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Does anyone have experience with MQA upgrade for Berkeley Alpha DAC MK1? How much is the sound enhancement? Is it better to buy used BADA MK2, or to work on MQA upgrade on MK1? The difference in the used MK1 and MK2 is about $ 1000 with delivery, and the price of MQA upgrade is about $ 630.

SOLD If you are reading this you are probably well aware of this DAC and it’s reputation as one of the best sounding DAC’s made today. Robert Harley has called this DAC the best digital he has heard. Absolute sound has given it many awards. The Computer Audiophile has said back in late 16 before the MQA update that this DAC was his reference and all DACS passing through his room are compared to this. He also wrote in late 17 after reviewing the MQA update “I am 100% certain Berkeley has engineered the Reference Series into a new league.” Robert Harley gushed the same about the MQA update as well. Few DACS on the planet get words written like that about their sound. Google this DAC for more information and read the reviews. I am selling this for a friend who just does not want to bother with the process of selling. He bought a couple DACS to compare and settled on the CEC transport and DAC system with superlink connection as his digital front end. So he is offering up this excellent condition DAC to some lucky audiophile. Cosmetically this DAC is excellent, I tried to show any imperfections in the photos but there really are only 2 the bottom plate has some marring, not a scratch looks like it was caused by a 3rd party footer. On the right side lower edge there is also a slight marring mark, again not a scratch. That is pretty much it. The remote control shows a bit more wear but to be expected as it is handled a lot. All functions on this remote work perfectly. This DAC is very heavy, 30 lbs, built like a tank. Just to be clear there is no USB input on this DAC. It has AES XLR connector (110 ohms), 2-75 ohm SPDIF BNC connectors, and Toslink optical connector. It has both RCA single ended and XLR balanced outputs. This unit is a US 120v version. Pricing: MSRP of this DAC new is $19,995 we are asking $9,500 for this DAC and to sweeten the deal even more he is throwing in a 2M Silent Source-The Music Reference 15A AC cable, this cable alone MSRP’s at $3375 and a transparent Audio Premium 110 ohm AES Digital Link (MSRP $975). That’s MSRP of $24,400 between all that’s 59% off list. He also told me he would throw in 3 CDJapan MQA sampler CD’s (Rock, Jazz and Classical) as well as a Oscar Peterson, Cannonball Adderley and Dire Straits MQA cds. We will cover Shipping and paypal fees to continental US.