. Digital artifact is now almost completely gone, and the tonality is both smoother and richer. Certain instruments sound particularly amazing - piano, guitar, and saxophone are notable examples but the higher pitched percussion instruments as well. Cymbals are to die for. And both male and female vocals are stunningly real. Despite the perceived smoothness, there is an unquestionable increase in the presentation of fine detail. And it's much better resolving room ambience and echo. For instance, in listening to Neil Young Live at Massey Hall you could just reach out and touch Neil Young, and feel his breath - it was that real. It's a very natural sound - I hate the word organic for this but I can't think of another one.

The width of the soundstage increased dramatically with warm-up. That's one of the things Mike missed by hearing it cold - that, the room ambience and the cymbals!

I don't get the impression that too much hardware was swapped out - at least not capacitors or other items that need a long break-in. The unit seems more or less just as broken in as it was when I sent it off - once it was warmed up overnight it sounded really good and within 2 days it's tremendous. No question it was worth the cost of admission and the time it took to do the upgrade (which was more shipping time than upgrade time - Berkeley promises to turn the units around in less than 2 weeks and by golly they did).
 
This is now officially confusing for me.

I (slightly) prefer the Chord DAVE over the Berkeley Ref 1 for my all-PCM music served up by an Aurender N10.
But I still have the Berkeley Ref 1, and now I'll likely send it back to BADA for the upgrade to Series 2.

So, after I get the now Ref 2 back from BADA, which one will I prefer: DAVE or Ref 2?
Will I agree with Mike's perceptions, since I'm a "strictly PCM (mostly/only) guy"?
Or will the DAVE still be the tops?

Mike, you cause trouble. Thank you.

Dave, who wonders how the upgrade to Ref 2 process works since there's nothing on the BADA site about that and so will likely call them this week

Mike said:
Are you trying to get me shot? :rolleyes:

The Chord Dave exhibits more detail, more layering, deeper soundstage. The Berk Ref 2 has richer, fuller tonality and better vocals. Both are equally quiet SUPER quiet. The DAVE does DSD natively without external conversion. The DAVE has a headphone amp (if that's important). USB only folks (like Aurender N100H) will require the Berkeley Alpha USB. Berkeley has MQA plans and things are in the works. Chord does not. Both are exceptionally good direct into amps.

I would say it comes down to the listener and the system. If you're a detail fan, go for the DAVE. If you're a tonality/vocals fan, go for the Ref 2. But seriously, both are top drawer and neither gives up much to the other in any area.

And to be fair, my listening to the REF2 was not as extensive as I would have hoped. Howard has already come and scoffed his Ref 2 from me (damn!) I really love the N10 --> Siltech Royal Signature AES/EBU --> Ref2 combo. I could listen to those delicious vocals and piano/guitar for hours! Really, redbook should NOT sound this good!

If I was strictly a PCM (mostly/only) guy, I would go with the REF2. If your listening is split down the middle between PCM and DSD, then the Chord DAVE. If you're primarily DSD, then the Lampi. If you want an all-in-one solution that plays all formats, then Lumin!

That's my two cents.
Click to expand...
 
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