benchmark dac revisited

[tiberian]

its been 6 months since i got it...its a great dac no doubt, fast attack, great transparency and punchy bass...
but:
its a bit too thin and shrill afterall, even with a zu mother powercord. sometimes female vocals and guitars can sound funny. there's something wrong with the treble as well...maybe because of the fast decay? i have finally found out the source of sibilance is from the dac...
please feel free the share your thoughts.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

I'm sure it has limitations of some sort, nothing is perfect after all, however I doubt I could find anything that improves upon those limitations (with the same or better functionality) for anywhere near the same price range. All I know is that I would love to hear a DAC that is better than the DAC1, because it must sound pretty fabulous. The only experience I have that could fit into that catergory is my memory of ayt999's Accuphase.

 

[tiberian]

so i guess i will sell the benchmark later on...i don't need 2 DACs after all.

 

[lan]

It's just a flavor/preference thing. You probably need to find something else which is more suitable to you. The same goes for amps. You can have high class any of them but still not your taste.

 

[vanillawafer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiberian so i guess i will sell the benchmark later on...i don't need 2 DACs after all.

Let me know if you are going to sell, I might be in the market here soon if the price is right.

 

[stryker]

I found it sibilant--or something like that--as well. There was something about the way that on certain transitions (transients) of "treble passages" that the the DAC1 just didn't sound tonally accurate to me. I think it's a combo of the opamps and the upsampling smearing the sound somehow.

 

[jpelg]

I've agreed with most of tiberian's posted impressions of the DAC1. And those are the same primary reasons why utltimately I sold mine. It is also a matter of synergy. I think the Benchmark matches better with more laid-back cans, such as Sennheisers. It also worked very well with my old Audio-Technica W2002's.

But I build my systems starting with the output drivers first. In this case - headphones. Neither of those cans (Senn's & A-T's) are my preference. Right now I am loving the smoothness the Mini-DAC provides with my Grado's. Great match.

 

[Spent&Bent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpelg I've agreed with most of tiberian's posted impressions of the DAC1. And those are the same primary reasons why utltimately I sold mine. It is also a matter of synergy. I think the Benchmark matches better with more laid-back cans, such as Sennheisers. It also worked very well with my old Audio-Technica W2002's. But I build my systems starting with the output drivers first. In this case - headphones. Neither of those cans (Senn's & A-T's) are my preference. Right now I am loving the smoothness the Mini-DAC provides with my Grado's. Great match.

Wow jpelg your buy of the minidac had slipped unnoticed, good to see you like it as well.

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spent&Bent Wow jpelg your buy of the minidac had slipped unnoticed, good to see you like it as well.

TRUE! Did you get it after the qualia meet? The modded Sonica crushed the Indigo. It needs to find new competition to compare with

 

[jpelg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan TRUE! Did you get it after the qualia meet? The modded Sonica crushed the Indigo. It needs to find new competition to compare with

Yeah, just came in the other day. But I saved some bucks and got the version w/o the USB board, since I only plan to use an optical connection right now. The USB board is an option add-on, so I can go that route later if I want.

 

[lan]

Awesome. You should do a review then

 

[Guyferd]

I agree with you.. it is very detailed and have great bass, however the midrange is quite thin and shrilly .

 

[gerG]

A couple of questions about the Benchmark:

tiberian, what amp(s) were you using with the Benchmark? I am trying to isolate influences.

Does the Benchmark really upsample? The only mention of it that I found on their site was a quote from a reviewer's statement, which means nothing.


Thanks

gerG

 

[tiberian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpelg Yeah, just came in the other day. But I saved some bucks and got the version w/o the USB board, since I only plan to use an optical connection right now. The USB board is an option add-on, so I can go that route later if I want.

the usb board is a godsend, it has simplified my setup because i no longer need the transit and tos link.
the biggest difference between the benchmark and apogee is the decay...apogee has a significant slower decay plus a more 'correct' vocal, however the bass is a bit slower than expected.

 

[vanillawafer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gerG A couple of questions about the Benchmark: tiberian, what amp(s) were you using with the Benchmark? I am trying to isolate influences. Does the Benchmark really upsample? The only mention of it that I found on their site was a quote from a reviewer's statement, which means nothing. Thanks gerG

Yeah, lets get to the bottom of this, as all of the sudden we're seeing negative comments about the highly recommended Benchmark. I'm really confused, I was really looking at getting one of these, and now people are saying it's weak, I've also heard a lot of pos and neg comments about the mini-dac... urgh, this is making my hunt for an affordable dac very hard