Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC RS - Impressions and Information

[PMcC]

This just came in from Aurender support,

"Hello Warren,

 

First of all, thank you for your interest in Aurender.

 

The information is correct. At this point, Berkeley Alpha USB has the compatibility issue with Aurender and we don’t have a plan to fix this issue at this point.

Actually, it is not the chipset issue since other DACs with same issue works without this issue.

 

Best regards,

Eric Shim"

 

 

I've an Aurender S10 & it's working fine with my Alpha USB... I assume the compatibility issue is specific to the X100 &/or W20 USB implementation?

[wdw]

I've an Aurender S10 & it's working fine with my Alpha USB... I assume the compatibility issue is specific to the X100 &/or W20 USB implementation?

Hello,

Yes, may be true if both these S10 and the W20 are using direct balanced out...but if using the USB out, dunno...looking at the comments from Aurender, perhaps so.

Love to hear your comments on the sonic improvements with the S10.

WDW

[Camb]

In addition to advancing the state of the art in DACs, I believe the BAD RS was a shrewd business move on the part of Berkeley to drive BAD Series 2 product sales. First of all, the $16,000 price tag of the RS makes the Series 2 seem like a bigger bargin at $5,000. Secondly, the SOTA technology/performance of the RS strengthens brand perceptions of Berkeley and all of its products, increasingng demand for the now "tier2" BAD Series 2.

 

Smart business strategy Berkeley!

[bmichels]

Apparently the BAD ref dac cannot be sold officialy by Berkley for some stupid European rules. :-(. Do someone know how a way to get one imported in Europe ?

[Aryoh]

This is Berkeley RS presentation in Croatia, so you could get one in Europe.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Apparently the BAD ref dac cannot be sold officialy by Berkley for some stupid European rules. :-(. Do someone know how a way to get one imported in Europe ?

Through the Swiss distributor.

[bmichels]

Through the Swiss distributor.

 

this is not possible any more :-(.

 

Indeed, Berkley Audio Design wrote to me : " Because the Alpha DAC Series 2 and the new Alpha DAC Reference Series use some leaded solder they cannot be CE RoHS certified for commercial sale within the EU so we currently don’t sell our products within the EU. Digital Unterhaltungs no longer sells our products because Switzerland has just adopted the CE RoHS regulations."

[Glisse]

This is Berkeley RS presentation in Croatia, so you could get one in Europe.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15261[/ATTACH]

 

They shouldn't be. I guess as Croatia is a relatively recent EU member state, customs hasn't yet caught up with all these issues. Better buy one while you can

[Glisse]

this is not possible any more :-(.

 

Indeed, Berkley Audio Design wrote to me : " Because the Alpha DAC Series 2 and the new Alpha DAC Reference Series use some leaded solder they cannot be CE RoHS certified for commercial sale within the EU so we currently don’t sell our products within the EU. Digital Unterhaltungs no longer sells our products because Switzerland has just adopted the CE RoHS regulations."

 

This is a bit frustrating, as the primary health risk for leaded solder is to the person doing the soldering. The chance of a child licking the circuit board of your BADA DAC RS is, I would hope, low.

 

Still, there are high flow lead free solders with decent silver content that are pretty good substitutes. Berkeley should get with the program. Given they did not bother to address this with the RS despite a few years of development time, I have to assume they don't care.

[Miska]

This is a bit frustrating, as the primary health risk for leaded solder is to the person doing the soldering. The chance of a child licking the circuit board of your BADA DAC RS is, I would hope, low.

 

Primary reason for RoHS is to reduce health and environmental risks related to disposed electronics waste. This is also why there is directive about collection of electronics waste. Everybody who is selling electronics to consumers within EU must register with the local electronics recycling organization in each target country they are selling to, and accept electronics waste from consumers (free of charge).

 

Sometimes used electronics may even end up in certain countries where children are doing disassembly work without proper protections or anything.

 

To me, RoHS and WEEE directive are very important and make complete sense.

[wisnon]

This is a bit frustrating, as the primary health risk for leaded solder is to the person doing the soldering. The chance of a child licking the circuit board of your BADA DAC RS is, I would hope, low.

 

Still, there are high flow lead free solders with decent silver content that are pretty good substitutes. Berkeley should get with the program. Given they did not bother to address this with the RS despite a few years of development time, I have to assume they don't care.

Whats the big deal? If one can easily afford a $16K Dac, just hop on a plane and get one in America with the proper power specs and do the suitcase thing.

[emaspac]

this is not possible any more :-(.

 

Indeed, Berkley Audio Design wrote to me : " Because the Alpha DAC Series 2 and the new Alpha DAC Reference Series use some leaded solder they cannot be CE RoHS certified for commercial sale within the EU so we currently don’t sell our products within the EU. Digital Unterhaltungs no longer sells our products because Switzerland has just adopted the CE RoHS regulations."

 

I've bought my BADA Alpha USB here. You can contact Galen Carol by email. As I know, they ship regularly their items in Europe.

In my case nobody checked the RoHS or EU label during the custom clearance. I think nobody cares, since you are a private buyer, not a professional importer which resells the product. Of course if they check, then it's up to you to demonstrate the compliance (not GalenAudio, not BAD). And you can't demonstrate anything, so the risk is not marginal - loss a lot of money. But just think about it. There are a lot of "no EU/no RoHS" vintage hi fi items on ebay that you can buy without any risk. Most are included to the official GPS program, which calculates the custom duties in advance. I saw a Wadia 2000 DAC last week.. it's 1989. Do you think they will not pass the custom clearance? Come on'...

[Miska]

I saw a Wadia 2000 DAC last week.. it's 1989. Do you think they will not pass the custom clearance? Come on'...

 

I think they consider production date, for historical (used) items that were produced before the directives came into force shouldn't matter.

 

Another risk you may have depending on local legislation is if you ever want to sell the item forward.

 

In any case there's a difference between private import and commercial import/sales activity...

[Glisse]

Primary reason for RoHS is to reduce health and environmental risks related to disposed electronics waste. This is also why there is directive about collection of electronics waste. Everybody who is selling electronics to consumers within EU must register with the local electronics recycling organization in each target country they are selling to, and accept electronics waste from consumers (free of charge).

 

Sometimes used electronics may even end up in certain countries where children are doing disassembly work without proper protections or anything.

 

To me, RoHS and WEEE directive are very important and make complete sense.

 

Equal weight is given to occupational hazards in manufacturing for RoHS, not just disposal. WEEE relates more to disposal or recycling. But this is semantic. The issue with lead is that the content in solder is minuscule in comparison to the amount of lead present in roofing material in continental Europe. Let alone how many lead water pipes may still be around. Finland may be different.

 

Further, I am suspicious that this is one of those front loaded / feel good situations that is not supported by back end follow through. Meaning that I am yet to see any evidence of some state of the art recycling plants, stuffed full with mass spectrometers to determine things like solder content, where constituent electronic parts are broken down to base elements for recycling. Which is what we might like to think is happening. But recycling plants are far cruder than that, and there is no defining standard as to how they operate.

 

As for certain countries using child labour for disassembly (and I think disassembly is rare), I fear these very same countries are probably manufacturing the bulk of electronic material that ends up as waste; quite quickly given the lifespan of things like mobile phones.

 

But I certainly agree that the sentiment of the directives is important, hence my earlier comment that Berkeley have been expedient or lazy not to change (or have their supplier change, as I don't believe Berkeley manufacture directly, but use contractors) the solder used in what is a new product. There is no reasonable excuse for that.

[Glisse]

Whats the big deal? If one can easily afford a $16K Dac, just hop on a plane and get one in America with the proper power specs and do the suitcase thing.

 

I only buy significant components that I can first hear in my own system.

 

I was looking forward to hearing this DAC, given Chris' review and other favourable comments. The big deal is I am disappointed that I will now not be able to, which is probably a bigger deal to me than it is to you

[Glisse]

I've bought my BADA Alpha USB here. You can contact Galen Carol by email. As I know, they ship regularly their items in Europe.

In my case nobody checked the RoHS or EU label during the custom clearance. I think nobody cares, since you are a private buyer, not a professional importer which resells the product. Of course if they check, then it's up to you to demonstrate the compliance (not GalenAudio, not BAD). And you can't demonstrate anything, so the risk is not marginal - loss a lot of money. But just think about it. There are a lot of "no EU/no RoHS" vintage hi fi items on ebay that you can buy without any risk. Most are included to the official GPS program, which calculates the custom duties in advance. I saw a Wadia 2000 DAC last week.. it's 1989. Do you think they will not pass the custom clearance? Come on'...

 

Thanks for the link, emaspac. So Berkeley were happy to provide GCA with a 230V model?

[emaspac]

Thanks for the link, emaspac. So Berkeley were happy to provide GCA with a 230V model?

 

If I remember correctly, each Berkeley product has an universal mains power (100/120/240VAC, 50/60Hz)

So you have just to set something inside the DAC and maybe change the fuse, too.

Galen Carol can do it for you.

[Miska]

The issue with lead is that the content in solder is minuscule in comparison to the amount of lead present in roofing material in continental Europe. Let alone how many lead water pipes may still be around. Finland may be different.

 

There were some statistics about how much electronics waste (in tonnes) there is in EU per year, it was pretty high number. I have not heard about lead in roofing material and it is gone from fuels also long ago. Old things are probably around, but the important part is that new stuff is lead-free. So eventually the hazardous materials will go away.

 

Old lead-solders had 60% Sn 40% Pb. The new ones for example I am using are for example 95% Sn, 4% Ag and 1% Cu.

 

Meaning that I am yet to see any evidence of some state of the art recycling plants, stuffed full with mass spectrometers to determine things like solder content, where constituent electronic parts are broken down to base elements for recycling. Which is what we might like to think is happening. But recycling plants are far cruder than that, and there is no defining standard as to how they operate.

 

This is one of the important reasons to stay RoHS, so that the employees there are not exposed to lead or other hazardous substances. (asbestos, or similar). Usually (hopefully) in production environments there are good ventilation and filtration systems for solder fumes, but in recycling environments this may not be the case so much.

 

As for certain countries using child labour for disassembly (and I think disassembly is rare), I fear these very same countries are probably manufacturing the bulk of electronic material that ends up as waste; quite quickly given the lifespan of things like mobile phones.

 

Yes, unfortunately... Good thing is that when manufacturing for EU market, they need to use RoHS compliant substances and that reduces the risks they are exposed to.

 

E-waste may be poisoning developing nations – Voices

[PT7]

I just learnt : that pairing Berkley RD with good amp is very important I sold my old am unite and Bought pass labs xa200 , it cost alot but worth it .

In the beginning I had many problem how to pair berkeley RD with focal loudspeakers , I figure out and my friend help me alot with these cable ( I hate them) after that get my new pass amp and the true power of Berkeley dac is really shine : very strong bass with amazing clarity it's not like real , it 's reality itself , the voices of singers is very emotional with very very tiny detail and massive soundstage : my eyes watering when I listen to this for the first time , I force all my family to listen with me . I'm very very pleased with sound that I get from them , Thanks berkeley really stunning achievement and so hard to do .

 

I want to clear something that I said Before : I make a small compression between hugo and Berkeley Rd but now there is no way Hugo will stay in my desktop . I will keep it as traveler amp/dac it's small enough for that purpose .

 

I respect the guy who wrote the review and convince me to buy this Dac . keep it up.

[Rrolack]

I'd heard that many deliveries of this DAC were delayed due to production issues. Interestingly, 2 units came up for sale on Audiogon this week, whereas up to now, they've been very thinly available in the used market.

 

Does this mean shipments have caught up with demand, or is the BADA Reference still very much on back order?

[The Computer Audiophile]

I'd heard that many deliveries of this DAC were delayed due to production issues. Interestingly, 2 units came up for sale on Audiogon this week, whereas up to now, they've been very thinly available in the used market.

 

Does this mean shipments have caught up with demand, or is the BADA Reference still very much on back order?

It's my understanding that shipments have caught up.

[audio.bill]

I know a member of another forum who is still waiting for delivery of his for over nine months at this point.

[The Computer Audiophile]

I know a member of another forum who is still waiting for delivery of his for over nine months at this point.

Wow, he should talk to his dealer!

[accwai]

Wow, he should talk to his dealer!

 

Well, I know a dealer who's still waiting for delivery of his demo unit for over 9 months...

[audio.bill]

Wow, he should talk to his dealer!

He has had many discussions with the dealer about it and yet he's still waiting...