Understand about calibrating, and i am sure it would help. But i found with the -20dB pads, most of my listening is above 11 o'clock where the balance is pretty good. Arguably still audible imbalance, but I've tried to ignore it and since i tend to listen sitting slightly off centre anyway, i've...

  Well Stereophile got lucky then. My DAC1-HDR's is something like 3dB out at its worst point - it's by FAR the weakest aspect of the DAC1's otherwise exemplary performance.  The ALPS spec says up to 5dB out at volumes -60dB to -40dB is within spec, and 3dB of error between -40dB to 0dB again...

The pot is a relatively cheap one, albeit as i understand it bespoke for Benchmark, i believe its based on an Alps blue pot. Whereas these are not complete junk, they nevertheless still have dreadful channel tracking and can easily be a couple of dB out, especially at low volume settings where...

@Studiosound Thank you but you have told me nothing i don't know. And i find your comment that it must be something wrong with my power amps, frankly quite condescending. You have no clue who I am, nor how qualified i am. You don't even know what power amps I have. I even explained to you how...

  Agree completely.     But the DAC2 features digital volume control (of digital sources).  The whirring of the analogue pot when varying the digital gain is both unnecessary (you can't see it anyway), annoying (it makes a noise) and silly (it wears the pot out, and these things have a...

  Nope, I have two mono power amps fed directly from the DAC2 and they are permanently on, no switching.  And they didn't make these noises with the DAC1 either.  It's definitely the DAC2 is the culprit, and others have commented on it as well. It's a bit crap to be honest.  I don't know if...

Yes, loud clicks through the speakers (with the DAC2)

Yes, that's how the DAC1 works and you get no clicks of pops when switching inputs. They seem to have messed it up with the DAC2 though.  Unless mine is faulty, but I have spoken to Benchmark about it and they say it's perfectly normal that the DAC2 does this.  Quite disappointing.

I just wish they had sorted the clicks and pops out before releasing it.   The DAC1-HDR is like a fine piece of furniture; the master craftsman's finest work, perfected over generations of tweaks and improvement until it is a masterpiece.   The DAC2 is a bit rough and ready by comparison...

Can't believe my luck!!! I didn't want to post this before in case it didn't come off, but it has! I noticed a glitch on the Logitech UE website. They were selling the UE900's for £330.00 plus delivery, total price £169.00. So I ordered a pair quick and fingers crossed, hoped I would get away...

I think you guys must have much more critical tastes and exceptional hearing compared to me ;-)

Quote:   I think when you buy a Benchmark product, you take a valuable first step away from the snake-oil nonsense of different sounding USB cables and power cords.  Try not to resist - it will feel strange at first, but once you have kicked that nasty habit, you will feel all the better...

Quote:   Can you not do that?  I would have thought Benchmark would sell you a face plate, but maybe it's more difficult than that?   And by the way, I think it looks much better in silver.  I bought a black one because every single piece of hifi kit (if you exclude my AppleTV V1 and...

In an ideal world, I don't think any hifi components should have a sound, not just DACs ;-) I am entirely convinced - without any doubt in my mind - that the majority of sonic improvement that people attribute to higher rate PCM and DSD recordings is down to two things: 1. The care taken in...

Quote:

If all you are concerned about is track to track clicks, then everything is fine... with PCM at least. And perhaps with DSD playback it is my media player causing the noises, not the DAC2. So for an evenings listening where you are not changing inputs, you will likely be ok, I agree. I just...

Cybdev, do you not get switch on and switch off clicks??? That is concerning for me if you do not. I have contacted Benchmark about this and they have confirmed that my DAC2 is functioning normally and that the clicks are to be expected. I am not sure if this is disappointing or not. In a way...

Others have suggested there are no clicks. That is *not* my experience. I am used to the imeccable behaviour of my DAC1-HDR which never makes any unpleasant noises. Unfortunately that is not my experience with the DAC2 and its by far my biggest annoyance with the device. I get a loud switch on...

The DAC1-HDR is a fabulous DAC. It's a toss up whether the DAC2 is better, IMHO. Yes, the DAC2 has better features: 2 set of analogue inputs, trigger output, HTPC setting and DSD deciding. On the other hand, it does not sound appreciably better (double blind tested, I would bet my house that...

Quote: Sorry to jump in here, but I felt compelled to comment.   The above is fundamentally tripe.  Whereas there can possibly be some justification for a "fat and probably expensive power cord" for a meaty power amp, there is no conceivable justification for such a thing on a DAC.  A...

Thanks guys.

I think the quality of the input signal (amount of jitter) is a key factor. I use an Apple TV as my source, playing bit-perfect lossless CD rips. The problem is the very poor quality toslink output from the Apple TV. Feeding cheap DACs, the sound is OK but fairly uninspiring. When I got a...

Thanks - really appreciate your thoughts. To be clear, I already own the Dac1-HDR. I have tried a few dacs and but I really like the Benchmark. It seems to be much more tolerant of poor quality sources compared to other dacs and it produces just stunning sound from my Apple TV source, playing...

Quote: Originally Posted by kunalraiker Benchmark and see no further mate, it will come to the rescue Sorry, I don't understand. Please can you paraphrase?

Hi - I'm new around here so please be gentle with me! I am thinking of getting a pair of K702's but have heard they take some considerable driving to get the best out of them. Do you think my Benchmark DAC1-HDR is up to the job, or would I need a better headphone amp? Or be better looking...