Flange

Gilles I have a Paul Hynes SR7 linear power supply to my Macbook Pro and it made an amazing difference in lowering the noise floor allowing better low level detail retrieval and imaging. I sent Paul the magnetic Macbook connector and he incorporated into the power supply. Stick with Paul as his build times are lengthy but his products are first-class and well worth the wait.

I have recently bought an iUSB and sit it between my Macbook Pro and Berkeley Audio Alpha AES/EBU converter. I already had an Acoustic Revive SP1.0 USB from Macbook to converter so this now provides the secondary link from iUSB to Berkeley with a new Tellarium Q Graphite UBS lead from Macbook to iUSB. I am delighted with the improvement in sound quality - lower noise floor letting more fine detail through is the main benefit but there are subtle other differences as well. I would recommend the iUSB if you have a similar set-up to mine - there has been a noticeable improvement in sound quality for a modest outlay. Peter

I was one of the people experiencing pops between DSD play on Pure Music version 1.89b. Rob Robinson has shown exemplary customer support in sourcing a solution - 1.89g through his e-mail support service and should be congratulated for his attention to detail and speed of response. I am slightly puzzled why you would ask for advice / help / kick-off / promote discussion in a secondary forum rather than deal with Rob directly on his support page - but I spend a fair bit of my life slighly puzzled so it's no big deal.

1.89a is an update to 1.89 that improves DSD playback.

Having previously talked to Paul regarding my Drobo NAS - he said that he had heard of improvements in sound quality when using a linear power supply to an NAS rather than the standard walwart supply Paul has not been well recently and is recovering from a hernia operation so be patient (pun!) when dealing with him. Peter

I have a Paul Hynes linear PSU for my Macbook Pro and it produced a distinct increase in definition and soundstage in my system. I have a current order with Paul for a PSU for my dac and whilst acknowledging that there is a waiting period - I would not place this order with anyone else but Paul. The reason that there is a waiting list is because his products are in such demand across the world. I have known nothing but courtesy and patience from Paul and wish him all the best in his recovery from his hernia operation.

I have utilised Ted B's excellent guide to ripping SACD's and have succesfully converted both Dark Side of the Moon & Wish You Were Here. Playing on the fly from Pure Music sounds better to my (old) ears than conversion to PCM by Audiogate - but thats just my opinion. Peter

Feed the Berkeley with a Kondo KSL-ACz power lead and sit it on a Critical Mass Systems Black Sapphire Table - both will illicit an improvment in macro detail, space and timbre. My Macbook Pro was improved greatly by a linear power supply from Paul Hynes Design and sitting it on a Critical Mass table as above. I am currently having my Berkeley Alpha power supply modified by Paul Hynes and will report back when the unit is returned.

Previous conversation with Rob: Hello, None of the Apple built-in drivers (including that used for toslink) have "integer" (that is, nonmixable native integer virtual data format) support. Therefore, integer isn't available with that setup, because an integer format isn't provided by Apple in their audio driver, period... There are very, very, very few DACs out there that support it. Take comfort in knowing that whether or not a DAC supports a nonmixable integer virtual format in its driver is a secondary and minor consideration compared to the overall sound quality and performance of the DAC; and just because a DAC *does* support "integer" doesn't necessarily mean that using that data format will have an effect on sound quality, either. Most of the benefit of "integer" is realized anyway by the more efficient memory management architecture used in Pure Music 1.74a. Thank you, Rob Robinson Channel D Support Hope this is helpful

Chris I would be fascinated in a comparison between the 24/192 DCS Debussy and the Berkeley Audio Design Alpha Dac with USB/AES Adaptor. Any chance of this happening in the near future?

I use Critical Mass Systems Black Saphire tables under my Macbook Pro and Berkeley Alpha and the improvement in fine detail, soundstage and timbre are comprehensive. Peter

New Radiohead album - King of Limbs - available Saturday 19th February 2011 as an mp3 or WAV download from www.radiohead.com - you can advance order now.

The new Berkeley USB/AES converter will debut in January 2011 - the view from Berkeley is very positive concerning this interface - could alter the viewpoint for those currently connecting via toslink. Peter

Extract From E-Mail - Michael Ritter at Berkeley Audio Design: "We are currently developing an external USB2 to AES3 converter that will provide up to 192 kHz, 24 bit signals to the Alpha DAC with very high noise isolation and very low jitter. It will function asynchronously, work with Macs and PC’s" "We deliberately do not have a USB or FireWire input on the Alpha DAC due to the noise it would introduce from the computer" Just my opinion - it should be worth the wait. Peter

Why not wait for the Berkeley AES/EBU converter - should be with us in a few months. Peter