Berkeley Alpha USB vs Bel Canto uLink vs Audiophilleo - Random Musings

[panhead]

Hello Rossb,

 

I have a friend name Ross who seems to be very lucky at sniffing out the best audio equipment at the best price. He might have zero experience with a certain type of gear and his first choice will be better than my 3rd iteration. His most recent acquisition was an XMOS usb interface. I don't want to promote this product in search engines so I'll just the brand is a concatenation of "Gus" and "tard" and it's on ebay.

 

Long story short, another friend has been loving the AP2+iFi for about a week. Fully in love with his AP2+iFi, the two friends compared their gear and within hours the AP2 was boxed up and ready to go back. That's like getting divorced during the honey moon. The only down side to this XMOS chi-fi product is that it's wasapi/ks supports is completely ordinary -- probably not doing anything. But the ASIO support is to die for.

 

Unfortunately the price increased from $155 shipped to $180 shipped. Also the included driver disc should be placed in the garbage. It will come with a link to a chinese website (translate with google chrome) that has v1.61 drivers from Thesycon (oem I believe). Those drivers give you the ASIO support that will blow away the AP2. Tomorrow my AP1 comes in the mail and I expect it to be bested by the XMOS -- I'll post those results by the end of the week.

 

 

My Gustard has arrived. Can you give me the link to the drivers? I dont see it.

 

Thanks

[Chodi]

My Gustard has arrived. Can you give me the link to the drivers? I dont see it.

 

Thanks

I uploaded this for another member. Here are the links:

 

http://speedy.sh/Khx5h/LuckitWaveIO-driver-2.15-Gustard.rar

 

http://speedy.sh/rxGGx/TUSBAudioSpy.exe

 

Please note I had to change the name to match the license file I had available when I modified these to work with the U10. They are the original licensed Theyscon products just labeled for another licensed oem. If you want to use the spy tool you must download it from the second link and insert it into the Wave IO installed directory. Then just put a shortcut to your desktop to make it easy to run whenever you want. After download all you have to do is unrar and run setup.

[panhead]

I uploaded this for another member. Here are the links:

 

LuckitWaveIO driver 2.15 Gustard.rar - Speedy Share - upload your files here

 

TUSBAudioSpy.exe - Speedy Share - upload your files here

 

Please note I had to change the name to match the license file I had available when I modified these to work with the U10. They are the original licensed Theyscon products just labeled for another licensed oem. If you want to use the spy tool you must download it from the second link and insert it into the Wave IO installed directory. Then just put a shortcut to your desktop to make it easy to run whenever you want. After download all you have to do is unrar and run setup.

 

 

Thanks for the info and fast response. Letting the U10 run overnight at this moment.

[Chodi]

Sorry Chodi v2.15+ASIO doesn't have anything on v1.61+ASIO. In fact 2.15 sounds no different from the XMOS driver cd that comes with the Gustard. 1.61 is so much more engaging that it must be doing something with the gain.

 

It's scary how a driver can fail an expensive system. This is far a bigger difference then any DAC or cable upgrade I've gone through.

 

Interesting, they are both the official Thesycon asio drivers. The 2.15 is just a newer version. I use headphones and I believe you are using speakers. Somehow that must account for your findings. Using headphones (HD800 and T1's) I find the two drivers very similar but I went with the newer version. The driver supplied with the device is a stripped down version. Anyway if you are happy with your results that's whats important.

[lightminer]

Rossb -

 

So I don't disagree at all about your comments regarding USB cables. In general I tend to get midrange Kimber stuff and not think about it too much, there are other things I like about all of this other than cables. However, you seem to be in a perfect place to examine the possibility of one cable that seems to be turning heads and showing what can be done with USB cables.

 

But, first, let me say that when one person says they don't matter or another says they do - they could both be correct. Source jitter and buffer size for re-clocking on the receiving end both make apples-to-apples across the industry difficult.

 

That said, I am referring to the LightHarmonic USB cable, of which I think there are now three variants. This review is of the better of the three:

 

(I think its more fun to start reading the review here, rather than in the middle)

 

6moons audio reviews: Light Harmonic LightSpeed USB cable, 3rd opinion

[rossb]

Interesting review. However, I can't imagine ever spending that much on a USB cable, and I also cannot imagine what is in it to justify its price, so I will have to leave it to someone else to undertake that comparison.

[rossb]

Now that my new DAC, a Resonessence Invicta Mirus has arrived, I have been re-running some of these comparisons to see what the best USB transport is for the Mirus.

 

This time I knew what I was looking for and the comparison took only a couple of hours.

 

In doing the comparison this time, I compared the Audiophilleo with Teddy Pardo PSU against the Bel Canto uLink with Teddy PSU against the Berkeley Alpha USB (this time using its AES/EBU output, said to be superior) against the Mirus' internal USB solution. Wasapi was used in each case, and the cable was a Moon Audio Blue Dragon.

 

The results this time are a little different. In order of preference: uLink/Teddy > internal USB > Audiophilleo 2/Teddy > Berkeley Alpha USB.

 

The Audiophilleo and uLink had the greatest resolution. However, where the AP2 had produced greater tonal colour with the Hugo, and was the clear firs choice, this time it was a bit too much and there was slight forwardness and hardness to the sound, as well as a slightly leaner sound. Perhaps because the Hugo is a little softer and less colourful than the Mirus, this benefited the Hugo more.

 

The uLink/Teddy had a similar level of resolution to the AP2, but without the sense of hardness or unnatural colour.

 

The internal USB was close behind, with a notch less resolution but a slightly airier sound.

 

The Berkeley was last, even with its XLR output. It sounded soft, colourless and did not have the same level of resolution.

 

So there you have it. It shows that the results are very system-dependant, and will vary from dac to dac. I suspect that there will be dacs which would result in the Berkeley sounding the best (their own, probably, for start), but I haven't yet experienced this.

[drez]

Now that my new DAC, a Resonessence Invicta Mirus has arrived, I have been re-running some of these comparisons to see what the best USB transport is for the Mirus.

 

This time I knew what I was looking for and the comparison took only a couple of hours.

 

In doing the comparison this time, I compared the Audiophilleo with Teddy Pardo PSU against the Bel Canto uLink with Teddy PSU against the Berkeley Alpha USB (this time using its AES/EBU output, said to be superior) against the Mirus' internal USB solution. Wasapi was used in each case, and the cable was a Moon Audio Blue Dragon.

 

The results this time are a little different. In order of preference: uLink/Teddy > internal USB > Audiophilleo 2/Teddy > Berkeley Alpha USB.

 

The Audiophilleo and uLink had the greatest resolution. However, where the AP2 had produced greater tonal colour with the Hugo, and was the clear firs choice, this time it was a bit too much and there was slight forwardness and hardness to the sound, as well as a slightly leaner sound. Perhaps because the Hugo is a little softer and less colourful than the Mirus, this benefited the Hugo more.

 

The uLink/Teddy had a similar level of resolution to the AP2, but without the sense of hardness or unnatural colour.

 

The internal USB was close behind, with a notch less resolution but a slightly airier sound.

 

The Berkeley was last, even with its XLR output. It sounded soft, colourless and did not have the same level of resolution.

 

So there you have it. It shows that the results are very system-dependant, and will vary from dac to dac. I suspect that there will be dacs which would result in the Berkeley sounding the best (their own, probably, for start), but I haven't yet experienced this.

 

Interesting to hear a different perspective, out of curiosity which SPDIF and AES cables are you using? I would try to use as similar cables as possible, but I guess AES and SPDIF are electrically different. In any case I have done some brief comparisons with Reflink vs BADA, unfortunately not with my own system, my friends speaker system with Weiss DAC. I felt that the Berkeley seemed to have slightly more defined leading edge and better depth; my Reflink sounded flatter and drier. I found it difficult to evaluate further than that as I am not familiar with the system. This USB transports/cables etc sure is a murky world! I will probably compare again at a later date to see if I can make any more sense of things.

[rossb]

The SPDIF cable was a Stereolab Black Cat, and the AES/EBU cable was DH Labs. I will repeat the experiment today with a Van Damme AES/EBU cable and see if that makes any difference (I doubt it). I may also give the SD card input a try.

 

I suppose it is possible that he BADA actually is better but that either (a) my system is not resolving enough to show this or (b) I just don't recognise good sound when I hear it - ie I may actually be preferring artificial additions or omissions than the greater resolution provided by the BADA.

[drez]

The SPDIF cable was a Stereolab Black Cat, and the AES/EBU cable was DH Labs. I will repeat the experiment today with a Van Damme AES/EBU cable and see if that makes any difference (I doubt it). I may also give the SD card input a try.

 

I suppose it is possible that he BADA actually is better but that either (a) my system is not resolving enough to show this or (b) I just don't recognise good sound when I hear it - ie I may actually be preferring artificial additions or omissions than the greater resolution provided by the BADA.

 

Invicta is a pretty resolving DAC, I would rank listening impressions in one's own system - as in your case - are more reliable. I tend to find comparing transports with speakers difficult, the difference are still there but harder to hear than with my own system with which I am familiar.

 

The reason I brought up cabling is that especially the AP has an advantage if it can be used without a cable. Given that most people will use the AP without a cable though this impression is still valid, just one can't be sure the extent to which the cable is a factor.

 

I will need to do more thorough comparison to be sure, but given the close performance I am hesitant to invest in another transport upgrade/downgrade myself.

[rossb]

I have resurrected this thread to do a brief update, because I have now had a chance to compare an Audiophilleo 1/Purepower against my Audiophilleo 2/Teddy Pardo PSU. I have also tried the AP2 with the ifi iUSB.

 

To recap, I compared a number of usb/spdif converters, including the Bel Canto uLink, Berkely Alpha and Audiophilleo, with and without external 5v PSU, and found that (in my opinion) the Audiophilleo with Teddy Pardo PSU was the best of them. This of course reflects my tastes and preferences. Other people may - and clearly do - have other preferences.

 

This week I had the opportunity to try the Audiophilleo 1/Purepower and compare it with my AP2/Teddy PSU. Initially I was impressed with the AP1/PP. It has a marginally lower noise floor and a very smooth sound. However, I started to feel it was a little too smooth. Comparing back and forth between the AP1/PP and AP2/Teddy PSU, it was clear that the latter had a more dynamic, forward presentation. Sounds like plucked strings and drum thwacks had more impact. Some may prefer the softer, smoother sound of the AP1/PP. Personally, I preferred the dynamics and impact of the AP2/Teddy PSU. As previously, the differences were small but noticeable.

 

I also compared the Teddy PSU with the ifi iUSB with the AP2. The ifi unit was not as good as either the Teddy PSU or the Purepower. It lacked the dynamics of the Teddy PSU, but was not quite as smooth as the Purepower. It is a marginal improvement on the "naked" Audiophilleo 2 in terms of low level noise, but because it blunts dynamics slightly I am not sure that it is an overall improvement.

 

So my conclusion remains that the Audiophilleo 2 with Teddy Pardo psu is my preferred usb/spdif converter.

[motberg]

Hi rossb.. many thanks for all the effort keeping us updated on this, especially interesting are the results of different (well regarded) power supplies on the same DDC...

[rossb]

I have again resurrected this thread because I have decided to try yet one more USB/SPDIF converter, after reading good things about it - the Yellowtec PUC2.

 

This is the full PUC2, not the "lite" version. The latter is an interface only, while the "full" version is only a little more expensive but is also a DAC and A/D converter.

 

I have been doing some initial testing as a USB interface, and it appears to be very, very good. I need to do some more comparisons with the Audiophilleo, but so far I am impressed by this device. The sound is full, smooth, solid and dynamic. Adding a Teddy Pardo USB PSU cleans it up marginally and adds a little more dynamics, but even on its own the PUC2 seems to be competitive.

 

Even more surprising is that the DAC sounds extremely good. Very resolving and three dimensional, while sounding tonally accurate, dynamic and also smooth and liquid. Again, I need to do some more comparisons with my other DACs to get a complete view of the PUC2. I may start a new thread about its DAC capabilities.

 

The only problem has been driver-related. Installing the drivers crashed my PC. It will only play with updated firmware using its own ASIO driver. It does not work with the Jriver driver or WASAPI. Even so, playing internet radio also crashes the PC.

 

Despite the driver issues, this so far is a very interesting box at a surprisingly low price.

[rossb]

After further experimentation, I have found that the PUC2 is significantly better than the Audiophilleo (my previous) preferred USB converter. The differences were quite substantial, and I still find it surprising that a USB converter can make any difference, let alone one of this magnitude. Compared with the Audiophilleo, the sound is bigger, deeper, fuller, there is more separation around instruments, and more tonal colour.

 

However, the downsides are, first, that it has AES/EBU output only. I had to use an AES/SPDIF transformer to try with some of my DACs, although this did not affect the clear preference for the PUC2. Also, the driver is very buggy. I have tried it with two different PCs, and it has crashed both a number of times. Both were Windows 8.1 machines, which may have something to do with it.

 

Also, used as a DAC it is also excellent. It is extremely dynamic, very three-dimensional, with possibly the deepest bass I have heard from a DAC. It has a very "live", direct sound. It is slightly on the bright side, and sounds a little edgy, but this might disappear with running in. However, the downside is that it produces a very high level of background hiss. This was using the XLR outputs into the balanced inputs on my Exposure MCX preamp.

 

On the whole, this is a stunning piece of kit, and at its price a real bargain. I just hope that the driver bugs get ironed out.

[willis202]

A week or so ago I was happily listening to my Chord Hugo, being driven by my Audiophilleo interface and thought: “This sounds fantastic! I have never heard digital sound this good. I am finally ready to give away my LPs.”

 

Naturally, this sounded so good that I couldn’t leave it alone. I had to tinker with it, obsessively plug and unplug components for several hours playing the same few minutes of music, and spent several thousand more dollars, to arrive at the same conclusion.

 

Let me backtrack. Until recently I was using a Bel Canto DAC3.5VBS II with Reflink USB interface. This sounded very good and I was happy. Then I made some changes to the system – replaced my amps with Teddy Pardo amps and the speakers with Dynaudio C1 Mk IIs, and suddenly my system achieved a new level of transparency. Every minor change in the system was suddenly very obvious in a way I hadn’t heard before. I tried my Chord QuteHD with linear PSU in place of the Bel Canto DAC, and although the Chord did some things better, I still felt the BC had the edge. Then I bought the Hugo. The Hugo comprehensively beat the Bel Canto in key areas (though not all), at half the price, and added a killer headphone amp and portability at the same time. So I sold the Bel Canto along with the Reflink.

 

Now I happened to have a uLink as well that I had bought for another PC, and also an Audiophilleo 2 that I have had for a couple of years. I wasn’t too concerned about selling the Reflink because (1) I had briefly compared the Reflink and uLink and hadn’t heard much, if any, difference and (2) my guess is that the extra (double) cost of the Reflink compared to the uLink is more to do with the heavy faceplate, the display, additional AES/EBU output and the bigger box it comes in, rather than the minimal additional power supply circuitry. I suspected that adding a decent PSU to the uLink would produce identical, if not better results. And as it happened, I have a TeddyPardo USB PSU (actually a Squeezebox PSU converted to USB duty with Teddy’s USB “T” cable), as well as an ifi iUSB.

 

Having had the experience I described in the first paragraph, and having read many reviews of the Berkeley Alpha USB, I thought if the Audiophilleo sounded this good, the Berkeley must sound mind blowing. So I went to a local shop which happened to have a demo Berkeley unit that they sold to me for a good price (good for them, I mean).

 

So now I had three USB interfaces to compare – the AP2, Berkeley and BC uLink - with two USB power supplies – an iUSB and Teddy Pardo PSU – and a few different USB cables, since I also have on hand a Wireworld Ultraviolet, Furutech GT-2, Moon Audio Blue Dragon and a recently acquired ifi Gemini cable. In addition to this I was also able to listen using my Sennheiser HD800s and Moon Audio Blue Dragon cable, for a different perspective. I should add that these listening tests were done using only SPDIF, and using a DH Labs 75 ohm digital cable with RCAs (and an RCA/BNC adapter where required), or the “direct connection” adapter with the Audiophilleo.

 

I compared all of these combinations of interfaces, power supplies, and cables for hours and hours. I would play the same piece of music again and again, maybe a hundred times. You guys have all been there, you know what I am talking about. At times the differences seemed huge, at times I was struggling to hear any difference from the same change; at times I doubted my own hearing and sanity and was so traumatized by “analysis paralysis” that I couldn’t think straight and had to abandon the exercise for the day. Did I hear a difference? Was it big? Was I imagining it? Was it an improvement? Was it worse? It was killing me.

 

Eventually I have drawn some conclusions. These are not scientific, they are not double-blind tested, they are subjective and subject to expectation bias, placebo effect and the full range of neuroses that apply to people like us. They are not final and could change tomorrow. Anyway, here they are:

 

 

• The differences between USB interfaces – or indeed any of these combinations or interfaces, cables and PSUs - are really, really tiny. People who hear clear and immediate differences, or big and obvious improvements either have better hearing than I do (not impossible) or are perhaps overstating the magnitude of the effects compared to, say, a change of speaker or amp, which is easy to do after you have spent a lot of time focusing on small changes.
  
• I could easily live with any combination of these interfaces, with or without a PSU, and any of the cables (with one exception, to be noted below), and would not feel I was missing anything important.
  
• And the question you probably wanted answered in the first place as you skimmed through the tedious meanderings I have posted above – which sounds best? The Audiophilleo!
  
• Adding an external PSU such as the iUSB or TeddyPardo to the Audiophilleo or uLink did make a noticeable difference and it was an improvement. There was a slight reduction in background hash, and the sound became smoother and had greater flow. Plugging the Berkeley into the PSU, as expected, did not result in an improvement – in fact it made it sound slightly flatter and duller. Given the Berkeley’s careful onboard power regulation, this was no surprise.
  
• Between the iUSB and the Teddy PSU, the Teddy was better. The iUSB did reduce background hash, and improved both the Audiophilleo and uLink, but it also gave them a slightly “processed” sound that is difficult to describe, but was not as natural as the Teddy PSU. In contrast,the Teddy had a blacker background and notes had more depth and substance. Again, a reminder that these differences were tiny and we are talking about measuring bees’ dicks.
  
• Between the uLink/Teddy and Berkeley, there was very little difference. I was struggling to differentiate them. I cannot conclusively say that one was better.
  
• Between the uLink/Teddy and AP2/Teddy, the AP2 was the clear winner. It had a blacker background, notes stood out in sharper contrast, tonal colours were more saturated and dynamics were better. Again, tiny differences but noticeable.
  
• Between the Berkeley and AP2/Teddy, you will have deduced from the previous two comments that the AP2/Teddy was the winner, for exactly the same reasons. The Berkeley still produced a certain amount of background hash (only noticeable in comparison to the AP2) and sounded slightly greyer, less colorful than the AP2.
  
• AP2 without a PSU against the Berkeley was a tougher choice. The AP2 naked had slightly less musical “flow” and did not have quite the silent, black backgrounds, but still retained its saturated tonal colours, and for that reason I still preferred it to the Berkeley (and also the uLink).
  
• Different output formats (using JRMC 19) sometimes produced bigger differences than changing interfaces. Kernel streaming sounded quite different to Wasapi and ASIO, although the latter two sounded similar. I thought the Berkeley sounded better with ASIO, the uLink with Wasapi, and the AP2 it was a toss-up between Wasapi and KS, with KS sounding more colourful, but having a more “digital” quality, if that makes sense. I tried all of the formats in these comparisons, although most often used Wasapi because it sounded good for all of them and it was a common, recommended format for all.
  
• I struggled to hear any differences between the cables, with the exception of the Wireworld Ultraviolet, which sounded quite lightweight and thin compared to the others. At first I thought it was more resolving, but then realized it was the reverse. I need to do some more comparisons to verify that I wasn’t imagining this. Between the Blue Dragon and Furutech it was very close; I definitely couldn’t tell them apart in a blind test, but if pushed I would say that the Blue Dragon is slightly tighter, sweeter sounding. The Gemini, due to its construction, was not immediately comparable, but I think it sounded as good or a little better (ie lower noise) than the Blue Dragon when connected directly to the PC via its data cable and to the Teddy PSU via its power cable. Yet again, the differences were tiny, vanishingly small. If someone were to demonstrate that there is no audible difference between these cables and that I was experiencing expectation bias or some other imaginary phenomenon I wouldn’t be at all surprised.
  
• The DH Labs digital cable sounded slightly brighter than the “direct connection” adapter for the Audiophilleo. The direct connection sounded warmer and fuller. I hesitate to say it, particularly in connection with digital cables, but it sounded like the difference I usually hear between copper cables and those with silver content (as I believe the DH Labs cable does), as I invariably prefer copper cables. Again, this could just be a case of expectation bias.
  

 

So the net result is that, in my system with my ears and preferences, the Audiophilleo is the winner and sounds better to me than the Berkeley Alpha USB. The AP2 with a USB PSU such as the Teddy Pardo combined with an outstanding DAC such as the Chord Hugo is to my ears a stunning sounding combination, which produces silky, silent black backgrounds and rich tonal colours. No other combination of Berkeley, uLink, cables, PSUs or output formats produced quite this combination to the same extent. However, it took a lot of listening to identify these differences, and any “normal” person would consider it crazy even to spend time (let alone money in large quantities) trying to do so.

 

It should be added that this test was limited to SPDIF. Berkeley claim that their AES/EBU output is better, and maybe it is.

 

I’m not convinced that USB cables make the big differences that have been claimed, if any. The differences that I heard could easily have been imaginary. I remain open minded, but with a slight nod towards skepticism on the subject of USB cables.

 

The PSUs do make a noticeable difference for USB powered interfaces, and I recommend the Teddy Pardo PSU. (I have no connection with Teddy but have bought quite a few things from him over the last few years and all have been excellent.)

 

No doubt many will disagree with some of my findings – particularly my preference for the Audiophilleo over the Berkeley – and also my comments on USB cables. To reiterate yet again, all of the differences I have noted are very, very small, and would probably not be noticed by most listeners at all. These are all good products and, knowing what I now know, if I owned one of them I would not - or at least, should not - spend time or money upgrading to another one, except possibly buying a PSU for a USB powered interface.

 

The next step will be to test again with a new DAC when I decide to waste some more money on an unnecessary “improvement”only to demonstrate that what I have is perfectly good. I think the PS AudioDirectstream DAC is probably just the thing for this …

hi rossb, how to use TeddyPardo usb power for AP2, my AP2 is powered by external PurePower?

[rossb]

hi rossb, how to use TeddyPardo usb power for AP2, my AP2 is powered by external PurePower?

 

I don't think you can use the Teddy Pardo PSU with the AP2 if you have PurePower. Which is a pity because I think the AP2 sounds better with the Teddy Pardo PSU than it does with the PurePower.

[willis202]

I don't think you can use the Teddy Pardo PSU with the AP2 if you have PurePower. Which is a pity because I think the AP2 sounds better with the Teddy Pardo PSU than it does with the PurePower.

 

Thanks rossb, thanks for helpful advice.

[thuandb]

Hi Ross,

 

Suppose I have an AP1 and a spare TP PSU. How can I make it work? Should I ask Teddy to make a modified cable to connect his 5v psu to the AP? Thanks.

 

By the way, I enjoy reading your review posted last year.

[rossb]

Yes, Teddy can supply a "T" cable to connect the PSU to the AP1. That's what I was using with a Teddy Squeezebox power supply until I bought the dedicated USB power supply.

[thuandb]

Yes, Teddy can supply a "T" cable to connect the PSU to the AP1. That's what I was using with a Teddy Squeezebox power supply until I bought the dedicated USB power supply.

 

Thanks.

 

Oh, so with the TP USB PSU, one doesn't need special cable, just USB. Does the AP1 need 5v or 12v input?

[rossb]

That's right. Have a look at the Teddy USB PSU here: TeddyUSB - PSU for USB powered equipment | USB power supplies | Power Supplies | TeddyPardo. You only require standard USB cables.

 

The AP1 needs 5v, as far as I am aware.

[thuandb]

Thanks again. Too bad Audiophileo only offers a captive option with 384/DSD 128 and PP. Let me try that and see how it goes against my current JKSPDIF mk3.

 

Also, it's a shame the Yellowtec driver is buggy or I'd give it a shot.

[thuandb]

Ross, would you recommend the Hugo DAC today, as a good hi-res and DSD capable DAC?

[rossb]

Personally, I didn't like the Hugo, after living with it for about 6 months. It is undoubtedly very good at detail retrieval but I found it a little tonally thin and lacking in dynamics. However, most people seem to like it enormously so it may well work for you. I haven't really been happy with any of the DACs I've had until I got the Meitner MA1, but of course this costs several times the price of a Hugo. I can only suggest you try to listen to the Hugo before buying.

[thuandb]

Thank you Ross for the heads up, I'll keep that in mind.