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Originally Posted by music_man /img/forum/go_quote.gif
hi mr gwinn,
i am still having a litle issue with the krell. to get the dac1's output to be as loud as the sony cd players output i have to run the dac'1 at 5.66 volts. at 5.66 volts there is a small amount of distortion present in the tweeters. the sony is only putting out 4.63 volts. i measured them both. i don't understand this. how is this possible? shouldn't the same voltage from two diferent products into the same input cause the same db reading at the same distance? if i have to i could just back off on the volume. not a big problem. i would wish you could explain this though.
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What audio source are you measuring the outputs with? What I mean is, are you measuring with music or a test tone? You should be using a constant level test tone to make sure the comparison is accurate.
Assuming that you did use a test tone, and the voltage differences are as you say, the dB level will be different between the two, as it is directly proportional to the voltage. Loudness, however, has other factors involved - specifically, frequency content. If all things are equal, and the CD player sounds louder at identical voltage levels, it must be because there is additional frequency content in the analog signal of the CD player. This, most likely, is harmonic distortion. Without having the unit in front of me, I can't say for sure, but this is my best guesstimate.
Quote:
Originally Posted by music_man /img/forum/go_quote.gif
also i was hoping you would comment on this. some people say the dac1's headphone amp is just an "add on" and it was just put there as an extra item. they say it is not so good sounding but it was not intended to be. i think it sounds worth $300 by itself. i know you sell it for about that by itself. i think people that do not like it simply are presenting the usual subjective opinions. it may not be everyones favorite but i certainly do not find it to be unworthy.
i assume benchmark intended for the headphone amp to sound the best it could with in reason, and to compete with other comparably priced amps. is that correct?
thanks,
music_man
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I'll try to answer this question without it sounding like an advertisement. At the risk of sounding less then humble, we feel the HPA2 (Benchmark's signature headphone amplifier, which is featured in the DAC1) is one of the most accurate and robust headphone amplifiers on the market (by robust, I mean it can handle an amazing array of loads without compromising the sound).
With that being said, there are users who simply don't want accuracy. WE HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THAT!! I stress this because, at the end of the day, we are all music lovers, and understand that music is a very personal experience. And that personal experience cannot and should not be quantified.
However, our objective with the DAC1 (and the HPA2) is not to add certain colorations or artificial stereo width, because the product then becomes subjectively pleasing to some peoples tastes and ideas of what a device should sound like.
Our objective is to provide the most accurate reproduction and representation of the audio possible, and let the recording speak for itself. We believe, as designers of audio reproduction systems, that we owe it to the musicians/producers/recording engineers to represent the colors and images which they artistically derived. We believe it is not our place to add such impurities, even if it pleases our own subjectivities. If I want to hear such artifacts, I'll add it to my own hi-fi in my house.
We use the most accurate measurement equipment and techniques available to achieve our objectives. We will strive and strive for precision and accuracy as we believe it is the crux of engineering fidelity.
I hope this doesn't come across as too much of a 'rant', or advertisement. If so, I apologize.
Thanks,
Elias