chrisstu

Greetings Bolts....when I home - auditioned my M1 I did so with and without my McIntosh C46 pre-amp and loved it. To assist with financing the M1, I traded the C46 and ran the M1 direct to my McIntosh MC402 amp. After extended listening I definitely missed the pre-amp in the chain. The C46 added stage dimensionality and a sense of presence. I began auditioning and saving for a new pre-amp and ended up with a great deal on a dealer demo Audio Research Ref5se. I also auditioned the AR LS-17se, the VTL 5.5 v2, an Ayre, Krell and another McIntosh. To varying degrees they all sounded GREAT. I quickly decided that the tubed gear mated with my MC402 and the Bricasti breathed more life into the room and to my ears the AR bested the others in both upper and lower end extension as well as in that "sense of being there". I did send my M1 back to Bricasti a few months ago to bring it up to the latest specifications - improvements in wiring, capacitors along with latest software. I continue to find the support OUTSTANDING (Brian, the president/founder of the company answers the phone when you call them....and they are unfailingly prompt and helpful when contacted by eMail).

Oops. It's a home office and I'll steal a configured but seldom used AppleTV from my daughter ; - ).....thanks for the reply.

Very timely for my needs. I'm planning streaming for my office system too. But if everything I stream from supports AirPlay why would I choose this direction over a less costly (and higher audio quality??) AppleTV connected via optical to a DAC ? (Chris, enjoyed your visit to Raleigh, NC last year...I sat through a couple of your Q&As...really a pleasure)

I've had Beats for a month. Canceling. Poor performance -often fails to play when you push play, drops library entries, complete lack of capability on web app (no libraries !!, no sentence play, etc. etc. etc.) Extremely disappointed at the loss of MOG. Spotify 30 day trial in process.

A year ago, when I bought the Bricasti it had the volume control. To my knowledge it's always been a feature, but may have been added along the way.

EMM DAC2x To me the Ayre could not compete with any of the others. Weiss in my system (McIntosh MC402 and Focal Labs Diva Utopias) sounded a bit "dark". Berkeley with the USB converter included brings the price nearer to the Bricasti neighborhood and I did like the sound alot. I had Bricasti, Berkeley w USB and DAC2X in at home at the same time. I could live happily with any of them. I found the soundstage on the Bricasti better and they were both very revealing. DAC2X even a bit more revealing - but maybe a little "clinical" / cold. I loved them all though. I was interested in driving the amp direct and the between the DAC2X way higher cost, the sound of it not justifying the cost differential to my ear, and it not having a volume control (at least at the time a year ago) it was knocked out of the running. At the end of the day I liked the presentation of the Bricasti a bit better than the Berkeley and really liked the "tweaking" that can be done with the digital filter settings. Also, Bricasti is committed to design/component upgrades being retro-fitable. Berkeley not so. I've now benefited twice by this - once with a power supply upgrade that I was able to install myself and once with the DSD upgrade.

hi Reverendo. Check out their website and the stereophile review of the Bricasti M1 DAC. It just got honorable mention among stereophile's top digital pieces of gear for 2013. I've had mine almost one year. They do not offer a CDP or transport. Their only "consumer" piece of equipment is the stand alone DAC. All else is professional studio equipment. I haven't used coax but do use USB and optical inputs. I find them both outstanding. I bought the Bricasti after alot of auditioning - Ayre, Weiss, Berkeley, Meitner, EMM, Audio Research, and maybe a couple others. Not a moments' regret here.

Hi StickMan. Yes to both questions. Still loving the DAC - no regrets. Latest release of the M1 handles DSD and I sent mine in for the upgrade. Support from Brian at Bricasti (one of the founders) is great. (I had a minor issue that was promptly cared for along with the DSD upgrade and when the power supply was upgraded early this year, they sent me the new one) Interestingly, to my ears (and those of some of my buddies) my system sounds better when a pre-amp is in the chain. My original plan was to drive my amp direct, but again at least in my system the pre-amp is a significant positive contributor.

Had my Bricasti M1 since January. Love it. I did in house A/B/C testing against Berkeley Alpha/USB combination and EMM DAC 2X. Bricasti won the race and the dealer that gave me the DAC2X to audition became a Bricasti dealer after my experience. I loved the EMM but it did not distinguish itself against the Bricasti, especially at thousands of dollars more. And it had no volume control.

I couldn't go wrong with any of the 3 I was auditioning. I could live happily with any of them. In my system the Bricasti had it slightly over the Berkeley and the filter adjustments created as good transparency as I've heard. I much preferred Bricasti's handling of mids to low registers over the Berkeley. Thanks for the comments

Hi. Bought the Bricasti after a year's research and finally in home A/B audition versus Berkeley Alpha 2/USB and EMM DAC2x. Out of the box it sounded great and has gotten a bit better with some run in time, "sweetening" the highs with that time. Within days of my unit being shipped Bricasti began installing an upgraded power supply. I called to inquire about it and the President of the company, Brian Zolner picks up on the first ring. I was sent the new supply and insured that it was "easy" to install myself. And it was easy ! Excellent upgrade sonically. I had occasion to communicate with Bricasti a couple of times prior to this and every time Brian picked up the phone in answer. Prior to my purchase I called to find out about the product roadmap and philosophy for retrofitting new developments into the base of legacy equipment in the field. Brian is committed to this and certainly demonstrated that with the power supply. I also had a concern on the analog out levels. The audition unit drove my amp with ease, the one I bought not so. More communication with Bricasti. Turns out the balanced outs have pots with set screws that adjust the output levels. Brian sent me a tone to use while making the adjustments along with the "how tos". I spent last weekend mounting and hanging area rugs from my walls (tastefully selected by my understanding wife ! ) they are great acoustical treatments - remarkable in fact - and WAY less costly than alternative room treatments. I'm running a CAPS Carbon with a 3Tb USB external drive(heading to NAS). Bricasti directly feeds a McIntosh Mc402 with Focal Diva Utopia Be speakers. Next up when my wallet recovers: The Red Wine Battery supply. Whole heartedly recommend the Bricasti M1 performance. Whole heartedly recommend the company behind it.

Greetings all and request for insights from the more experienced. I am thinking of moving to a NAS from USB drives. This Synology just jumped into top contending spot! Is there a problem (sound degradation) wirelessly serving the file to my macbook that is attached to a Bricasti DAC and McIntosh MC402 amp? I'm using player software that loads the file into cache. Thanks for the help here.