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Berkeley dac2/Alpha USB vs ps audio perfect wave ?


I want to try going without a preamp but want to have very good quality dac sound to make it a fair right (I will demo vs the existing preamp before I pull it out ). I've kinda narrowed this down to these two set ups based on reviews , features, and ease of resale if I change my mind. Perfect wave is about half the total cost if you pick it up on Audiogon. Both Computeraudiohile and absolute sound raved about Berkeley, and both gave very good reviews to the perfect wave 2 but without comparing it directly to Berkeley .

(I already have the Berkeley USB but I know I could resell easily so im not locked into that choice ).
audiojbva

Showing 4 responses by jdoris

jdoris
972 posts
 
That's interesting, Edorr; I recall that you've enjoyed the PWD. What did you like better about the EMM -- I'm hoping lots of things at plus 5x-7x the money! :)

John
jdoris
972 posts
 
I don't know the Berkeley, but I agree with those saying the PWD is a good sounding DAC (the MKII is considerably better than the I). I'm in the group that has experienced better sound using a preamp instead of the volume control.

Two potential reasons for hesitation for the PWD:

MSRP on the PWD seems to be frequently undercut, which contributes to what looks like a fairly weak resale market. Of course, if you get the savings on the buy in, it won't matter.

As all the discussion on the boards seems to indicate, the PWD is a work in progress, particularly on the software side. If you are using a computer as a front end, you may experience hassles in implementation. If you do (as I did), and cannot sort it out yourself, PSA, which is an audio firm and not a software firm, may not have the know how (or inclination) to help you sort it out (in my case,they didn't for me). Of course, there is a general issue about the kludgy mating of computers and DACs, but it might be cause for hesitation with PSA.

Best,

John
jdoris
972 posts
 
Btw, nice kit, Edorr. I was very impressed by the Evolution Acoustics monitors at RMAF; I'd love to hear the bigguns.

John
jdoris
972 posts
 
My problem **was** in fact with USB implementation: brief interruptions of play ("skipping"), usually once a track.

By luck, after 8 months of headaches, I figured out it was problem involving the interaction between the PWD and my MACbook (it did not occur when I swapped in another DAC, nor did it occur when I used a CDP as transport).

Both the MAC "geniuses" and PSA disclaimed knowledge of how to resolve the problem, and responsibility for doing so.

A random software update after I'd decided to give up on PSA resolved the problem. I kept the PWD, but the experience did very little to improve my mood.

Best,

John
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