Berkeley has had a problem with the supplier who performs the CNC machining of their Ref DAC's chassis. The chassis being produced were not flawless in their appearance. Mike Ritter of Berkeley is accepting nothing less than perfection in his units' appearance. I believe that this production problem has been resolved this past week, as my dealer had informed me just today that my unit will be shipping in two week's time. The delay has been so long that I will believe it when I see it. Yes, I'm skeptical, but hopeful. I have been waiting for my unit to be built and delivered since the end of the summer. Yes, I am counting the days, but there has been no end in sight. I know that my unit is in their second week of production run. I believe that my unit is number 7 in line.
I would think that a 4 month wait for you at this point in time would seem to be very optimistic and I truly hope that I am wrong in my thoughts. Please remember, this is an extremely "hot product" with highly complimentary press and word of mouth, and Berkeley has basically been at a standstill of their production of this DAC for well over five months time. Production is very slow at only two units per day. That is also assuming that there are no supply bottlenecks or problems with any internal parts along the way. Orders have been pouring in to them and none have come out of their production.
That being said, the overall improvement to my system was so great, that since my dealer's demo DAC has left my main system, I have not spent much time listening to it. Additionally, I have found myself inordinately busy and distracted the past several months with my business and other matters. I have been listening to my secondary system (Audio Research Reference gear, Transparent Opus MMII cabling, Shunyata Triton/Typhon/Anaconda Zitron power conditioning, and small Maggies) while I work, and that has satisfied my need for listening to good music. I truly cannot wait until I receive my copy of the Reference DAC. After I burn it in for a thousand hours or so, I promise to report on my findings. (Since the DAC is always on and will be receiving the digital output of my always on Day-Sequerra HD tuner, it will only take about a month to five weeks from its receipt for me to report!) I anxiously want to do so, as much as you want to hear about it!
Patience is, and will be, a virtue - for both of us!!!
Damn, they should have outsourced production to Foxconn. They have plenty spare capacity. I'll re calibrate my expectations for wait time....
