dCS Rossini vs. Berkeley Reference dac 2

Thanks, still hoping someone will chime in who has heard both in credible "A/B" fashion.  But congrats on your Rossini.  I have to say, I have heard the Vivaldi (all things equal) with and without a preamp.  While it's true that a 32-bit attenuator should bridge the gap between digital and analog volume control, the Vivaldi with high quality preamp bettered direct-to-amp by a sizable margin.  Not even close!  That said, the preamp in this case cost more than the Rossini!  But whatever works.  Enjoy, you have a great product.  D

Having just bought a Rossini, I may be biased, but the Rossini is a very nice piece. In my system, the Rossini replaced a Meridian 808.5. While not inexpensive by any measure, the Rossini sounded better than any digital front-end I've listened to. The volume control is very good and makes the decision to go direct to the power amp easy.