Best DAC for me?

Geert1962 said:

At this moment I have a BADA DAC and DCS Paganini transport and clock. Spectral amplifiers (DMC 30 and 280) and a Naim streamer. I'm looking for a better DAC.
According to me there are two options: Berkeley Audio Design Reference 2 or the Schiit Yggdrasil DAC. Which one is the best?

Click to expand...

I went from BADA to Schiit Yggdrasil DAC. Love it. Have not compared it directly with Berkeley Audio Design Reference 2.

Ken (Alpinist) here on WBF has a new Berkeley Audio Design Reference 2 for sale. You may want to get his thoughts on the DAC. Not sure he knows the Schiit but he does no his schiit when it comes to audio.


http://http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?24283-FS-Berkeley-Alpha-DAC-Reference-Series-2-MQA

Go to audiostream.com and bring up their favorites - best bits under DAC's. Read the reviews.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

I moved from a Yggy, which is a great product at the price point, to a Lampizator balanced Golden Gate DAC. In my experience, it's in a whole other league in terms of realistic recreation of a musical performance. Lampizator has a number of DACs in a wide range of price points. Very musical, coherent, highly resolving, and non-fatiguing. I've heard several of their DACs at various audio shows and the sound was always analog sounding.

Geert1962 said:

At this moment I have a BADA DAC and DCS Paganini transport and clock. Spectral amplifiers (DMC 30 and 280) and a Naim streamer. I'm looking for a better DAC.
According to me there are two options: Berkeley Audio Design Reference 2 or the Schiit Yggdrasil DAC. Which one is the best?

Click to expand...

Hi Geert,

I’m not familiar with the Schiit DAC but I can tell you anything you want to know about the Berkeley Reference 2 MQA DAC. It has a very liquid tube-like sound quality but without any of the hassles of tubes. The midrange has a natural warmth and body to it with a lot of delicacy. The treble is very pure yet relaxed without even a hint of digital edge. The bass really surprised me with its depth and robustness. The bass also has wonderful roundness and texture to it that is very rare for a solid state DAC. Don’t consider it a lightweight because it really delivers the dynamic swings on my Tchaikovsky, Gershwin and Copland Telarc CDs.

Best,
Ken