Sandra

How do you like the KefLS50 speakers? I am going to be setting up a secondary system and have been interested in these, can you let us know what they sound like? Thanks, Sandra

Hi Everyone. There are some very nice systems here, I love looking at them. I finally finished with my stereo system, it has taken me a long time but I feel it was worth the wait. I am still not completely finished as I need to decide which music server I am going to use. I have 2 server/systems that I go back and forth listening to. I am buying a new flatscreen TV this fall and will hopefully have decided by then which system I will go with and set that one up. I have my music on several 32 gig. flashdrives (I don't have a lot of music at this time) and have the flashdrives hooked into a Western Digital live TV for one of my servers. I have the WD hooked into my TV for the screen with my music choices, this is a very simple, inexpensive, convenient setup and I really like listening this way. The other way I listen is to hook my dac directly to my computer. When I listen with the WD, I have it hooked up with a glass toslink cable and it sounds very nice. When I listen with my computer, I have the dac hooked up with a High Diamond USB digital cable directly into my USB. This company is fairly new in the states, they are based out of Italy. The cable is very nice, great detail, warmth, just what I like. So I go back and forth and have finally decided that the dac hooked up directly to the computer sounds a little better, but the WD is very convenient. So hopefully, I will have made my decision by this fall when I get the TV. dac: Wadia 121 amps/preamp: Von Gaylord speakers: Dahlquist 20i Gateway NV53 internconnects: Von Gaylord speaker cables: Transparent plus digital cable: High Diamond

Hi Wisnon, the Nad looks interesting (nice looking too) and I actually was interested in hearing it but I couldn't listen to it from a local dealer so I bought the Wadia. I have settled on the Wadia for now and so I have really no interest in other dacs at this time. Heaven knows, I spent enough time searching for the right one. It's been a long road in my search, but actually lots of fun too. I am experimenting with different set-ups with my stereo now, listening to a Western Digital live tv streaming device with my music on a flash drive, then to my computer with and without my pre-amp. So far I haven't got a clear winner, I think this will take some time. I am very interested in Chris's review of the Wadia, it should be interesting.

Hi Wisnon, I haven't heard the Nad so I can't answer your question. I looked into many dacs, heard a few in my system and tons of others in stores. I have been looking for 2 years and couldn't decide which one to buy. I demoed the Berkeley dac and was really leaning towards this dac as it is very nice. I had been waiting for the Wadia dac to come out, when it did I bought it and brought it home. I was really surprised at how good it sounded right out of the box. My speakers (Dahlquist 20i) are very detailed, my amps and pre-amp (Von Gaylord) are very rich, warm, and full, a perfect combination. I think the dac brings out the best of my system, it is very detailed, while still maintaining the warmth of my amps. There are probably many dacs out there that are also very good but it is hard to demo them all so sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and buy one. I had waited long enough and am very glad I bought this one. At the price, I think it is a wonderful bargain. Sandra

I bought a Western Digital live TV streamer to play music with my dac as was suggested on one of the forums.I transferred some of my songs to a flash drive and played them. I was a bit disappointed that you couldn't connect it with USB, as Wadia suggests that is the best option, but hooked it up with toslink. It still sounded very good, I am so impressed with this dac. I'm experimenting playing without my pre-amp (Von Gaylord signature 2) but haven't come to a definite conclusion on that. I think it sounds more open, detailed, but not quite as rich and full sounding. No matter which way I play my music, it sounds absolutely great. It is just such a detailed, neutral dac. Sandra

Hi Mr. Y., I hear lots of bass in the dac, maybe just not the real deep bass that some folks want to hear. I've listened to several other players and am somewhat picky about bass, and I don't have a problem with it. I have many CD's that I've owned for years and still hear lots of bass. I guess you would just have to play it in your system to judge whether it's good enough for you. I have been waiting to buy the right dac for me and this one is it, it has a very balanced sound, lots of detail and clarity, good bass, perfect for my tastes. Sandra

Hello everyone. I finally got to listen to three different dacs/cd players. Out of the three, I did purchase one of them. The first one I listened to was the Berkely Audio I, upgraded to the Berkely II. I used a Wavelength digital to analog converter. I have Dahlquist 20i speakers, Von Gaylord triode amps, Von Gaylord LAD-L2 signature pre-amp, Von Gaylord interconnects. I am not a reviewer so my descriptions of these players are in my own words, please take this into consideration. Also, these reviews are just my opinion, you may have different opinions, especially as we all have different audio gear and different hearing. If you have any questions, please let me know and I will try and answer them. I listened to the Berkely Audio first. My reactions was that it was very well balanced, smooth and natural sounding. There was plenty of detail, the bass was excellent, it was a dac that I could listen to for hours without getting tired of it. The soundstage wasn't as good as I thought it would be, especially since I have read so much about it. My speakers are known to have good soundstaging too, so I was rather surprised. I'm sure my set-up is the culprit though, as I'm changing some things around and probably don't have it set up to optimize this. I really liked this dac, but I wanted to try a few more before committing to buying it. Next I tried the Denon 100th Anniv. SACD player. I heard it at my local shop and really liked it. I noticed when listening to the demo at the store that the bass wasn't very deep and they told me it was the speakers. When I had it at home, it basically sounded the same, very little bass. My speakers aren't bass heavy, so between the speakers and the cd player, I just couldn't live with this player. It was really nice in some aspects though, plenty of detail, warm, musical, very nice looking and well-made. I liked the fact that it was a cd player too, as I still play some discs, but I just couldn't live with the light bass. The last one I listened to was the new Wadia 121 dac. I took it home yesterday, so it's still fairly new. It is very detailed, good bass , quite neutral. I would like it to be a tad bit warmer on some of my songs, but most of them sound very nice. I don't think it's quite as good as the Berkely, but for the price difference I don't even have to think about it. I decided that I wasn't going to buy a dac based on price alone, but the Wadia is so good that I can't turn it down. Best of all, it plays USB into my computer without a converter. I heard you could change from 2v to 4v on the inside and it will sound richer and warmer, but there wasn't a physical manual that came with it so I'm not sure how to do this. It came with a flash drive w/drivers and adobe manual. The bottom line is that I love this dac. The detail is incredible, it has great dynamics, decent bass, excellent clarity, looks great, reasonably priced, and sounds terrific. Sandra

on my computer Wdomeika, plus 100 or so more songs on foobar, so I am slowly but surely getting into computer audio. I have been reading all I could about different dacs as I don't have any high end cd players or dacs in my town and that's why I wanted to demo a few. Elliot, I think you are putting words in my mouth that were never said, I will try and explain one more time, then I am done with this foolish conversation. I don't know what you mean by writing 5 random emails to car companies. I went to a dealer in my area, several of them in fact, before I purchased. They were all courteous to me and had no idea if I was going to buy their car or not. I was trying to convey that not everybody expects a sale just because they have given of their time. It's the nature of commission sales, you spend time with a customer and he may or may not buy. I have several relatives in real estate, they have shown some customers the same house 4-5 times, as well as shown them other houses, went the extra mile for them, and sometimes they buy and sometimes they don't. My relatives don't get mad because they have spent time with these people and they never bought anything, they don't punish later customers and tell them they are only showing them one house only, they don't close the door to new customers because of past non sales, they know that being courteous with every customer is important to their long range success, regardless of whether they make a sale or not, and taking the time to help them with their needs is part of the job. Any they are VERY successful, even in this real estate market. I also never said I wanted to try 5 different dacs, then go out and buy the cheapest one I could find, those were your words. "they should change the whole business model for you since I don't want to be inconvenienced to go to store" What store? If you would have read what I wrote instead of trying to change my words to fit your model of what I am, you would have read that I don't have any high end products in my area. Also, every product has a certain way of being offered to customers and there are audio companies that do let custumers demo gear with the right credit checks, credit cards, etc., it's not uncommon. And, like Chris said, there are dealers that will offer demos, I just have to find them. I am just getting started with finding my dac, there are several avenues I will be taking, one of them is trying to demo a few, another is going to Seattle and listening to several, there are more options that I will take. The Berkely dealer was more than glad to send me a demo after he gets it upgraded, there was no problem with him doing this at all and I've never even talked to him before, I just emailed him, now that's true customer service. You sound like a very bitter exsalesman or dealer who probably blamed everything and everybody else for poor sales instead of doing what was necessary for success. A sale is not a given, it's not based on how much time you spend trying to sell a product, it's getting to know the need of your customer and then providing that service to him in whatever way fits both of you. I emailed these guys because that is one of the ways to contact them. When you work 12 hour shifts, weekends and graveyards like I do, it's hard to call at a convenient time. I think you need to get your facts straight, and hopefully, your not in sales because I would hate to deal with someone as negative as you are.

a relationship with a dealer and went to visit him, would that really help my situation? The whole point of a home demo is to try the piece with my speakers and amps. I don't know about everybody else, but I am very busy and can't really go across country or wherever just to "establish a relationship". What would be next, buying him dinner? This is a business transaction, I only wanted to demo 2-3 pieces, or even just one would have been fine if that's all I were to get. If they would have told me to give them a deposit, that's what I would do. Elliot, if a dealer puts in some work for a customer, then "expects" that customer to buy whatever he is selling, that's very unrealistic. Why would he even bother to take the time for a customer if he expected them to buy. I have had a few small businesses where I put a lot of work into each call I made, and I won some and I lost some, that's how you have to look at sales. I also gave away a lot of samples that cost me money, but I knew that that was the best way to make a sale, going the extra mile for a customer . When you go into Best Buy or Costco or Target, do you always buy something even when you take the time of a salesperson helping you? What is the difference? These audio people are in the business of selling audio equipment, they need to be more flexible if they are to maintain and keep their businesses afloat. There are tons of people that buy products then return them if they don't like them. Then the dealers are saddled with used equipment. I never expected anyone to give me $30,000 on a whim, the highest dac that I was interested in was $10,000. I would never spend that much money on anything unless I tried it first. As I said earlier, I drove my new car 2-3 times before I bought it, I had no relationship with this dealer, never saw the salesman before. They might have wanted me to buy it, but I doubt that they expected me to. I also won't buy any dac that costs over $5,000 without trying it first. As a potential customer, I may or may have not bought the dac I was demoing, but I definitely won't be buying their product now, so who really lost out on this deal? A potential customer is always worth more than a nonexistant customer, but apparently some dealers aren't smart enough to figure that out until it's too late.

I really don't agree about the length of demo time because: an arrival date is just a luck of the draw and I also work 12 hour shifts 3 days in a row. If the product got to me during those 3 days, there is no way I could demo the product until my day off. Then I would need at least 2 full days to listen to it, so I would have to have it for approx. 1 week. The key to all of this of course, is communication. Everybody should know exactly what is expected, then there should be no problem with a home demo. I also thought about whether I should let them know that I would be demoing 2 others, the Berkely dealer didn't seem to be a bit bothered by it, he was very nice and helpful. Besides, I don't like misleading anybody, and I wanted them to know I may not purchase their item, depending on the outcome of the 3 that I was to demo. Of course, since I can't seem to arrange a demo, I guess it's all mute at this point. I am going to take Chris's advice and call them, maybe I'll get a demo with one of them. I'll probably be happy with any of them that I end up with which will probably be the Berkely. Going over to Seattle to listen may lead me to something else but we'll see. Signing off for now. Sandra

I know that customer service can be a double edged sword but the dealer should give the customer the benefit of the doubt, especially if he does his homework. I have excellent credit, and with a little communication from the dealer, I think we could have worked out a solution that would fit us both.I personally think that at a certain price point, the manufacturer should carry a demo piece somewhere at his dealerships, even if just one. Then you could get on a list to demo it, it's better than buying then returning it to the dealer in 2nd hand shape. I willl take your advice Chris and call a few dealers. I will probably end up with the Berkely as I am very impressed already with his customer ettique and service, also knowing the Berkely is a great piece.

If they would have asked me for a deposit along with the shipping charges, I would have gladly done this. It would still be much better than paying for a piece of equipment that sounds terrible in your system. Most of my complaint comes from the fact that they never even responded to me after I asked if they have home demo's. How hard is it to say "no" or "yes, with a deposit we can let you listen to it for a week" instead of just not even answering back. Then I have to start all over again with another dealer. It's strange too, how the Berkely dealer was so willing to give me a home demo, even knowing I was going to listen to 2 others. If one can do it why can't more? I think most dealers are shooting themselves in the foot with such poor customer service, not just audio but TV's also. Just get on other sites and see what poor customer service is available after the sale. Just about nonexistant. Most dealers want to make a quick buck, then move on to another customer instead of spending a little bit of time and effort with a person.

in all dacs, just 3, and this was after careful research with ones that I think would sound good with my system. I emailed 4-5 dealers, as I don't have any high-end shops around here except one that carries very little high-end products. They all promptly emailed me about the product, then when I asked them if I could home demo (paying for shipping both ways as well as put in on my cc)it, I never heard from them again. The one exception was the dealer from Ohio that says he had a bad experience once and wouldn't send one out. The Berkely dealer was very willing to send me a demo. As soon as he sends it in for the upgrade, he is sending it out to me. I know there is a time limit for demoing (30 days I think) so I also don't think I wanted to listen to a player for days on end. If a dealer has a negative view of customers wanting to hear a product that costs thousands of dollars, and thinks that they just want to listen to the next big thing, they probably shouldn't be in business anyway. Most of the dealers I emailed were more than willing to take my cc for payment, but few of them wanted to go the extra step in making sure I really liked the product. They could have at least answered me back and said "no, we don't do that" instead of just ignoring me. When I bought my new car in 2009, I drove it 2-3 times first and looked at it another 2-3 times because it's a huge investment, just as is a $10,000 to $15,000 dac. It seems like fewer and fewer retailers anymore want to take the extra step, it's more important to get your money.

I think I will do that. I'm very interested in the Berkely Alpha II because I've been hearing so much about it, but there's still that curiosity about how a few other players would sound in my system. I don't buy equipment very often, so I think it's important to demo it at home, especially if you're paying a high price for it.

and it's too bad as I really like looking at things in person. I think that stores would have an easier time of it though, if their customer service was better. I think that this is the downfall of a few of them around my area, although I don't want to mention names. Everytime I think of No returns, restocking fee, exchanges only, I think of Costco and how liberal they are with returns and also how successful they are. Most companies would do good to follow in their footsteps instead of trying to make it more difficult for the consumer to purchase something.