Has any one compared a Weiss 202 to a Berkeley Alpha Dac?

[Mike Gillespie]

Hi, I'm looking for a good DAC and I've heard very good things about the Berkeley Alpha DAC and the Weiss 202. I have only been able to hear in A and B comparisons a Weiss Medea Plus which was significantly better in terms of resolution and sound stage than the Lampizator Level 4 I was looking at, but that's $20,000 compared to $5,500 for the Lampizator, something I can never afford. A used Weiss or a used Berkeley may fit my needs better budget-wise. Just wondering if any one has made the comparison. Thanks.

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Mike - I compared the two a bit in my DAC202 review.

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Weiss-Engineering-DAC202-Review

 

 

[Mike Gillespie]

Thanks, Chris. A terrific review. Anybody else compare them? Weiss used is about 5k, Berkeley about 3k.

 

[tmornini]

Hey Mike.

 

I considered a Berkeley a couple of years ago, but ended up buying a Bryston BDA-1 instead as the Berkeley devices were unobtainium at the time.

 

When it came time to upgrade, I was surprised that the DAC had not been updated in years, didn't have USB though they'd been promising it for a very long time.

 

After reading Chris' review, I bought the Weiss.

 

I've not heard them side-by-side in the same system, but I'm super happy with everything about the Weiss.

 

Crisp, yet non-fatiguing. Huge soundstage. Great bass. Direct-connected to my amps, input sensitivity made the most of this.

 

This DAC rocks. If you can afford the difference, I'd suggest you go for it.

 

[Mike Gillespie]

And what amp are you directly connecting to the Weiss. Thanks for the note. Mike

 

[jacobacci]

Hi Mike

 

I have both in my system. Started with the Berkeley before the Weiss 202 came out. Then added the Weiss, when I was looking to connect to a music server. The Berkeley USB interface just seemed overpriced and I ended up spending even more, but getting a Weiss in addition. The Weiss is connected to the PC through firewire. The Weiss' SPDIF output then goes to the Berkeley.

 

In the end it is probably a matter of taste. To me the Berkeley has more body and warmth to it and the Weiss is more transparent with better stage and more precise location of the instruments. If I were to use a picture, I'd say the Weiss has no makeup whatsoever, whereas the Berkeley wears a little bit of makeup (but very unobtrusively). So like makeup with people, to me it's a matter of taste.

 

If you're looking to connect to a pc or mac, the Weiss is clearly the first choice because firewire is much less tricky to get right than usb.

 

I connect both DACs directly to the active speakers (active Piega P8LTD) and use the volume control in the DACs. Adding a preamp loses transparency. I also found the cable between the DAC and the active speakers to make quite a difference (much more than the difference between the two DACs). So its worth to try different cables as well.

 

Good Luck with your search.

 

[tmornini]

Hey Mike.

 

My system consists of:

 

• 2.8 GHz i7 Mini, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD

• Lion

• Pure Music (0dB, power of two upsampling)

• Cheap firewire cable

• DAC 202 (internal sync, 1.06v output)

• 2x McIntosh 2102 (parallel mono, 2 ohm posts)

• B&W 803D (positioned at Y^2 = X^2 + Z^2 where X < Y < Z, toed-in 22.5°)