For Berkeley dacs and ddc
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@FiCurious did you end up with the ref 1, 2 or 3?
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Itâs the Ref 1 with latest firmware and MQA.
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Did you say you have a demo lined up for a Ref 2?
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I need some more listening time, but so far, Iâm impressed, and somewhat surprised at the jump from the La Voce S3. I was slightly concerned that the timbre wouldnât quite be where I want it, but so far itâs presented quite naturally. Itâs also built like a tankâŚquite a hefty piece, and very nicely finished.
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I found somehwere to demo a ref 3 but the dealer realy realy rubbed me the wrong way tbh so im looking into pther options of where to demo
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Thatâs too bad. Hope you can get something worked out.
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Berk Ref 2 has settled in now for almost a week. Have been listening everyday for 2-3 hours. Whatâs feeding the berk is an antipodes streamer and reclocker with uptone etherREGEN and a small green computer fmc. With cables from FTA, VooDoo, and JPS labs. Using the AES on berk. I upgraded from a Mojo Mystique EVO
Besides the increase in detail, control, texture, and realism, the berk 2 has a very well done/slightly forward, but still very organic treble response compared to the EVO. Some tracks can get a touch hot, but i believe its just the recording quality. Some of those 90âs and 2000âs radio rock just donât cut it haha.
The berk is much less forgiving than the mojo, which seems like a negative statement , but its far from that. Well recorded materials REALLY show case this upgrade, especially with local files over qobuz. Those quintessential classic rock albums really shine here with textures and separation. For example, if a track starts off with light highhat hits its somewhat startling as its like not actually listening to a recording, sounds so real/in the room.
Other noticable changes have been a more intimate stage than the mojo. The berk is a touch closer on width but still has very good depth and separation. The mojo has more roundness and thickness to its sound which i think trades off for its treble response, which isnât bad, just not stand out like its low end. The berks more intimate stage really brings out vocals that remind me of the hd600, i know, weird to compare a dac with a headphone.
The berk does a very good job being lively and organic while remaining super clean and detailed. Pretty enjoyable. It really can be fun or relaxing and if you want analytical, its no slouch there.
With my highlights of âintimate stageâ âforward trebleâ âless forgivingâ I think that some may think to stay away from this dac but i think at this level its done correctly. Its like the best neutral sounding but with excellent bass,mids, and treble responses that go deep on all frequencies and still remain somewhat lush but still very articulate. With that being said i think i would avoid certain amp pairings for sure as the AIC10 treble isnât up to par as its bass and mids are.
Since the berk doesnât have USB input, I have an optical cable coming in to use from my motherboard for PC/gaming stuff haha. I had debated on getting a ddc but didnât think it was worth it for just internet and gaming usage.
There are 4 filters in the berk and they all sound great. The build quality is very good and looks WAY better in person. Pictures weirdly make it look dumb honestly, was almost a deal breaker for me but coming from the mojo fontâŚlol
Has a remote which will come in handy for switching from streamer to PC.
Overall pretty happy with this upgrade. As far as amp and dac goes, im pretty tapped out honestly(mainly the cost and the selling grind) lol.
I do want to get some super awesome desktop size speakers however, or re arrange my listening room to better fit larger speakers as my kids get older, while still using my desk and the AIC10 lol but never say never. I will probably sprinkle in some other headphones as i do crave more slam than what the sus has to offer at times, but not enough to warrant high cost. Was thinking a th900, d8kpro, or Dianna V2. Currently also have nighthawks and dt880 which actually both hit nicely, much different feeling than the planar.
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Nice write-up. Very similar experience for me going from Aqua La Voce S3 to Berk Ref 1 MQA, though my front end is not on par with what youâre feeding yours.
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I got up at the ass crack of dawn this AM very excited to begin experiencing and experimenting w/ my new to me, Berkeley Alpha Ref. Series 1 dac. I am not usually this excited to play w/ a new piece but before i shut down the system last evening I realized that M0N âhit the nail spot on the headâ w/ this recommendation.
This really is a brutally honest DAC in its ability to take in material to include the variance it seems in cables and give you a representation based on its feeding. Iâve managed to play with a variety of DDCâs, USB, AES and RCA cables this morning and Iâm giddy w/ delight in finally being able to distinguish nuances in output that until this very day i was unable to recognize otherwise. Iâve also swapped out 2 amplifiers, 2 pair of speakers and 3 rectifier tubes in my desire to better distinguish nuances and variants in sound signatures and I am so very pleased w/ the initial results. Itâs been over 6 hrs straight and Iâm really getting sick and tired of listening to my single test track but i wanted to know for sure if this DAC in particular had the abilities i was looking for and Iâm fully satisfied and looking forward to months of experimentation. 
Lastly, try this yourselves, get a good nightâs sleep, shower and drink 2 large glasses of water, have a good protein and fresh fruit and then go and listen to your music. I have done this before and find my ability to listen critically is much enhanced. My mind is clear, and my ability to focus with energy and vigor is just so much better than after a full day of work/activities. Iâm giving myself a well deserved break and then going back later in the day to actually listen to some music.
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Sweet sweet, glad you are enjoying it, I think the berkeley stuff has been one of my favorite dac purchases (even though I donât talk about them too much).
I will say, I actually have my prior Reference 3 back in house for the time being, and that brutal honesty it offers is refreshing lol (if not a bit irritating at some times)
Iâm sure the warm up of the dac played a role as well lol, since it really does have a significant warm up time from my experience, it only really settles in after a few days
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So then you didnât find them forgiving at all, in other words?
I wonder if hearing the differences in cables her will tick the right synapses to be able to discern the differences when youâre not using the Alpha. I donât think that Iâd be able to provide specific differences between one cable and another bases on a short session but Iâve found that on long sessions, if I switch cables after having acclimated to them for a few days that the difference is very palpable but nothing that smacks in the face. More like walking into a room thatâs a couple of degrees cooler, or walking into a room where someone with perfume had spent some time not long previously. Kind of those types of examples, where I clearly hear the difference but itâs in its entirety not in specifics.
Congrats on the new toy though, it sounds like itâs exactly what you were chasing!
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The berkeley? Yes Iâd consider it fairly unforgiving. As bmn noted, that isnât really a dealbreaker trait though
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Ah my friend, Iâm only listening for differences in spatial depth, imaging and soundstage. At the front end they are captured quickly on 2 channel when you focus on specifics. I am just this evening even beginning to listen to music out of it.
I also specified on digital glare and high end energy and caught those quickly too. Implementation of a DDC into the system while playing with my main rig gave me good experience in this one particular aspect of equipment.
Iâm also blatantly comparing this immediately to the unit I pulled out of the chain which is a difference of fried potatoes and salad as far as build and implementation goes. Both sets of speakers I am using will vary their sound output drastically depending on what they are being fed. I bet if I locked you up in this room for a few hours and let you have at it you would surprise yourself at how quickly and fairly easily you can play with the sound swapping stuff around. Remember how dead the room sounded to you when you first sat in it. You picked up on that immediately within one or 2 songs. This DAC has a vibrancy like nothing else Iâve had a chance to play with before. Itâs absolutely all about finding synergistic components. I told you the story about listening to it at the owners home. Took me 30 seconds to hear how bad those bells sounded. And he had nice stuff in there.
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@dB_Cooper i also will say that hearing differences in cables at the amplifier is still a NO GO for me. Itâs almost cheating when you play with the USB cable though for whatever reason those seem to affect certain qualities with repeatable results. 
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Yeah, seems like digital cables make a big difference to my ears as well. Itâs one of the reasons that pushed me to now try and upgrade my source game.
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Wish i could have pushed my budget up for this
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10 years from now I will be all over one of those bad boys⌠
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Imma gonna put this article here as a source of reference for anyone in the future referencing the MQA/PCM upgrade available for older units.
Note: I can hear the sirens and see the red lights spinning on top of a few computers as I write this article with the letters MQA in the title. Fear not, this article is neither a referendum on MQA, nor an endorsement or rejection of MQA. Take a deep breath before continuing to read on.
Berkeley Audio Design recently released an update to its Alpha DAC RS 2 digital to analog converter. The official name of the product is now Alpha DAC Reference Series 2 MQA. At first blush, one may think this firmware update just enables MQA on the RS2. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Ok, in this world there are many things further from the truth, but I used the phrase as a figure of speech. This update is for MQA AND non-MQA playback.
Berkeley Audio Design started the process of investigating MQA and figuring out how to best implement the technology over a year ago. The team at âBerkeleyâ just canât leave well enough alone, it has to go over the top with everything implemented in its products. As such, they worked nearly that entire time on 1. How to best implement MQA and 2. How to improve overall DAC performance at the same time.
To begin, Berkeley Audio Design didnât just âuploadâ sample code to the Alpha DAC RS2 and start listening and tweaking. Oh no, âBerkeleyâ engineer Michael âPflashâ Pflaumer wrote the entire update in assembly language! Yes, assembly language. This update, to firmware version 3.0.0, was written in assembly language to enable the absolute most control over everything and make sure nothing extraneous was included in the code.
One detail that gives the CA community a view into how this company works, is that this update was written to optimize processing in the DAC so that it remains uniform over time. Sure, âBerkeleyâ could have enabled the processors to run at 100% and call that âuniform over time.â But, thatâs not the âBerkeleyâ way. Pflash spent many months perfecting his code to optimize both MQA and non-MQA PCM playback.
The MQA part of the update enables the RS2 to handle MQA rendering only. Thatâs the final step in the MQA process. Berkeley Audio Design believes that the decoding process, prior to rendering, is best done outside of the DAC. Similar to the companyâs belief that USB interfaces are best kept separate from the DAC (i.e. Alpha USB). The theme here is to keep all forms of noise outside the DAC and to keep its operation as stable as possible.
Playing MQA content through the Alpha DAC Reference Series 2 requires an application or piece of hardware that decodes the MQA music for output to the DAC. This can be as simple as the Tidal desktop application, Audirvana+, or a hardware decoder such as the dCS Network Bridge or Aurender (coming very soon) that outputs AES into the Alpha DAC RS2 MQA for rendering.
For most of my testing with the updated RS2, I listened to standard PCM material, of which I am very familiar. I know what this music sounds like on many DACs, including the pre-upgraded RS2, making comparisons very easy. Bringing MQA content into this evaluation doesnât really help anyone at this time. There are too many unknowns to make a fair judgment and provide a service to the CA community.
A couple weeks ago I received a nice surprise from a friend in Northern California. Having previously expressed my love of the album Relaxinâ with the Miles Davis Quintet, this friend made me a copy of his SAFETY MASTER tape of this album, at 24 bit / 192 kHz. Not only that, it was done on a Pacific Microsonics Model 2 A to D converter and HDCD encoded. Thatâs where this story ties into Berkeley Audio Design nicely. The principals at âBerkelyâ were founders of Pacific Microsonics, where they invented HDCD and spent exorbitant amounts of money on audio research. Actual research in audio, not Audio Research components.
With this single 38 minute high resolution file of one of my favorite albums, I listened to the Miles Davis Quintet like never before. Youâre My Everything is my favorite track on the album, and it didnât disappoint. Through the newly upgraded Alpha DAC RS2 MQA, I could hear into the recording incredibly well.
Iâd really never noticed the cymbal work at the very start of the track by Philly Joe Jones, until I played this master tape transfer and used the RS2 MQA. I feel incredibly dense that I was unaware of the drum / cymbal roll thatâs so delicately played by Jones. He lays the groundwork, in addition to Red Garlandâs block chords, for Milesâ unmistakable trumpet. Once Jones, Garland, and Davis are joined by Paul Chambers on bass and John Coltrane on tenor sax, the track elevates from really cool to something thatâs out of this world. I could literally listen to this combination of master tape transfer and Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Reference Series 2 MQA for days on end. If the RS2 MQA could pump smoke into my listening room, Iâd swear I was in a Jazz club or even Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey on May 11th and October 26th, 1956.
Moving on to Jack Johnsonâs Brushfire Fairytales (2011 remaster 16 bit /48 kHz), was absolutely delightful. Jack is no Pavarotti, heâs a surfer and a musician, but his voice, when played through the updated RS2, sounds incredibly intimate and realistic. Itâs as if I can relate to him more because he sounds like a real person singing in the corner of my listening room.
On track number 3, Posters, I canât get over how much decay I can hear in this pop recording, through the upgraded RS2. For example, listen to the track at about 0:05 seconds to hear a crashing cymbal with incredible space and decay that floats away from the drum set. By far, the most incredible decay in this track is at 1:00, 1:12, 1:53, 2:04, and 2:22. Percussionist Jack Tool gently taps a bell, and the deal goes on forever. It seems to just hang in the air and is clearly audible even though other instruments are playing louder. The updated RS2âs ability to convey these low-level details and delineate each instrument is really something special.
Because of a hectic travel schedule of late and using a completely different system while writing about the Schiit Audio components, I had forgotten how special this DAC really is. Of course, I remember my glowing praise for the original Alpha DAC , the original Reference Series , and Reference Series 2, but the sound I hear through the newly upgraded RS2 MQA is on another level. Perhaps I donât remember this sound because I hadnât spent much time with the upgraded unit and havenât ever heard it like this prior to the upgrade.
Performance improvements such as this RS2 MQA upgrade can be very frustrating for me. I love the fact that this DAC is now even better than all previous Alpha RS DACs, but I want nothing more than to explain to the CA Community why the performance is so much better. I want to lay out, step-by-step, exactly what Berkeley Audio Design did to squeeze a few extra percent out of the RS2, but thatâs just not going to happen. A company with a large intellectual property advantage over many competitors doesnât take out a billboard in Times Square to give away all its secrets. If I didnât hear such a big improvement, Iâd call BS on this upgrade. However, based on my listening tests, I am 100% certain Berkeley has engineered the Reference Series into a new league.
The Alpha DAC Reference Series 2 MQA upgrade is available direct from Berkeley or from Berkeley Audio Design dealers worldwide for $595, plus $20 for shipping. Berkeley sends instructions, identification stickers for the rear of the RS2 MQA, and a letter certifying the upgrade for each specific serial numbered unit. No hardware changes are required to RS2 DACs. Berkeley says the upgrade also provides a great improvement in fidelity when installed on an original Reference Series. Yes, this update will also enable MQA and the PCM benefits on an original Alpha DAC Reference Series. Those of you with non-reference series Alpha DACs, should also be excited because this update is coming very soon for your hardware.
The price of a new Alpha DAC Reference Series 2 MQA is now $19,995. Thatâs up $495 from the previous RS2, but includes the MQA upgrade.
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