Any insight with the Berkeley Alpha DAC ..??

I am working on it. I already have a Dell Inspiron 530 with the Lynx AES 16 sound card installed. I am using Media Monkey to rip and manage my CD collection. The computer will be used solely as a music server.

I should be receiving the Berkeley Alpha DAC late next week or shortly thereafter. This is my first foray into PC Audio--it is a bit nerve-wracking, but I have simply run out of space for further CD storage, so this is a move I was going to have to make sooner or later. Also, I like the idea of having my collection available at my fingertips, and the Berkeley sounds intriguing enough to take a chance on.

Sorry I don't have anything more to report. Maybe in a couple or three weeks, I'll have some impressions to share...

Thanks...I will be very interested in your progress. I am in the middle of attempting to purchase the Berkeley through my dealer in NYC. I am also trying to convince them to set up a demo...I already have the Lynx AES on order and am seeking a suitable non Vista PC

Some questions...What type of connection will you be using between the Lynx and the Berkeley?

Will the Berkeley feed into your Preamp?? or directly into your amp??

I am using the Lynx with the XLR breakout cables. I am under the impression that the Berkeley sounds best running direct to the amplifier, but my experience has always been that a good preamp adds body and texture, so I will be trying it both ways--direct, and with my preamp--to see what I prefer.

I listened to the Berkeley Alpha DAC last week and came away very impressed. The setup was not optimal yet it was easily the best sound I've heard from a digital source (I'm an analog guy). The alpha DAC was being used only as a converter for a Cd redbook transport and I never listened to to it with any other source (HRx, HDCD, etc.).

I was so impressed that I spoke with michael Ritter yesterday for more info. After a long conversation, here are a couple of points he made that I came away with: 1) jitter from a hard drive digital source is typically much less than a transport. 2) he prefers WAV files to flax as the processor has less overhead to process and less noise, therefore.

I plan to do a lot more evaluation but came away impressed.