[jsiau]

I would assume that the dac3 B be the perfect pairing for the hpa4 as it's made by the same company. Also even if not, dacs from benchmark have always been reputable. I myself use the dac 3 B with the HPA4 and intend to keep it as that.

The advantage of an all-Benchmark system is that the interfaces can all operate at studio levels (+24 dBu) instead of at much lower consumer signal levels. Most consumer-grade balanced interfaces operate at a maximum of 4 Vrms which is 14.2 dBu. The extra 10 dB of signal level provided by using studio signal levels, often increases the system SNR by the same factor.

+24 dBu is 12.28 Vrms. Unbalanced interfaces operate at just 2 Vrms which is 16 dB lower than 24 dBu. Studio balanced interfaces have a 16 dB advantage over unbalanced RCA connections (ignoring the additional advantages common mode noise rejection provided by the balanced interface). Moving from consumer unbalanced interfaces to studio-grade balanced interfaces is a huge upgrade.

To be fair, there are some other products that support studio signal levels, but these products are rarely marketed to hi fi users. Benchmark builds products that are adaptable to consumer level signals and these products work well in systems that have a mix of professional and consumer products. Nevertheless, the best performance is always achieved when the entire system operates at studio signal levels.

I have written more about this topic here:

https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/balanced-vs-unbalanced-analog-interfaces

 

[F208Frank]

John, you make Benchmark shine you know that? I have always loved/respected how you guys ran things, including how you guys do not care much for being little outdated in the visual aspects of your products. You guys just do you and I love it. I actually happen to like that plain look of the DAC anyways compared to other flashier options.

A no nonsense approach overall. Love your company. One of the OGs of the audio game, especially their DACs. Knowledgable, respected, and transparency are words that come to mind when their name comes up.

Love you John/Benchmark. Rory too since you helped me with the purchases.

 

[Roasty]

Yea I love the Benchmark approach to consumer products. No unnecessary frills, very no-nonsense, and does what it says on the tin. Also like how transparent they are with their products and marketing.

 

[F208Frank]

I have always wondered why Chord DACs receiving so much more attention than Benchmark.

My impressions are that Benchmark having a much more reasonable pricing structure.

Example, DAVE has nearly 900 pages of threads. What gives?

 

[Roasty]

Maybe for some, buying a Chord item also buys into the "culture/group". I've always found it amusing how some folks in the Chord threads like to say stuff like "Rob Watts himself said.." or Rob Watts this Rob Watts that..

Although, I do very much like the sound of the Chord TT2 and more so with the mscaler. I had owned the Mojo for a while but didn't really think much of the sound sig.. Ended up selling it not long after.

Their products are also quite a nice thing to look at. And their marketing/website also looks very pretty. I guess it appeals to a lot of folks.

 

[twoloszyn]

Agreed. Chord basically has a respected figurehead that people can reference coupled with a unique aesthetic + marketing/loyalty that many are attracted to. I also drank the kool-aid and had Mojo for a while but sold it in favor of a desktop setup at home, i.e. the HPA4.

 

[phthora]

I heard the Chord DAVE once and was less impressed with it than with the DAC3 I own. It was a very hasty impression, just a quick 15 minutes shuffling through some of my songs, but I quickly decided it wasn't worth seriously considering for myself.

On the other hand, I thought the Qutest was a solid let-down for the price and far out-performed by the DAC3.

 

[F208Frank]

Quick question, for the HPA4 when powering extremely power hungry headphones, if the volume needs to be at around 95 percent for the headphone to be loud enough, does this necessarily mean it's a bad thing? The common thought is that volume should be around "halfway" when the headphones are at decent volumes.

John if you see this can you please chime in?

 

[Roasty]

Quick question, for the HPA4 when powering extremely power hungry headphones, if the volume needs to be at around 95 percent for the headphone to be loud enough, does this necessarily mean it's a bad thing? The common thought is that volume should be around "halfway" when the headphones are at decent volumes.

John if you see this can you please chime in?

Wow what's the number on your hpa4? I'm around - 20 to - 23 when listening with the abyss 1266.

 

[F208Frank]

I am assuming you changed your DAC settings for a higher gain or perhaps used the HPA4 for a 10DB boost because mine at stock settings is -2.0 for the TC to be decently loud. Does having amp powering headphone at 90 percent or so lower sound quality in any way?

 

[Roasty]

I am assuming you changed your DAC settings for a higher gain or perhaps used the HPA4 for a 10DB boost because mine at stock settings is -2.0 for the TC to be decently loud. Does having amp powering headphone at 90 percent or so lower sound quality in any way?

I didn't change any gain settings on my dac. Left it as it was out of the box. Didn't even open it up to check what it was on... Maybe I should..

 

[JP281]

I didn't change any gain settings on my dac. Left it as it was out of the box. Didn't even open it up to check what it was on... Maybe I should..

Your using a benchmark dac3b with it? I am aswell. Synergy is nice.

 

[Roasty]

Your using a benchmark dac3b with it? I am aswell. Synergy is nice.

Yep I have no complaints. But then again I've not tried any other dac with it either.. Don't think I will bother to, since J.Siau makes a good point re: Benchmark products working well together. Plus I like how the stack looks too.

 

[Tobes]

Anyone using this as a pre-amp as well? Looking to get a pre for my Questyle stack, the one from Questyle obviously appeals given it'll slot right in aesthetically, however for the money they're asking there are some very good headphone amplifiers with pre-amp capabilities that are options (and I'm not averse to more flexibility). I'd be running this balanced into the monoblocks and single-ended out to my JBL LSR305P MKIIs. Presumably it's straight forward changing between HPA and pre-amp and different pre-amp outputs? Any thoughts about the HPA4 in this scenario? Other contenders (GS-X MK2)?

Absolutely. The majority of my listening is via the HPA4 to my ATC active speakers - sounds awesome.
The dual attenuators in the HPA4 are great if you enjoy switching between headphone and speaker listening.
However if I am reading you correctly you want to have independent control of HP, Bal and SE outputs? With the HPA4 the bal/SE preamp outputs operate together, ie switching/volume control of Bal/SE pre out is not independent.
The only preamps I've owned that had independent volume/switching control of HP and both Bal and SE outputs were the Grace m903/m920 dac/preamps.
However the m903/m920 used multi channel IC volume chips to provide the 3 independent stereo attenuators required. For this, and probably many other reasons, they didn't achieve the same SQ as the HPA4. The HPA4 is a more focused product that aspires to (and achieves) higher performance.

 

[NZtechfreak]

Thanks for that, very helpful. Speakers are off if I'm listening to headphones and vice versa, so doesn't need to be independent.