dCS Rossini vs. Berkeley Reference dac 2

Sounds great!  As always, every room, system and ear is different.  I will certainly A/B with and without the KX-R twenty again after my Berkeley update.  I am #79 in the queue and they have temporarily suspended the conversion process until they finish the MQA upgrade.  There is a groundswell of glow over MQA but I haven't heard samples from a fully compatible system so I don't have an opinion.  But kudos to Berkeley for having a pathway to improvement for existing owners, even though they always (should be in caps) take longer than their well-intentioned estimates.  Happy listening!

Yeah. I was #82 in the queue. Got tired of waiting. Contacted my dealer, Galen Carol. Swapped my V1 for V2 for $8K. Don't regret it for a second. The Reference 2 sounds like a whole different processor. When I got it, I had my old V1 in house also. I placed them both in my rack, and was prepared for an A/B session. I listened to three familiar songs thru the V2. It wasn't even fully warmed up. Then I simply packed up the V1 and sent it to Galen. No comparison needed. Its a No Brainer.

Imgoodwithtools, I appreciate your informed input on this thread.
Would you mind sharing what,if any,power conditioning you used or
tried with the Berkely 1; and what differences you heard? Thanks.Happy listening.

I haven't spent Big Money on power conditioning. I live in a small town out in Wyoming and the power is quite clean.  But since you asked, I run an API power wedge, an older model with three isolation transformers. And I run a Shunyata Venom cord. I do plan to check out the Shunyata Denali system. For the price, it looks intriguing.

While awaiting Imgoodwithtools' answer, i will chime in by saying you've introduced many variables, focusing a systemic comparison on one component.  That said, as a ref sac 1 user, the impact of the Shunyata Hydra Triton v3 (and previously v2) is HUGE in my room- Berkeley/ Nagra/ Rockport/ Transparent.  I previously owned the complete Nordost QRT system, but the Shunyata just blows it away.  How much of that is an effect on the sac, I couldn't say.  Quieter, more transparent allowing fine detail to emerge were primary effects.  Slightly greater sense of weight at the bottom noted as well.