Article: Berkeley Audio Design Alpha USB Review

[Mark Powell]

Berkeley gear is unfortunately not marketed here in the UK, so I could not try it.<br />

<br />

Re the dCS U-Clock, I tried it with the Debussy just as an external clock, and could not really say I heard any difference. Presumably it is more suited to the Scarlatti. I did not think to use it as a USB to S/PDIF converter, and it was only on trial and has now been returned to the dealer.<br />

<br />

The only converter I have available now is the 'budget' Musical Fidelity V-Vink II, which is limited to 96K. I tried it with the Debussy when I was making some USB cable comparisons a week or so ago. It did not impair the Debussy, but it did not improve it either. Quite frankly, I would not expect it to. It does improve the sound of my Cambridge Dacmagic, which I purchased as a low-cost 'starter' DAC a few months ago when I got into computer audio. But then the Dacmagic has a notably poor USB input.<br />

<br />

My personal view is that these various USB to S/PDIF converters should really be totally 'transparent', as their purpose is just to convert from one format to another, and provide async USB if your DAC has not got that. If the DACs USB input is top quality, async with a good clock, which I am sure is true of the Debussy, then there should be no advantage to them.<br />

<br />

Regards

[bhobba]

You would think all async converters would sound the same. Maddeningly, and for reasons I don't think anyone outside those who research this and design and sell products from it, they do not and the differences are often not subtle.<br />

<br />

Thanks<br />

Bill

[jonmarsh]

These Async converters are not just converting data from one format to another; they are establishing the clock system which the receiving DAC must work off of, and retrieving the data from the computer in a way such as to keep a buffer full so that the data can be clocked out to the S/PDIF or AES/EBU output.<br />

<br />

ALL of the considerations regarding clock jitter and stability are quite important to the overall system design and performance. It's no surprise at all that different designs sound different, even ones all running Gordon's code. My own experience mirrors the benefit of even just improved isolation and buffering on a conventional S/PDIF input driven from a computer- witness the benefit of having an Antelop DA inserted between the computer and original Berkeley Alpha DAC. <br />

<br />

My Alpha USB just arrived yesterday, and I look forward to setting it up this weekend and doing some comparisons, including against the built in USB connection in the NAD M51, and with the Alpha DAC, and against my favorite LIO-8.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Very good points Jon. Please let us know your thoughts on the Alpha USB once you spend some time with the unit. <br />

<br />

[earflappin]

Jon, as a fellow LIO-8 owner and former BADA owner I will be eager to hear the results of your comparison. <br />

<br />

I would echo your comments on the import of jitter, stability and isolation in an async converter. I realized immediate, significant SQ improvements when I used an Antelope DA with my BADA. I just don't get why I should need such a device upstream of a modern DAC. <br />

<br />

[chilest]

Hi All:<br />

I am planning to replace my Bryston BDA-1 DAC with a Berkeley Alpha DAC2 this summer. I currently have a Weiss INT202 that allows me to interface my MacBook Pro via firewire to the Bryston via a Kimber cable (orchid digital cable). I run Pure Music with an external 2 TB hard drive (stored AIFF, FLAC music files) connected via USB to the Mac. I writing to ask if anyone has come across a comparison of the Weiss Int202 vs the Berkeley USB interfaces in linking to the alpha DAC2? From a price standpoint, they are similar, however, Weiss is firewire and the Berkeley is USB. Just wondering if one of these offer any advantage (in performance, sonics) over the other?<br />

Tom

[bhobba]

I don't THINK so but I have not done an in depth comparison. I did hear the Wiess device once compared to a Stello into a Metrum DAC - and I thought it was better than the Stello. However the sounds I was able to get out of my Off-Ramp into the Metrum was clearly better. This was not a side by side comparison so its rather tentative but I would say its about the same league as the Wavelength and Berkeley and a bit above the Audiophellio.<br />

<br />

Thanks<br />

Bill

[Rob McCance]

<i>I also tested the Berkeley into a Metrum and the Bryston compared to a fully optioned Off-Ramp with other audiophiles on more than one occasion. </i><br />

<br />

Don't want to side track this thread. Oh wait a minute, it's beyond side tracked already. <br />

<br />

What did you think of the Metrum vs Bryton?<br />

<br />

The Metrum in general?<br />

<br />

You can PM me if you rather.<br />

<br />

Thanks buddy,<br />

<br />

RM

[bhobba]

The Metrum is one of the best DAC's I know but you must feed it with something like the Berkeley, Off-Ramp etc. Its not as good as the best DAC's I have heard such as my reference PDX and the Playback Designs I have just purchased - but it far from shamed and some people prefer it.<br />

<br />

Thanks<br />

Bill

[Chris M.]

Why a BNC connector? Most cables with this interface tend to be pricey. And DAC's with an AES/EBU balanced input usually cost thousands. I'm sure this is a nice piece, but there are other products that do pretty much the same for a lot less $$$. Hey, not all of us can afford dSC Scarlatti systems.<br />

[nd4speed]

So has anyone done a listening comparison between the Alpha USB and the Weiss int203 yet? Considering the pedigree and engineering talent of both manufacturers I'm leaning toward the int203 based on the technical advantage of Firewire over USB 2.0. Any additional thoughts on this?

[The Computer Audiophile]

<i>"I'm leaning toward the int203 based on the technical advantage of Firewire over USB 2.0"</i><br />

<br />

Hi nd4speed - What technical advantages are you thinking about?<br />

<br />

[nd4speed]

Hi Chris,<br />

I've been able to consistently observe differences in transfer speeds between Firewire and USB 2.0, with Firewire 400 being faster. I know this is attributable to real world bandwidth and perhaps latency differences, but it may also be indicative of architectural differences intrinsic between the two interface specifications. Differences like the fact that USB host incurs most of the overhead associated with the transfer, and that perhaps other factors that I can't substantiate but have heard about Firewire; that more of its implementation is "on-chip" (for lack of a better term) vs USB for example.<br />

Whether this amounts to measurably less jitter is arguable, but it seems very plausible.<br />

Any feedback you can provide is appreciated. Thanks.

[barrows]

"Whether this amounts to measurably less jitter is arguable, but it seems very plausible."<br />

<br />

I find that the above is not at all plausible when considering asynchronous USB receivers. In an asynchronous environment, nothing going on in the USB host will have any effect on the jitter at the output of the USB receiver.<br />

<br />

BTW, has anyone ever published an photo of the interior of the Alpha USB? I would be very interested to check out the interior layout, power supply(ies) and parts selection... <br />

[bhobba]

First at our level (ie not being a digital engineer like say a guy such as Steve Nugent is) a number of effects such as RFI, common mode rejection, and spikes etc travelling down the USB cable are usually grouped under the heading of Jitter even though strictly speaking it isn't. Async does nothing to really help those other issues. This explains why async implementations can and do sound different as I have heard many times and why different bit perfect players can and do sound different into async Dac's<br />

<br />

Thanks<br />

Bill

[barrows]

I am not denying that these things matter, I am just saying that they do not effect jitter-I should add: in a well implemented asynchronous interface. A well implemented interface will have masterclock oscillators implemented in such a way as they are not affected by anything on the computer side.<br />

Yes, the computer (and software, and USB cable) still matters, why, I am not sure, but it is not becuase it effects jitter. Jitter can be measured, although not easily well measured, I have not seen anyone demonstrate jitter measurements effected by the computer side of things when using a really good async interface.

[chrille]

Would love a comparison with the (substantially cheaper) Musical Fidelity V-Link 192.

 

I listened to the new V-link II a few days ago and was not impressed at all. I have their M1HPA Headphone amp and it is really good. But on hi res classical music that I know very well both from sessions and via other dacs I did not find the V-Link II very good .

It failed to reproduce both percussion strings and space and decaying notes realistically in for example the 24/176.4 recording of Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances and from Reference Recordings. And The strings on 2L's very realistic true Reference recording of a string orchestra In Folk Style ,string sound was a bit harsh and not very resolved and lacked both the warmth and clairity that I heard both live at the sessions and hear via my Hegel HD 20 Dac and HD 800 headphones.

Maybe it sounds better via coax but the only connection the dealer had was via usb and it was not very good IMO.

[chrille]

Chris my apologies regarding my post complaining about lack of references . I missed your link to the Britten the first time I read this review!

All I am asking now, is that you always use that and other similarly revealing material in future reviews.

I listened to that recording and several other very realistic ones with a selection of dacs recently via both my trusted HD 800 Headphones and via a TAD REFERENCE speaker and amp system.

It seems we are on the same page regarding true references after all.

ps I will listen to the Berkeley asap.

ps 2 Benjamin Britten was a great composer too IMO.

All the best Chrille

[Jud]

I listened to the new V-link II a few days ago and was not impressed at all.... Maybe it sounds better via coax but the only connection the dealer had was via usb and it was not very good IMO.

 

I'm missing something here. The V-Link is a USB-to-S/PDIF adapter, so there will always be a USB connection from the computer or other player into the V-Link. The connection from the V-Link out to the DAC can be either version of S/PDIF, coax or optical (usually Toslink). Did you mean the dealer did not have a coax cable available so the output from the V-Link to the DAC was optical? Or were you listening to a V-DAC, which is a DAC rather than a converter, being fed by a USB cable from the computer/player?

[The Computer Audiophile]

I listened to the new V-link II a few days ago and was not impressed at all. I have their M1HPA Headphone amp and it is really good. But on hi res classical music that I know very well both from sessions and via other dacs I did not find the V-Link II very good .

It failed to reproduce both percussion strings and space and decaying notes realistically in for example the 24/176.4 recording of Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances and from Reference Recordings. And The strings on 2L's very realistic true Reference recording of a string orchestra In Folk Style ,string sound was a bit harsh and not very resolved and lacked both the warmth and clairity that I heard both live at the sessions and hear via my Hegel HD 20 Dac and HD 800 headphones.

Maybe it sounds better via coax but the only connection the dealer had was via usb and it was not very good IMO.

 

 

Just so we're clear. Are you talking about the V-Link II or V-Link 192?

[Phil C]

Hi Chris,

 

Thanks for the interesting Berkeley Alpha USB review. I bought one on 3/30/2012. It's connected to an HP laptop (running Win7 64bit and JRMC17) and newest Benchmark DAC1 HDR using the S/PDIF digital coax connections. JRMC17 is set to WASAPI-Event Style as recommended in the Berkeley Alpha User Guide. The music library is on an external USB hard drive.

 

Things are going well, except when I change between songs of different sampling rates (e.g., 16/44.1 kHz to 24/96 kHz) in JRMC17 suddenly there is no sound. The JRMC17 interface still shows that the song is playing.

 

To fix this, I close JRMC17, unplug the USB cable from the PC, and then plug it back in. This works until the next time I change between songs with different sampling rates and the same problem occurs. JRMC17 and Win7 are recommended in the Berkeley User Guide and JRMC17 is capable of seamlessly switching between files of different sampling rates. Given your experience with the Alpha USB, have you heard of this issue or have a solution?

 

The same sound problem occurs when switching between the JRMC17 and iTunes players on the same laptop even with songs with the same sampling rate. This is of less concern to me because I don’t switch between players very often.

 

Thanks

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Chris,

 

Thanks for the interesting Berkeley Alpha USB review. I bought one on 3/30/2012. It's connected to an HP laptop (running Win7 64bit and JRMC17) and newest Benchmark DAC1 HDR using the S/PDIF digital coax connections. JRMC17 is set to WASAPI-Event Style as recommended in the Berkeley Alpha User Guide. The music library is on an external USB hard drive.

 

Things are going well, except when I change between songs of different sampling rates (e.g., 16/44.1 kHz to 24/96 kHz) in JRMC17 suddenly there is no sound. The JRMC17 interface still shows that the song is playing.

 

To fix this, I close JRMC17, unplug the USB cable from the PC, and then plug it back in. This works until the next time I change between songs with different sampling rates and the same problem occurs. JRMC17 and Win7 are recommended in the Berkeley User Guide and JRMC17 is capable of seamlessly switching between files of different sampling rates. Given your experience with the Alpha USB, have you heard of this issue or have a solution?

 

The same sound problem occurs when switching between the JRMC17 and iTunes players on the same laptop even with songs with the same sampling rate. This is of less concern to me because I don’t switch between players very often.

 

Thanks

 

 

Hi Phil C - Hmm this is a weird one. The Alpha USB switches sample rates flawless in my system. Have you followed my JRiver setup guide? Do you have the audio output going through Default Device instead of the Alpha? If you follow this article everything should work great -> http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/436-JRiver-Media-Center-17-Detail

[Phil C]

Hi Phil C - Hmm this is a weird one. The Alpha USB switches sample rates flawless in my system. Have you followed my JRiver setup guide? Do you have the audio output going through Default Device instead of the Alpha? If you follow this article everything should work great -> http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/436-JRiver-Media-Center-17-Detail

 

Hi Chris,

 

Per your suggestion, I checked settings using your JRiver setup guide and found my setup is okay. I have heard back from Michael Ritter of Berkeley Audio Design and, as with you, he has not seen this problem either. He thinks it's most likely a computer software or hardware issue.

 

While checking I noticed that the Wiin7 System Properties screen does not show that Win7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) is installed, even though I routinely use the Windows Update feature to keep up-to-date. So this is an inconsistency I am checking on. Maybe I will be able to install SP1 "manually" with a download from the Microsoft web site and this may solve the problem. Fingers crossed and hope springs eternal!

 

You might be like me and enjoy a good computer "mystery" (as long as the solution is found). If I get things fixed, I'll be sure to let you know the solution to this curious mystery.

 

Talk to you later, I'm turning on the PC, rolling up my sleeves, and I'm going in.....

 

Phil C

[kimchee411]

Hi, Chris! Glad to see your comments on the BADA USB. Nice work, and thanks for digging in there.<br />

<br />

I don't think you've done with the companion piece with the Series 2 DAC, yet, have you? If not, let me request that you try and tease apart the contribution of the USB transport? Running the Alpha USB into both the Series 2 and into, say, a dCS Debussy (I think that'd have to be by BNC S/PDIF, wouldn't it?) or another DAC of similar "level" that also sports an on-board USB interface may help us get a handle on what the Alpha USB does, or doesn't, do for the DAC over and above what using an on-board USB receiver might do. <br />

<br />

I've found that the Alpha USB can certainly "level up" just about any DAC I've used it with, even on DACs that have explicit isolation and great oscillators. Not sure why that is as I'd think that adding in an additional translation into and out of S/PDIF would do bad things to the overall sound quality. There are DACs out there that take USB and translate into I2S, for example, instead of translating into S/PDIF first, yet again, every DAC I've tried it with, benefits. <br />

<br />

IME, the Alpha USB really helps the Berkeley DAC shine and I completely agree with you that the bass on the Series 2 DAC is one of it's comparative strengths. With the Alpha USB, the already very good bass on the Series 2 is far better (best I've heard out of that DAC). <br />

<br />

But you have access to, and way more familiarity with, more DACs than I, and more DACs of varying character. So I am curious, does the Alpha USB "add bass to" (improve the bass performance of) bass-light (or DACs that aren't necessarily known for their bass performance) DACs? What about "liquid DACs", that is DACs that really do mid range well like a tube DAC (LampizatOr or AMR DP-777), or an "airy DAC" like the dCS -- any contribution of the Alpha USB there to the (non-bass) character of those DACs?<br />

<br />

Thanks, Chris. Appreciate the comments and still loving the site 2.5 years in. ;-)

 

Hi, long time lurker, first time poster here. I have recently upgraded from Berkeley Alpha DAC Series 1 to Series 2 and have posted some impressions here:

 

AudiogoN Forums: Review: Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Series 2 DA converter

 

Regards,

Eugene

[lhissink]

Hello Chris,

 

I've recently replaced my MF Vlink (24/96) with the BADA USB and also upgraded the 75 ohm and USB interconnects with Audioquest high end cables, both being 1 step down from their top products. Source is Sony Vaia PC using Audiogate software driving an Accuphase C2110 + DAC 30, Qol signal completion unit, Sanders Magtech and Magnepan Mini Maggies.

 

There is little point using the BADA Alpha USB unless the cabling is also upgraded. Using high end audio cables on digital equipment is problematical as these are optimised for audio frequencies, DC to 20KHz, (< 30KHz) while digital signals are, at minimum, double that. (The higher the frequency, the greater the presence of HF artefacts, usually known as skin effects in the conductors).

 

That said, putting the BADA Alpha DAC into the system made an obvious difference from the MF Vlink (24/96). I have a BADA Alpha DAC series 1 but due to space limitations etc, and the fact I can't readily discern a difference between the Alpha DAC and the Accuphase DAC30 in my system, it's in storage for the moment.

 

That raises a new issue - the sound of any DAC - for it is a fact that the despite what the various digital circuits are designed around, the final output from any DAC is analog audio. So why would one DAC sound different from another - digital circuit topology or analog stage topology, or both? This raises the question of the Accuphase C2110/DAC30 combo sounds identical to the BADA Alpha DAC driving one of the line inputs of the Accuphase.

 

In my case I would need to compare the Alpha DAC driving the QOL etc as a preamp vs the C2110/DAC30 driving the QOL.

 

One thing is quite obvious from having experienced the hi-fi tendency from its beginnings, technological progression hasn't diminished the audiophile factor at all. If anything, it's increased it; yesterday we were obsessing over VTA's - today cable physics.