I have been using the Berkeley for over a year now. I do think it went through some changes over the first month or so and a fellow member who received his around the same time had similar thoughts. I find the dac very sensitive to changes in digital cables. That sort of surprised me. I spoke with Michael Ritter about recommended digital outputs and cables. He strongly encouraged using the AES3 and with some prompting suggested a Straightwire digital cable. I did experiment with that cable and went through a lengthy trial of many others, all price points. This included Kubala Sosna, Stealth, Nordost, and many more. The no contest best in my system, for my taste, was MIT. I used the Digital Proline Reference for a while and eventually decided to invest in the Oracle MA-X. I am very pleased with the cable.
I also do find the dac sensitive to power cables and power devices. I won't bore you with the list I have tried but I currently use an Acoustic Revive Power Reference plugged into an Acoustic Revive RTP Ultimate. I also do like the MIT Oracle Z3 for a little more neutrality (the AR stuff leans to the warmer side).
I also use Logitech stuff, a Transporter currently. I plan to change this as I have the Berkeley Alpha USB converter on order. I have no idea if this will be better but figured I liked the dac so much I would try their proprietary interface.
Enjoy the BADA!
I also do find the dac sensitive to power cables and power devices. I won't bore you with the list I have tried but I currently use an Acoustic Revive Power Reference plugged into an Acoustic Revive RTP Ultimate. I also do like the MIT Oracle Z3 for a little more neutrality (the AR stuff leans to the warmer side).
I also use Logitech stuff, a Transporter currently. I plan to change this as I have the Berkeley Alpha USB converter on order. I have no idea if this will be better but figured I liked the dac so much I would try their proprietary interface.
Enjoy the BADA!