Berkely or belcanto dac3.5vb with vbs1 power supply

[ivanforly]

hello,

this is the first time I write in a forum, Unfortunately, in a language that I do not speak well. I would like to know if someone compared the bel canto dac with Berkeley, I live in Italy and Berkeley is not distributed so I should buy it without trying . Now I  listen through the Bryston CD player bcd1, which I use as a reference. Now i'm looking for a dac that sounds better, or the same. I compared it with the Weiss Minerva and I found bryston sound better more open and more dynamics. I read a lot on this forum about berkleley and i am very curious, but i read a very beautiful review on stereophile about belcanto dac. Now i'm using amarra mini 2.2 with itunes as a player with mac mini, for now, with VDAC.

I hope, that what I wrote is understandable. 

thanks ivan 

 

[DiminishingReturnsOfficer]

Can we assume that you've ruled out the Bryston DAC? Is your CDP your only source or do you use a music server? Have you seen Bryston's new USB digital player? Anyway, in terms of a comparision between the 2 products you have listed, I don't think you could really go wrong with either. The only feature that I'm aware of that you'd be giving up with the Bel Canto is HDCD decoding. Of course, using the BCD1 as a transport, you would have to verify that it passes this information along to the DAC. The Berkely has an indicator light for this. From what I understand, the primary advantage to the Bel Canto 3.5VB is the $1500 VBS power supply. This is above and beyond the LNS1 unit that comes with the DAC3.5. With the VBS supply, the Berkely and Bel Canto are very close in price. I own a DAC3 from Bel Canto and have lived happily with it for 2 years. I looked into the upgrade process and one of the biggest benefits they promise is a more accurate clock with less measured jitter. I investigated that in the online manuals on the Bel Canto website and both models list clock jitter at 2 picoseconds RMS. From what I've read, including the Stereophile rewiew, the 3.5VB has blacker backrounds, better defined bass, and more depth to it's presentation. With the VBS supply, items such as power cords and line conditioners do not audibly effect the performance. I believe that, with a good line conditioner and power cord, I'm getting nearly as good performance from my DAC3, but I'm anxious to verify this.

The DAC3.5 offers one analog input which is converted to digital and then back to analog. This makes it a great choice for someone with limited source components. I'm not sure if the Berkely DAC has an analog input, but I know it does have volume control so it, too, can be used as a preamp. I have not heard either DAC in a familiar setting. You don't need me to tell you this, but it would be ideal if you were able to do an in home audition.

 

[ivanforly]

thanks for your advice.

Best regards

Ivan

 

[barrows]

If you can demo Weiss, you should definitely demo the Weiss DAC202. Most who have heard it versus the Berkeley have preferred the Weiss. The DAC202 gets stellar reviews from all who have heard it, and it will give you a good idea of what is possible. I would not recommend purchasing a DAC at this level without hearing it first in your own system.