Article: Berkeley Audio Design Alpha USB Review

[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 -> Computer Audiophile - JRiver Media Center 17 In Detail

 

Hi Chris,

 

The problem is solved. Let me walk you through events. I previously told you that I followed your advice about using your JRMC Setup Guide. More recently, I installed Win7 SP1 and upgraded from JRMC17 to 18, but this still didn't fix the problem. I was out of ideas and time passed as I just lived with the problem.

Then, unrelated to looking for a solution, I purchased a USB 3.0 external HD and moved my music library from a USB 2.0 external HD to it. Arbitrarily, I connected the new HD to a different USB port (which is a shared USB/SATA port ) than the port that the old HD was connected. When I next played music in JRMC, the problem was solved; I can switch between songs of different resolutions without playback halting.

What to make of this? Was changing from a USB 2.0 HD to a USB 3.0 HD the solution? Not likely. So, unless I have overlooked something, simply plugging into a different USB port connection did the trick. How can this be? One theory: It's all about timing. I've read that selecting a USB port that is less busy with interrupts can improve musical performance. So, maybe I luckily picked a port that helped with sensitive timing issues between software. One problem with this theory though is that if this were the case then a lot of other Berkeley Alpha USB/ Windows PC users would be complaining about a resolution switching problem and they aren't.

[gsquared]

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?

 

I just came across this thread. I have compared the Alpha USB to the Weiss INT202. Myself and a dealer of did a comparison. He's not the dealer so he had no vested interest. After doing careful comparisons, we both concluded the Weiss sounded better. Much more natural presentation on the Weiss. The thing that I remember distinctly was how natural the decay of notes and the spatial cues in the venue sounded on the Weiss compared to the Alpha. In the same session, we also compared both units to the M2Tech Evo and the Alpha was better than the Evo and the Weiss better than both USB units.

 

My .02.

 

Gary

[joelha]

I realize I might not get an answer tonight but thought I'd try as my dealer isn't open right now of course.

My Alpha USB converter has a solid green light on the front whether it's receiving a signal or not. I've tried unplugging it and then powering it on again. When I power it back on the light is amber but when I plug in the USB cable I get the green LED. The problem is when I later remove the cable, I still get the green LED, not the amber light (indicating that there's no signal).

I know there is a way to perform a factory reset for the device.

I believe the method is very simple.

Could someone tell me how that's done?

Thanks,

Joel

[amir57bs]

BADA USB is really Good.

I just looking for a comparison by Diverter HR .

[alekos985]

Can I even use it to listen to music by connecting a samsung s5? (Via micro usb)