dCS Rossini vs. Berkeley Reference dac 2


Has anyone compared the two?  I have heard the Rossini side-by-side with the Berkeley Ref. dac 1.  Long story short, the Rossini justified its higher price.  I'm now wondering if Berkeley's second try has narrowed the gap? Meanwhile, kudos to both dCS and Berkeley for striving to provide upgradeable products.
aldenberry
Well I may as well re-enter this old post of mine to see if there is any life left in it, and to close by reporting my decision- i bought a Vivaldi DAC. I never got to hear any of the dCS products compared to the Berkeley Ref. Series 2. For that matter, i never heard the Series 2 at all. Nor did I hear the Linn product. In case you are not aware, Berkeley has not resumed its upgrade process for original Series 1 owners, nor will they discuss the future of the process. All of this straight from the horses (bite tongue) mouth- Michael Ritter. Final straw! Now I’m left to accept a pittance for the used Berk. But aside from whining, I REALLY like MQA, which rules out Linn. And i really don’t want to be DAC shopping any time soon. And the Vivaldi really does deliver a bit of magic. Now I have to see how long I can go without buying the clock? Thanks everyone.
True shame about the Berkeley upgrade, and not good for business, one would think. I was afraid that might happen when the upgrades crawled to a halt late 2016. That's why back in Feb 2017, I bit the bullet and traded my Berkeley Ref 1 for a Ref 2. No regrets. I Love my Berkeley Ref 2 MQA. Although I've never heard dCS components in my system, they have always sounded outstanding when I have heard them. So you should be well equipped, aldenberry.

I also researched for 6 months familiarising myself with all contenders and price. I eventually chose the Debussy, Network Bridge and Clock. The Debussy has most of the tech features of the Rossini by way of trickle down and does sound awesome at home. I compared the two in the shop with the same accompanying equipment and there wasn't much to separate them, the Rossini a but fuller perhaps. Then it may have been an expectation of sound that I heard.

Glad you like your Vivaldi. I looked at the price and did a quick double take. If I had the requisites, the Vivaldi would be in my house too.

Thanks imgoodwithtools and amg56.  AMG56, I'm going with the Network Bridge as well, building a Roon Server around that (maybe Nucleus)  to replace my Aurender server.  Hopefully a Clock when the piggy bank refills.  But I could live very happily with what you've assembled, and probably with a Berk. Series 2 as well.  
@aldenberry As long as you are loving the sound of your system!!! I found the Network Bridge made the most significant change to the quality of my music. I have been so used to it now, I experimented by taking it offline. The music was flat. Definitely get the Bridge, with any DAC actually. Cheers. A.