Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Series 3

I know I'd love to give the dcs stack a try, along with the expensive Berkeley, Mytek, EMM, and Meridian units. But I haven't listened to enough expensive DACs to choose one.

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Has anyone compared  the Alpha 3 to the reference 3?  Was it better?  How and by how much?

thanks

At twice the price roughly, I’d estimate that it’s 15-20% better sounding

if it’s only 15-20% better, you can easily close the gap and surpass it with a good isolation stand, Entreq grounding, and a good power cord.

I'm using mine with an Oppo 103D feeding the new Vanity Pro. The Alpha DAC 3 is my first DAC, I've been using a Marantz SA10. 

I have a fairly high end two channel system and I've always preferred analog. My dealer, Galen Carol Audio, thought the Berkeley might be the one to convert me to digital. He was right. Massed strings on Bruno Walter recordings, always a problem, now sound far less edgy. Not quite RCA strings, but close and more than acceptable. The tell is I'm listening to more and more digital.

The Alpha DAC 3 is a fantastic product and I cannot recommend it enough.

I just installed my alpha 3 last night.  Fed by a blue sound Node 2i.  Tested last night with spotify and will test Tidal MQA today.  Sounds great out of the box.

What filter are you using?  I tried the 1.16 and 1.24 so far.  The 1.24 was louder.