Berkeley Audio Design Alpha USB or Audiophilleo2 +PurePower

[HiFiFan]

I am ready to pull the trigger on the 1st part of my computer audio/digital upgrade and have narrowed down my USB interface choice to the following:

(1) Berkeley Audio Design Alpha USB (http://www.berkeleyaudiodesign.com/products4.html, http://www.berkeleyaudiodesign.com/Alph ... e_v1_1.pdf, http://www.berkeleyaudiodesign.com/Alph ... _Sheet.pdf)

(2) Audiophilleo2 +PurePower (http://www.audiophilleo.com/audiophilleo2.aspx and http://www.audiophilleo.com/purepower.aspx)

Bought have very good reviews (though Berkeley doens't appear in any mainstream mags). I know many on the forum have looked at USB interfaces and are very knowledgable, especially John Kenny etc.

My next purchase, later this year, will most likely be the Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC. My tendency is to go for the Alpha USB but the Audiophilleo combo is cheaper and seems to be well regarded.

If anyone has an opinion on which of these 2 solutions might be the best I'd like to know. I'd like to make the purchase in 2 to 3 weeks.

[willsandbills]

I heard the berkley at CES in vegas and it was the star of the whole show, it was on a TAD system and it converted me to the poss of digital. i have my first system ie weiss and bechmark and its super however my goal is berkley labs system later

[HiFiFan]

Thanks for the reply. I am confident in the choice of Alpha DAC - even more so now, thanks, (some of the described qualities match what I think I want from my system) but less sure on the USB part. I haven't heard the DAC or the USB converter but the forums, few end users (two) I have managed to email with and the few reviews I have seen; particularly “positive feedback” (where he sold his dcs Debussy and bought the Alpha instead) and TAS have been really positive. There is still a 3 to 4 week back order on bought these units.

My inclination is to go with the Berkeley USB as in theory it should be the best match for the DAC but it is $1000 more than the well reviewed Audiophilleo which now has the battery option. It seems that in general many people seem to think a battery powered solution is better. I did find one review of the Berkeley Alpha USB vs. the Audiophilleo (before the PurePower update) and the reviewer findings were that they were very close with the Berkeley USB having the edge over the Audiophilleo.

Do you recall how the DAC was been driven at CES?

[tony]

Hi the berkeley looks like a really nice piece of kit. How much does it cost? The audiophilleo I dont think fared as well in comparisons with the revered JKDAC!. The advantage of the JK is that you can get to hear it before pulling the trigger but the berkeley looks very enticing.
If you want to hear the jkdac that isnt a prob.

My tuppence worth is that any of this type of kit will deliver really decent playback and whether one is better than the other is down to personal choice.

I think you need some of the more techie guys to come back with arguments pro and against your choices

[HiFiFan]

Tony
Thanks for the feedback. There do seem to be a few hardware techies on the forum which is why I thought someone could respond on spec/ approach. Of course the problem with that is it doesn't always equate to better sound. Anyway I think I will pay the extra and buy the Berkeley USB.

The Alpha Usb is $1895 and the Alpha DAC is $4995. I have heard that they are not able to sell in the EU at the moment because of some soldering or similar issue. I don't know if that is true or not.

[tony]

Wow they are very expensive totally different cost league. I think if you are spending that type of cash you should be chancing a product like the jkdac as it could save you big time. If you look at some of the stuff on this site it seemed to be delivering fantastic results against expensive CD players. I reckon John wont comment on this as he has never heard it

[HiFiFan]

My wife finally made the decision for me. I just placed the order for the Berkeley. This is only the 2nd time I have bought something without an audition (1st was with my Opus 21 years ago) and I was just driving myself made looking at specs, posts etc. It is nice to finally be done with it. I expect some improvement to my current system with the Alpha USB but not huge, the big difference won't come until later this year when I upgrade DAC.

If I was living in Ireland I would definitely had tried some of the JK gear.

Once the system comes together I’ll post some impressions.

[Diapason]

Don't know any of this gear at all, but best of luck with it! Enjoy the new toy.

[Fran]

Hold on to that wife!!

[HiFiFan]

Nice one Fran - she has her moments.