Benchmark DAC1 PRE for HD800s

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I'm presently using my Benchmark DAC1 USB's headphone amp with my HD800s, albeit as an interim measure (while waiting for a GS-X to be delivered).   I'm actually impressed at how well the headphone amp works with these phones, despite having heard a lot of comments to the contrary.   It certainly wouldn't hurt to try your DAC1 PRE with the HD800s -- if you don't like the sound, then keep the DAC1 and get a dedicated amp that sounds better.  If you do a search here, you can find a lot of suggestions on what amps sound good with the HD800s.  
 

I've been using my HD800s directly with my DAC1-USB's headphone amp for about a year now, and the quality is astoundingly excellent.  The only motivation I have for eventually putting a dedicated amp in between them is to go balanced (like twsmith, I've pretty much decided on a GS-X for that, although I've recently started considering the HeadRoom Desktop Ultra Balanced Amp because of its more compact size and price point).

 

In 2008 I purchased a HeadRoom Ultra Micro Amp to put between my DAC1-USB and my HD650s.  The Ultra Micro Amp claimed to have the same "max" module components as the other HeadRoom "ultra" units at the time.  After two solid weeks of auditioning I could not for the life of me discern a difference in sound signature between the Ultra Micro Amp and the DAC1-USB's built-in headphone amp, except of course when the crossfeed was switched on--which itself added a slightly warmer tone (or veil) to the sound, which I did not like.  I suppose that is a credit to both amps, but it made the Ultra Micro Amp totally superfluous and the DAC1-USB an even better value than I had thought.  I returned the Ultra Micro Amp to HeadRoom and have biding my time since then waiting until I could afford a quality balanced amp instead.  As I said, I've been using the HD800s for almost exactly a year now with the DAC1-USB's headphone amp, and I haven't been motivated in the slightest to try another single-ended amp in between them.  If like me you like crisp, neutral sound with perfect detail and no treble roll-off, the DAC1-USBs + HD800 combination is phenomenal, and a fair value.

 

Follow-up to my previous post -- I finally received my  GS-X a little over a week ago, and am now feeding the XLR outputs of my DAC1 USB directly into the GS-X.  Although I commented earlier on my generally favorable impression of the Benchmark's headphone amp, I now have to say that the balanced GS-X is simply astounding in every way -- significantly better, I'm afraid to say, than the DAC1's headphone amp.  The improvement is really in all areas - soundstage, transparency/resolution, dynamics, bass response - you name it.   It's hard to identify a single reason -- is it the GS-X's discrete circuitry, balanced mode, XLR output from DAC (some people say it is better than the RCA out) -- probably all of these.   If you can possibly swing it, I emphatically recommend the GS-X over the Headroom BUDA -- I had one of these before ordering the GS-X, and eventually sold it.   At that time, though, I was using their UDAC (since discontinued) and I felt the sound was not particularly inspiring - possibly too laid back; in this regard even the single ended DAC1's amp was much better.  Having said this, I think the problem could have been the UDAC rather than BUDA, and it certainly might be worth trying a BUDA with the DAC1, since I suspect in my situation, the UDAC was not a good match for the BUDA.  Still, I think most people here would say the GS-X is near if not at the very top of balanced SS amps, and certainly if you're looking for the ultimate in transparency in an amp, this is the one to get. 

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Thanks, twsmith; that's very helpful knowledge. I have always leaned towards the GS-X as my next purchase, but recently I had begun to harbor hope that the BUDA would be just as good, and cheaper and more compact. Now I just wish I could find someone who has done a head to head comparison of the BUDA to the GS-X using the DAC1-USB (or similar later model) as the source. I agree the Ultra DAC could well have been a major contributor to the difference in sound quality.

My question in this thread would be: do the benchmark dAC1's amp adequately drive my AKG 702's?

Yes -- the DAC1 should be able to drive them.   Whether or not you like the way they sound with the DAC1 amp is another question.  I also have AKG701s and thought they sounded very "dry" from the amp, unlike the HD800s (and Grados) which work just fine.   The AKG 701-2 series have often been described as difficult to match amp-wise, so eventually you may want to look into pairing the DAC1 with another amp that might suit the AKGs better.