- Thread Author
- #1
Today I was fortunate enough to have a broken in Berkley Alpha Reference DAC in my system. A friend traveled to see me and brought it with him. Visually, the DAC is quite attractive with its slanted face and overall layout. It also has some surprising weight to it.
We had planned to connect the Berkley Alpha Reference DAC to the Lumin via BNC. However, I didn't have a male to female BNC cable. The only other option was to use TOSLINK from my Oppo 105D. FAR less than ideal, but using the Oppo as a transport was our only option. Recognizing that the Berkley was seriously handcuffed from sounding its best, we proceeded to listen.
We started out playing Rodrigo Gabriela's acoustic rendition of Stairway to Heaven (redbook). It was immediately apparent that the Berkley was a tonality champion. The overall richness and sweetness of the guitar was extremely palatable. The Berkley had a wonderful sense of imaging and dimensionality. Bass was excellent as well. Balanced, yet defined. Noticeable, yet blending seamlessly with the rest of the music. Nothing sounded out of place.
We later moved on to Natalie Merchant Tigerlily (redbook), where the Berkley brought a laser like focus to Natalie's vocals. Backgrounds were quiet. Details were there in spades, but yet, it doesn't sound detailed. Musically accurate is more like it.
We then moved on to First Aid Kit Stay Gold (redbook). The overall tonal sweetness of the Berkley shined. The more complex the music, the better the Berkley was able to sort everything into its proper place in space.
Unable to play high res files, the obvious comparison to the Lumin S1 couldn't be properly conducted. However, on redbook, the Lumin sounded a little warmer in overall tone. The Berkley a little sweeter, with slightly better tonality, bass and dimensionality. However, the differences were negligible on some recordings, such as Natalie Merchant's Tigerlily. I would love to have heard how the Berkley and Lumin compared with high res files. Maybe when I get the right BNC cable my friend will travel back for round 2.
Downsides to the Berkley Alpha Reference DAC? Well, nothing sonically that I heard. The only limitations I can think of are: A. Price (but here is a perfect example of getting what you pay for), B. Those in the DSD camp will find the necessity to convert all DSD files to PCM less than desirable. I was told that Berkley recommends actually converting DSD to PCM and saving the files rather than doing them on the fly through JRiver. And finally, those looking for a USB plug-n-play DAC may also want to look elsewhere. Adding the Berkley Alpha USB adds yet another $2000 to an already $16,000 DAC.
Overall, the Berkley Alpha Reference DAC is sonically a great DAC. Let me just say, that despite configuration limitations that we subjected it to, the Berkley still managed to shine. I sat there wondering how much better it must sound via the AES connection. But overall, given the necessary "work arounds" mentioned above, it isn't for me - but don't be surprised if I change my mind! As it sits today, I'm not prepared to convert my DSD files to PCM. For many, that won't be such a big deal, and for some, well worth the effort given the reward.
The other DAC that comes to mind as I write this review is the Lampizator Big 7. Since the Berkley has such wonderful tonality, I would love to hear the Berkley Alpha Reference DAC against the tube based Lampizator Big 7.
We had planned to connect the Berkley Alpha Reference DAC to the Lumin via BNC. However, I didn't have a male to female BNC cable. The only other option was to use TOSLINK from my Oppo 105D. FAR less than ideal, but using the Oppo as a transport was our only option. Recognizing that the Berkley was seriously handcuffed from sounding its best, we proceeded to listen.
We started out playing Rodrigo Gabriela's acoustic rendition of Stairway to Heaven (redbook). It was immediately apparent that the Berkley was a tonality champion. The overall richness and sweetness of the guitar was extremely palatable. The Berkley had a wonderful sense of imaging and dimensionality. Bass was excellent as well. Balanced, yet defined. Noticeable, yet blending seamlessly with the rest of the music. Nothing sounded out of place.
We later moved on to Natalie Merchant Tigerlily (redbook), where the Berkley brought a laser like focus to Natalie's vocals. Backgrounds were quiet. Details were there in spades, but yet, it doesn't sound detailed. Musically accurate is more like it.
We then moved on to First Aid Kit Stay Gold (redbook). The overall tonal sweetness of the Berkley shined. The more complex the music, the better the Berkley was able to sort everything into its proper place in space.
Unable to play high res files, the obvious comparison to the Lumin S1 couldn't be properly conducted. However, on redbook, the Lumin sounded a little warmer in overall tone. The Berkley a little sweeter, with slightly better tonality, bass and dimensionality. However, the differences were negligible on some recordings, such as Natalie Merchant's Tigerlily. I would love to have heard how the Berkley and Lumin compared with high res files. Maybe when I get the right BNC cable my friend will travel back for round 2.
Downsides to the Berkley Alpha Reference DAC? Well, nothing sonically that I heard. The only limitations I can think of are: A. Price (but here is a perfect example of getting what you pay for), B. Those in the DSD camp will find the necessity to convert all DSD files to PCM less than desirable. I was told that Berkley recommends actually converting DSD to PCM and saving the files rather than doing them on the fly through JRiver. And finally, those looking for a USB plug-n-play DAC may also want to look elsewhere. Adding the Berkley Alpha USB adds yet another $2000 to an already $16,000 DAC.
Overall, the Berkley Alpha Reference DAC is sonically a great DAC. Let me just say, that despite configuration limitations that we subjected it to, the Berkley still managed to shine. I sat there wondering how much better it must sound via the AES connection. But overall, given the necessary "work arounds" mentioned above, it isn't for me - but don't be surprised if I change my mind!
As it sits today, I'm not prepared to convert my DSD files to PCM. For many, that won't be such a big deal, and for some, well worth the effort given the reward. The other DAC that comes to mind as I write this review is the Lampizator Big 7. Since the Berkley has such wonderful tonality, I would love to hear the Berkley Alpha Reference DAC against the tube based Lampizator Big 7.
