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Inside the latest Benchmark DAC1 - Page 4

post #46 of 179
7/17/04 at 9:58pm
Thanks for the impressions, ID. Hmm, this DAC would be nice because I could also use it with DVD videos - though I wonder if it would be worth it for a compressed audio format.

BTW, I saw your Gilmore in the for sale forum and was just curious what your plans were for a replacement amp? I gather something warmer would be a better match for the Benchmark?
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post #47 of 179
7/17/04 at 10:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer
Hehe, who ever thought that? The two aren't even in the same class, I'd think most people could tell them apart pretty easily. I knew what the DAC1 was all about right off the bat, "WHOA!"

A lot of people believed that the 1212M was THE greatest source ever, surpassing the Meridian 588, Benchmark DAC1, and other $$$$ sources.

All based on a brief listening session at one of the meets.

Sighh... the myths we create and propagate on headfi...


Another giant killer down the drain
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post #48 of 179
7/17/04 at 10:06pm
A lot of people on these forums would believe they could leap off buildings and fly, if only enough people repeated it. They'll sure have a funny look on their faces when they smack in to the pavement.
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post #49 of 179
7/17/04 at 10:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ampgalore
A lot of people believed that the 1212M was THE greatest source ever, surpassing the Meridian 588, Benchmark DAC1, and other $$$$ sources.

All based on a brief listening session at one of the meets.

Sighh... the myths we create and propagate on headfi...


Another giant killer down the drain
Well I stand by the fact that I though my modded EMU sounded on the level of the 588, and better than the 508.24, but I know that I had never heard the DAC1 until this morning, and had never made any statements about the EMU beating it. I still do think the EMU is quite the bargain for what it costs, and when modded it reaches quite a ways up the audio food chain.
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post #50 of 179
7/17/04 at 10:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mulveling
BTW, I saw your Gilmore in the for sale forum and was just curious what your plans were for a replacement amp? I gather something warmer would be a better match for the Benchmark?
Well from what I can tell, the Gilmore isn't much better (if at all) than the DAC1's headamp, so it is going to be finding a new home. If I get another amp, it will likely be a tube amp, to put the finishing touches on the sound, however I'm in no rush yet, because the DAC1 sounds great to me as it is. If I had my choice, I'd probably be getting a Stealth, but that is waaay out of my price range. Best candidates now look like the MPX3 and WooAudio3.
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post #51 of 179
7/17/04 at 10:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hajime
A lot of people on these forums would believe they could leap off buildings and fly, if only enough people repeated it. They'll sure have a funny look on their faces when they smack in to the pavement.
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post #52 of 179
7/17/04 at 10:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by clarke68
Any idea what makes up their UltraLock™ technology?

Is it in the receiver, or the ASRC? Could the trademark be on their particular arrangement of the AK4114, AD1896A, D1853 and four 5532As? Does it still use a Pierce Oscillator, or is there a more sophisticated clock?

Besides the sound, it's the Benchmark's jitter immunity that makes it such a remarkable unit. AFAIK, the other features (like the built-in headamp) are nice-to-haves.

What DAC is on that AD1896 eval board? If it is the ASRC that's helping with the jitter so much you could get the eval board, add a squeaky-clean ps and something like an LC Audio ZAPfilter class a output stage...it wouldn't necessarily sound like a Benchmark, but it could be one butt-kicking DAC for relatively little money!

Units like the DAC1 and the RA-1 prove that there's more value in parts' synergy than parts' cost. It takes brilliant, creative engineering...not just to make a great sounding unit, but to make one that people can afford and the company can still make money on.
The oscillator is a ECS-2100 28.322 MHz HCMOS/TTL unit. The only chip I can't find data on is the U16 LC02A 14 pin ssop even though it looks like it has a TI emblem on it.
The eval board has the AD1852 DAC. May not really need a squeaky-clean PS by the looks of this one.
There is a RA-1 magic in this.
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post #53 of 179
7/17/04 at 11:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kwong
(Hope my 1212M is not the flavor-of-the-month)
Nah it's not in the sense that it is better than a lot of other soundcards. I can't say where it fits in the big picture though. What is there to complain about for the price though?
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post #54 of 179
7/17/04 at 11:45pm
Not flavor, just a busted hype.
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post #55 of 179
7/17/04 at 11:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mulveling
Thanks for the impressions, ID. Hmm, this DAC would be nice because I could also use it with DVD videos - though I wonder if it would be worth it for a compressed audio format.

BTW, I saw your Gilmore in the for sale forum and was just curious what your plans were for a replacement amp? I gather something warmer would be a better match for the Benchmark?
my benchmark dac doesnt decode ac-3.
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post #56 of 179
7/18/04 at 12:37am
Congrats on your new DAC1, Peter!
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post #57 of 179
7/18/04 at 12:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tiberian
my benchmark dac doesnt decode ac-3.
I don't need it to decode ac3. I'm fine with doing the decoding inside my DVD player. The DAC just needs to handle the 24bit 48kHz PCM output by the player.
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post #58 of 179
7/18/04 at 12:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer
Well from what I can tell, the Gilmore isn't much better (if at all) than the DAC1's headamp, so it is going to be finding a new home. If I get another amp, it will likely be a tube amp, to put the finishing touches on the sound, however I'm in no rush yet, because the DAC1 sounds great to me as it is. If I had my choice, I'd probably be getting a Stealth, but that is waaay out of my price range. Best candidates now look like the MPX3 and WooAudio3.
That's interesting. I remember jpelg saying a while ago that he thought the DAC1's amp was comparable to a Gilmore V2. Sounds like a tube amp would indeed be the right direction to go for this dac. Personally, in my limited experience, I really like the combination of tubes and solid state. If I got the DAC1 I'd probably want something like an MPX3 with it.

I'm highly satisfied with my current setup, but the DAC1 has now replaced a modded E-MU/HDSP on the top of my "want to try for fun" list.
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post #59 of 179
7/18/04 at 12:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jasper994
Congrats on your new DAC1, Peter!
Just wait 'til you hear this thing
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post #60 of 179
7/18/04 at 1:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer
Just wait 'til you hear this thing

I'm anxiously awaiting your return to SoCal...
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