Had an opportunity to demo the new Berkley Reference DAC with the Soulution 711/721/Magico Q7 combo in my home over the last two weeks.
Unfortunately, I was at CES for a part of that time and the DAC was still breaking in, so my results are preliminary. But I can definitely say that the Berkeley Ref DAC (BRD) is a superb piece.
Once it started to open up, all the classic audiophile checklist items were met with a resounding plus. You can read the Robert Hartley review on TAS for a better description of the BRD's performance, but for the price, the BRD offers great performance at an outstanding value.
Sorry to say I had to ship the BRD back the day after I got back from CES, but I did get a chance to listen to the it direct to the 711 (bypassing the 721 pre) for a few hours. With some songs, especially redbook quality, the effect was a dramatic improvement; particularly in bass depth and tonality, midrange clarity and presence, even greater soundstage depth, and a more relaxed/analog type of sound. While with other songs, the effect of going to the amp directly was not as noticeable.
This was contrary to my experience with other DACs, where going through the 721 preamp was definitely the preferred option.
As one would expect, the choice of going direct or not depends on the quality of the DAC vis-a-vis the preamp; as well as the source materials and the quality of the ICs. In the case of the BRD and the 721, both are excellent performers and the choice depends more on the material and the quality of the ICs.
Hope to get a BRD permanently in the not too distant future and get a chance to test under better conditions.
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