Berkeley Alpha Reference run direct

I contacted Berkeley Audio Design. They Can change the voltage gain of the DAC, internally, if requested. There is No way for the user to change the voltage gain of the DAC, in comparison to its volume level. The BAR was designed to optimally drive loads with about 20 db of gain, which allows for an ideal volume setting of 54.

Imgoodwithtools,  
How goes it sound? Do you feel Diana Krall breathing at the piano on the Paris CD.  Seat creaking?  If you do, you don't need a preamp.  

It sounds absolutely incredible. And it's not like I don't have options. I have my old Ayre K-1xe, which is quite transparent. It adds a touch of impact to voices, especially, and can give them a somewhat shouty character. It homogenizes the sound a bit. More cohesive, slightly less detail. I plan to use the Ayre for SACD playback, video, etc.

I spoke with a dealer in California today who caries Berkeley, Audio Research, and Ayre. They feel the Berkeley is outstanding run direct. But they have heard better soundstaging, especially depth of field and layering, by using a great preamp. They say the AR Ref 6 is an absolute steal at $14K, detailed, harmonically rich, great soundstaging. But they said the best they've ever heard the Berkeley for ultimate transparency was with the volume at 54, and run balanced thru an Ayre KX-R Twenty.

The Ayre was on my short list.  It's one of the best preamps made.  I went with the Jeff Rowland Criterion.  I wanted to like the Arc Ref 5 (at the time) but I heard tube rush.  The other -Preamp on my list was the Pass.  (Burmeister, mbl  out of my price range).