I heard the Bricasti M1 DAC a few months ago in a show room and I heard the Berkeley Reference DAC in a different show room. Two different systems. The Bricasti M1 was OK but I was impressed with the Berkeley Reference DAC. But now that PS Audio has come out with the Yale firmware for their DS DAC the gap is narrowed to such an extent that I would think twice and 3 times before jumping to a more expensive DAC.
PS Audio have done something exceptional with the Yale firmware. The 1.2.1 and 1.2.2 (Pike's Peak) FW pale in comparison. With Yale you have a whole new DAC at a superior performance level. PS Audio is planning at least one more firmware upgrade for the DS DAC.
As it now stands, the DS DAC is the best DAC value that I know of -- by a country mile. People have been dumping them on Audiogon in recent months. The DS needs 500 hours to break in. So, perhaps these folks were simply impatient, or perhaps the synergy was not there with their system. In any case, they did not wait for the Yale firmware. If DS DAC owners hang in there they will be handsomely rewarded, in my experience. IMO. FWIW.
