2. amps-preamps
  3. 1254577435

Berkeley Alpha DAC vs Theta Gen VIII and stuff...

More ramblings of a madman...

So my search for the preamp has lead me here. Thanks to all who posted in my thread about the Spectral pre but i think i have narrowed it down to an odd pair, the 2 Dacs in the title. This arose from a long phone conversation yesterday with the guy who sort of mentored me in this whole audio mess. I had bounced the idea of the Spectral DMC 30SL i was ready to buy off of him and we had gone round and round about the options. A friend of his has some similar gear, WP's and the like, and had had that Spectral as well as the 30SS + the Spectral CD/DAC. He had also been searching for the right fit and came across the Berkeley Alpha Dac. His comments are strong but they mirror what Robert Harley stated in his TAS article, the BAD is better than the Spectral System...the DAC and the Pre...he has replaced all that Spectral gear with the BAD run directly to his amp. WOW! I am in. But...I must complicate this...If i am going to go the DAC/Pre combo route I might as well include the one I personally have always lusted after...the Theta Generation VIII. Ok...so now I have narrowed this down to the final 2, this is great progress. Help me drive this home fella's...

Has anyone compared these 2 fine devices? Anyone have experience with both that may help me close the door? It is not realistic to get them both here to do a listen, that is out. Gotta go on my gut and some input from the forum.

I suppose my first thought is the newer BAD is a better option given the progress in digital these days as well as the higher rez but the Theta is a classic sweet DAC which has been among the finest available for some time. It is also Theta, A company that seems to be a shell of itself since ATI got involved. Hmmmmm.

Whichever i chose will still be a challenge as neither has a solution for ht pass through. I will need to find some sort of switch at the amp or just change cables when I watch TV/Movies.

So this is where I stand. Input on these 2 devices, experience or comparison, greatly appreciated...

Rest of the system (for now!):

Krell FPB 600c
Wilson WP 7's
Logitech Transporter (will be the only source acting as tranport only)
MIT MH850 speaker cables
MIT MI350 CVT Proline Reference interconnects
MIT Oracle AC1 power cords
MIT ZStabalizerIII HG conditioner/filter/surge

HT stuff to pass through some how...

My home theater will pass through.
richard_stacy

Showing 11 responses by worldcat

worldcat
160 posts
 
I think so!
worldcat
160 posts
 
Theta has had a upgrade to it's GEN VIII i haven't heard if that is what you have. I have the GEN VIII vs/2. I will be demo in the BADA and my Theta within the next month. Well let you know how it turns out. Richard do or did you have the Theta GEN VIII v/2 if so how did it compare to the BADA?
worldcat
160 posts
 
The GEN VIII v/2 is a huge upgrade from the first one. It sounds more musical and involving. The thing with the BADA it does high res!
worldcat
160 posts
 
Jason did review it but never really gave a clear conclusion of what he liked best. What do you mean by using Reclock for high quality sources??
worldcat
160 posts
 
Anyone looking for either of these dacs you should try the PS Audio Perfect wave tran and DAC combo. I was really impressed and ordered both.
worldcat
160 posts
 
Ok i will try, the Series two menu is different. I dont have a manuel for it so thanks. I will let you know what i find out and hear!!
worldcat
160 posts
 
It seems more detail and more focused soundstage in the re-clocking mode. Maybe not as much air as in the jitter jail to me and i think in the jitter jail mode its a little more involving. There is totally two different sounds. I like them both:).
worldcat
160 posts
 
The new upgrade on the Gen VIII i though was huge all across the board. I finally did the BADA and GEN VIII comparison. This is going to come down to taste. I could not decide which one i like best. I love both of them but they do sound different. I think most people will like the BADA better. The voices where awesome on the BADA. It took 5 days of continuing listening to get the sound out of the BADA, dealer told me that it was a new unit and hadn't been broken in yet. The GEn VIII has more air to it and it is more of an aggressive sound to it, the BADA more relaxed. I love the air around the music of the Theta but i like the clarity of the BADA. I listen to Eva Cassidy "Autumn Leaves" this was interesting and describes the difference between the units. Her voice on the Theta is more raspy and on the BADA more laid back, well i never heard her in person so i dont know what is more accurate. Thats the difference i came across " which one is more accurate"! Do they both sound good or great? YES. Do i plan to get a Berkeley? YES. I need more time with both to see which one i really like better.
worldcat
160 posts
 
I have very reveling speakers so i could listen at a decent level without being to loud. But you can turn it way way up with the BADA and it sounds very good. To loud to be listening too. I really cannot remember the difference in the S! and S2 as far as being more aggressive i only noticed it with the BADA comparison. There are lots of steps with the bada volume control as it does .1 at a time increments.
worldcat
160 posts
 
It is going to be interesting how the magazines review the PS Audio Perfect Wave's. For the money they can't be beat in my opinion. As always demo them and try them in your system. Make sure they have been broken in and warmed up!!
worldcat
160 posts
 
I owned the Gen VIII for a long time and had the Series 2. I demoed the BADA and a Ps Audio DAC and TRANS. I thought the Bada was better but the Theta really had a nice suck you into the music. I ended up buying the PS audio combo which i though sounded in between the Bada and Theta. The PS combo was better than the Theta and it had the sound i was looking for. I have not demoed the Bada with the PS Transport. I really want to do this now to see how it compares. I will tell you this the upgrade on the Theta does make a big difference. You should demo the PS Audio as well.
More to discover