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Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Series 3
Alpha DAC Series 3 - A Breakthrough in Audio Quality and Value
The Alpha DAC Series 3 uses advanced technology from the award winning Alpha DAC Reference Series 3 to provide Reference Level Performance never available before at this price.
Compare the Alpha DAC Series 3 to any DAC at any price and hear its superior audio quality.
Excellent PCM audio quality from 32kHz to 192kHz
Excellent MQA Rendering quality to beyond 384kHz
Ultra-low phase noise conversion clocking
Outputs can connect directly to power amplifiers
All metal Series 3 IR Remote Control
Available with a Silver or Black front panel
Input selects AES, SPDIF1, SPDIF2 or Toslink inputs
Lock LED indicates input signal lock
HDCD LED indicates HDCD code detected
Phase sets absolute phase
Invert LED indicates absolute phase inverted
3 digit LED display of Stereo/L/R attenuation, Sampling Rate and Filter type
controls set attenuation level and select Filter type
Mode selects Stereo/L/R attenuation, Sampling Rate and Filter type display modes
Dim selects multiple display brightness levels
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Professional Reviews 92/100
Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
95/100
Build Quality
85/100
Features Connectivity
90/100
Value for Money
93/100
The Alpha DAC Series 3 pairs silky low-level resolution with explosive dynamics and a huge, precisely layered soundstage. Robert Harley found its clarity remarkably natural rather than analytical, while high-resolution material reveals exceptional transient speed, tonal palpability, and musical ease. Variable output, broad digital connectivity, and direct-to-amplifier capability complete a seriously accomplished digital front end.
What Reviewers Are Saying
Pros
Retrieves exceptional low-level detail, spatial cues, harmonic texture, and reverb decay without becoming analytical or etched.
Delivers huge dynamic contrasts and lightning-fast transients while retaining smooth, unforced leading edges.
Creates a vast, transparent soundstage with highly precise image placement and fine spatial definition.
Variable output and balance controls enable direct power-amplifier connection, supported by extensive digital inputs and remote operation.
&
Cons
Its compact, professional-style chassis and control layout are sturdy but utilitarian rather than conventionally luxurious by high-end standards.
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 95/100
Review evidence describes an exceptionally revealing but unforced converter, combining abundant low-level information with a natural lack of analytical edge. Harley also found it capable of huge dynamic contrasts, fast transients without etch, and unusually precise, expansive spatial reproduction.
Tonal Balance and Musicality
94/100
Harley singled out the rare ability to resolve a great deal of information without becoming analytical, hyped, or conventionally hi-fi sounding. He describes transient attacks as lightning fast yet free of etch, suggesting a highly controlled and musically relaxed presentation.
Resolution and Detail
96/100
The review uses unusually strong language about its retrieval of fine information, citing delicate spatial cues, instrumental harmonic structure, and the faintest ends of reverberation tails. Its imaging was likewise described as scalpel-precise within a huge, transparent acoustic, with fine spatial relationships clearly resolved.
Digital Performance
95/100
Harley considered the Alpha DAC good enough to invite comparison with the finest CD playback he had heard, the Spectral SDR-4000 Pro. With 176.4kHz/24-bit server files, he called its performance jaw-dropping, while also noting speed and clarity without glare or etched transient edges.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
85/100
The chassis is described as sturdy and nicely finished, with a professional-oriented layout and form factor. Harley also characterizes the presentation as utilitarian by high-end standards, and the supplied review offers little further detail on internal construction or long-term durability.
Features Connectivity
90/100
Connectivity is extensive: balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA outputs are joined by AES/EBU, dual-BNC S/PDIF, and optical digital inputs. It adds variable output and balance adjustment for direct power-amplifier use, remote operation, multiple filters, MQA rendering, HDCD decoding, a display, and input-delivered firmware upgrades.
Value for Money
93/100
At the $5,000 price cited in Harley's review, he called the Alpha DAC a spectacular bargain and said it competed with—and outperformed—much more expensive converters. The supplied current price is $11,995, and the review does not directly assess value at that later asking price.
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Authorized dealers for Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Series 3
- 3mA Audio — online and in-store — Houston, Texas, United States (website)
- Ann Arbor Audio Design — in-store — Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States (website)
- Audio Archon — online and in-store — Libertyville, Illinois, United States (website)
- Audio Center (website)
- Audio Ultra — in-store — Tacoma, Washington, United States (website)
- AV Luxury Group — in-store — Las Vegas, Nevada, United States (website)
- Big Kids Toys AV — in-store — Greensboro, North Carolina, United States (website)
- Command Performance AV — in-store — Falls Church, Virginia, United States (website)
- Dedicated Audio — online and in-store — Scottsdale, Arizona, United States (website)
- devAAudio — in-store — Overland Park, Kansas, United States (website)
and 19 more verified dealers