TonyTripleA
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First off these are initial impressions in response to a request to compare the NAD C542 and the Benchmark DAC1. As someone else asked about the Talisman amp I included my thoughts on this and the benchmark headphone out amp. I do hope to do a more complete follow up on the details but will simply report overall sound quality at the moment. Of course I am using a very inaccurate and uncalibrated instrument for these measurements... my ears... yours may well generate other impressions.
Equipment
The Benchmark DAC1 has only about 30 hours of playing music on it. It has certainly changed since first switched on so again consider these impressions "early" ones. The other equipment is well burnt in.
I'm only using two sets of cans for this comparision: my Alessandro MS-pros and the new Sony MDR SA5000. I love them both but bear in mind my conclusion is the Sonys show varying synergies using combinations of the equipment used here. I do believe the MS-pros are less/not effected by varying the setup.
The two amps I used are the Talisman T-3H and the built in Headphone amp of the DAC1. I think highly of the Talisman (I put it well ahead of Perreaux SX-H1, XCans3, and a range of other amps) but the DAC1 amp surprised me. Not at all inferior in its ability to render fine sound... something I was not expecting from reports here. Is this simply because I have not yet had a "top end" amp to use for comparision or is it because the DAC1 amp is actually pretty good? I seek your more experienced comments on this please. But I can say I could settle for the DAC1 headphone amp and not feel cheated.
When using the NAD CDP I decided to stick to a coaxial digital out cable as it gave just perceptible sound quality improvement over the toslink cable. The digital coaxial cable I had made myself using the highest quality components I could get my hands on... total cost A$20 (about US$15).
The Toslink cable that came with my Chaintech AV710 soundcard was used to make comparisions with the computer as source. Initially the thing that threw me was that hooking up the DAC1 to the Chaintech AV710 using Windows Media Player gave very poor results. Bass was boomy, treble was poor. What was wrong? Well, the problem was fixed switching to Foobar 2000 or itunes.
Impressions
The "tonal" sonic signature seems very similar between these two fine sources. Initially, in the first few hours, I would have said the DAC1 was a bit bright but either I have adjusted or it has burnt in a bit because I no longer feel this. Both sources seem to produce a neutral sound. Certainly either would completely satisfy me - a tribute to just how good they both are. Comparitive A/Bing shows any advantage to either source to be small. There is "perhaps" a slightly better/more pronounced upper treble from the DAC1... but I have some contradictory evidence which begs some questions of this conclusion and which have to do with synergy (edit: or another factor related to the variable/calibrated output switch see post below). I'll elaborate...
Origninally I did not find that the SA5000 liked the analogue output of the DAC1 driving the Talisman as much as either the DAC1 headphone out or the NAD CDP analogue out driving the Talisman. Sparkle was not there with the DAC1 driving the Talisman to the Sonys. I disliked the combination and could detect the difference with all types of music. There was no perceptible difference for me with the MS-pros. Could this be because the Sonys are system sensitive? (Edit: switching to the calibrated output removed this lack of sparkle and seems to have fixed the synergy problem with the Sonys. Now switching back to variable output appears the same... could this have just been a dirty contact on this switch which cleaned up with a single first time use?).
Distortion: Taking Norah Jones and playing her dreadfully recorded albums (but great music) through the DAC1 cleared up the overload distortion I normally experience using the NAD CDP to Talisman. The DAC1 really made a difference here... most impressed and one reason the Benchmark would get my overall vote.
Sound Quality Overall: Taking American Beauty soundtrack (HDCD) or my old reference Dire Straits brothers in arms (HDCD) also showed just how good the DAC1 was... but was it better than my old NAD CDP to Talisman combination. Listening to some Dave Brubeck (HDCD) confirmed what I already felt. A/bing suggests any improvement to be small, but upper treble maybe a bit better from the DAC1 with the sonys driven from the headphone out. It will take me some time to really appreciate any differences. Listening to "hard rock" it was not really possible for me to perceive any differences at all.
I do feel the MS-pros shine with the benchmark DAC1 headphone out. The slight improvement in upper treble maybe? Not sure, but I liked them on the DAC1 headphone out. Initially I thought the Sonys were equally good on the NAD to Talisman as they were on the DAC1 headphone out but... this is not a certain thing... maybe the DAC1 has a slight edge. Edit: now I have fixed my perceived synergy problem with the Talisman driven by the DAC1 this setup may just have the edge. More listening required.
Summary
So, you'd like a summary of my "feelings" on these two sources with the different amps and cans. My reference for sound quality will be better clarity, upper treble detail and resolution. The stats are as follows:
NAD C542 -> DAC1 -> Talisman T-3H -> MS-pros = 8
NAD C542 -> DAC1 -> Talisman T-3H -> Sony MDR SA5000 = 9.1 (edited)
NAD C542 -> Talisman T-3H -> MS-pros = 8
NAD C542 -> Talisman T-3H -> Sony MDR SA5000 = 8.75
NAD C542 -> DAC1 Headphone out -> MS-pros = 8
NAD C542 -> DAC1 Headphone out -> Sony MDR SA5000 = 9
Apple lossless -> AV710 -> DAC1 Headphone out -> MS-pros = 5
Apple lossless -> AV710 -> DAC1 Headphone out -> Sony SA5000= 5
Computer CD -> AV710 -> DAC1 Headphone out -> MS-pros = 7
Computer CD -> AV710 -> DAC1 Headphone out -> Sony SA5000= 7
Conclusion
As far as sources are concerned the law of diminishing returns is evident. The DAC1 gets a better result for eliminating distortion on poor sound level recordings, and perhaps a bit better upper treble. So overall, the more expensive solution wins... but not by a long shot.
Can wise: Overall the Sonys get my vote marginally but not consistently. Certainly the Sonys are a bit adverse to the Talisman being driven from the analogue out of the DAC1. The MS-pros are consistently good with any combination... and certainly more "musical" something I have appreciated with these great cans over a wide range of equipment.
I'd be interested in your own experiences. Particularly on the analogue out of the DAC1 driving a headphone amp... I think I solved my original perceived problem of the Talisman failing to drive the Sonys with their regular sparkle from the DAC1 - a simple matter of operating the calibrated/variable switch for the first time.
One thing for sure, coaxial cable beats optical. Another thing is that NAD makes a very good cost effective source and matches well with the Talisman T-3H... this would still be my pick for good cost effective sound!!!
Lossless hard drive generated sound does not compare to CD output sound to my ears on my system. A dissappointment as the Benchmark was bought with the intention of getting audiophile quality sound from my computer hard drive... maybe an impossible dream?
Hope this provides some interesting points for discussion. I'd value your views and advise.
TonyAAA
Equipment
The Benchmark DAC1 has only about 30 hours of playing music on it. It has certainly changed since first switched on so again consider these impressions "early" ones. The other equipment is well burnt in.
I'm only using two sets of cans for this comparision: my Alessandro MS-pros and the new Sony MDR SA5000. I love them both but bear in mind my conclusion is the Sonys show varying synergies using combinations of the equipment used here. I do believe the MS-pros are less/not effected by varying the setup.
The two amps I used are the Talisman T-3H and the built in Headphone amp of the DAC1. I think highly of the Talisman (I put it well ahead of Perreaux SX-H1, XCans3, and a range of other amps) but the DAC1 amp surprised me. Not at all inferior in its ability to render fine sound... something I was not expecting from reports here. Is this simply because I have not yet had a "top end" amp to use for comparision or is it because the DAC1 amp is actually pretty good? I seek your more experienced comments on this please. But I can say I could settle for the DAC1 headphone amp and not feel cheated.
When using the NAD CDP I decided to stick to a coaxial digital out cable as it gave just perceptible sound quality improvement over the toslink cable. The digital coaxial cable I had made myself using the highest quality components I could get my hands on... total cost A$20 (about US$15).
The Toslink cable that came with my Chaintech AV710 soundcard was used to make comparisions with the computer as source. Initially the thing that threw me was that hooking up the DAC1 to the Chaintech AV710 using Windows Media Player gave very poor results. Bass was boomy, treble was poor. What was wrong? Well, the problem was fixed switching to Foobar 2000 or itunes.
Impressions
The "tonal" sonic signature seems very similar between these two fine sources. Initially, in the first few hours, I would have said the DAC1 was a bit bright but either I have adjusted or it has burnt in a bit because I no longer feel this. Both sources seem to produce a neutral sound. Certainly either would completely satisfy me - a tribute to just how good they both are. Comparitive A/Bing shows any advantage to either source to be small. There is "perhaps" a slightly better/more pronounced upper treble from the DAC1... but I have some contradictory evidence which begs some questions of this conclusion and which have to do with synergy (edit: or another factor related to the variable/calibrated output switch see post below). I'll elaborate...
Origninally I did not find that the SA5000 liked the analogue output of the DAC1 driving the Talisman as much as either the DAC1 headphone out or the NAD CDP analogue out driving the Talisman. Sparkle was not there with the DAC1 driving the Talisman to the Sonys. I disliked the combination and could detect the difference with all types of music. There was no perceptible difference for me with the MS-pros. Could this be because the Sonys are system sensitive? (Edit: switching to the calibrated output removed this lack of sparkle and seems to have fixed the synergy problem with the Sonys. Now switching back to variable output appears the same... could this have just been a dirty contact on this switch which cleaned up with a single first time use?).
Distortion: Taking Norah Jones and playing her dreadfully recorded albums (but great music) through the DAC1 cleared up the overload distortion I normally experience using the NAD CDP to Talisman. The DAC1 really made a difference here... most impressed and one reason the Benchmark would get my overall vote.
Sound Quality Overall: Taking American Beauty soundtrack (HDCD) or my old reference Dire Straits brothers in arms (HDCD) also showed just how good the DAC1 was... but was it better than my old NAD CDP to Talisman combination. Listening to some Dave Brubeck (HDCD) confirmed what I already felt. A/bing suggests any improvement to be small, but upper treble maybe a bit better from the DAC1 with the sonys driven from the headphone out. It will take me some time to really appreciate any differences. Listening to "hard rock" it was not really possible for me to perceive any differences at all.
I do feel the MS-pros shine with the benchmark DAC1 headphone out. The slight improvement in upper treble maybe? Not sure, but I liked them on the DAC1 headphone out. Initially I thought the Sonys were equally good on the NAD to Talisman as they were on the DAC1 headphone out but... this is not a certain thing... maybe the DAC1 has a slight edge. Edit: now I have fixed my perceived synergy problem with the Talisman driven by the DAC1 this setup may just have the edge. More listening required.
Summary
So, you'd like a summary of my "feelings" on these two sources with the different amps and cans. My reference for sound quality will be better clarity, upper treble detail and resolution. The stats are as follows:
NAD C542 -> DAC1 -> Talisman T-3H -> MS-pros = 8
NAD C542 -> DAC1 -> Talisman T-3H -> Sony MDR SA5000 = 9.1 (edited)
NAD C542 -> Talisman T-3H -> MS-pros = 8
NAD C542 -> Talisman T-3H -> Sony MDR SA5000 = 8.75
NAD C542 -> DAC1 Headphone out -> MS-pros = 8
NAD C542 -> DAC1 Headphone out -> Sony MDR SA5000 = 9
Apple lossless -> AV710 -> DAC1 Headphone out -> MS-pros = 5
Apple lossless -> AV710 -> DAC1 Headphone out -> Sony SA5000= 5
Computer CD -> AV710 -> DAC1 Headphone out -> MS-pros = 7
Computer CD -> AV710 -> DAC1 Headphone out -> Sony SA5000= 7
Conclusion
As far as sources are concerned the law of diminishing returns is evident. The DAC1 gets a better result for eliminating distortion on poor sound level recordings, and perhaps a bit better upper treble. So overall, the more expensive solution wins... but not by a long shot.
Can wise: Overall the Sonys get my vote marginally but not consistently. Certainly the Sonys are a bit adverse to the Talisman being driven from the analogue out of the DAC1. The MS-pros are consistently good with any combination... and certainly more "musical" something I have appreciated with these great cans over a wide range of equipment.
I'd be interested in your own experiences. Particularly on the analogue out of the DAC1 driving a headphone amp... I think I solved my original perceived problem of the Talisman failing to drive the Sonys with their regular sparkle from the DAC1 - a simple matter of operating the calibrated/variable switch for the first time.
One thing for sure, coaxial cable beats optical. Another thing is that NAD makes a very good cost effective source and matches well with the Talisman T-3H... this would still be my pick for good cost effective sound!!!
Lossless hard drive generated sound does not compare to CD output sound to my ears on my system. A dissappointment as the Benchmark was bought with the intention of getting audiophile quality sound from my computer hard drive... maybe an impossible dream?
Hope this provides some interesting points for discussion. I'd value your views and advise.
TonyAAA