Luxman d-08u vs berkeley reference 2 dac


Anyone have any experience with the luxman d-08u or berkeley reference dac 2 for cd or digital playback? If you were to choose one, which would you buy and why. Thanks for any insight!
aerialacoustics

Showing 2 responses by lalitk

One is purpose built SOTA DAC and the other one is primarily a transport with a DAC (albeit a good one)....is that even a fair comparison?

Having said that, I would go with Luxman as the sound lean towards warm side of neutral. Berkeley is more neutral and bit clinical sounding to my ears.
“I have the Berkeley alpha 2 and it sounds very musical to me but I do like a very sweet and nonfatiguing sound”.
@aerialacoustics,

In reading your response, I believe you may be experiencing fatigue over extended listening sessions. If that’s the case, you could look into dialing down the high frequency detail by trying different cables.

Do you not have an option to audition D-08u before committing to it?

If you prefer, PM me and I can suggest some very high quality but inexpensive cables. Depending on your setup, I may be able to send over couple of cables for you to try it out risk free.