There is clearly a revolution going on in the digital world right now, as designers figure out how to use the power of field-programmable DSP to overcome the limitations previously associated with CD sound. I just got a Berkeley Audio Design AlphaDAC, and swapped it into my system in place of my 861 (4.25 with 24/192 balanced output cards). The degree of improvement from the AlphaDAC, fed with ripped CDs from my music server, was shocking. Wholesale improvements in detail, low-level resolution, soundstaging, imaging, and treble naturalness. Some familiar recordings were so much more vivid and detailed they sounded like different recordings - kind of like the experience I used to get when first playing back a remastered 180 gram LP of a favorite record.
The arrival of the AlphaDAC finalized a pending decision for me - after 15 years of riding the Meridian surround bandwagon, I'm back to a 2-channel system. Despite the best efforts of people like Kal, there just aren't enough surround recordings with enough improvement over stereo to justify building a full-on surround system, as opposed to optimizing for 2-channel, which is 95% of my music. I don't mind telling you, putting the 861 back in it's box was actually a bit emotional, and I'm not selling it - but for the moment, I'm not listening to it, either.
On the 808.2i, I'm sure it's everything JA says it is. If you're looking primarily for a 2-channel digital preamp/converter though, I'd suggest waiting until Bob Harley compares the 808.2i with the AlphaDAC, to see if the extra coin is really worth it ...
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