[Liang]

i am going to buy one dac, i don't know which one is more suit for me. i have these choices LAVRY DA10 DA11, Benchmark DAC1 HDR, W4S DAC2, and musical fidelity m1, for my HD650, can anyone give me a suggestion. thx a lot, really apprecaite.

 

[Head Injury]

Any particular reason you're looking at the Benchmark DAC1 HDR, and not one of the cheaper models? As a regular old amp and DAC, all their models will perform the same, not counting USB input.

 

[Liang]

so if don't consider hdr, from the other dac which should i pick? really need help!!!!

 

[Liang]

Quote:

Any particular reason you're looking at the Benchmark DAC1 HDR, and not one of the cheaper models? As a regular old amp and DAC, all their models will perform the same, not counting USB input.

so what is your opinion? if don't consider the price, hdr will be the best one, right? i am really confused now

 

[Head Injury]

If you don't need USB input or a preamp, the $995 Benchmark DAC1 would be your best option from Benchmark. Of the ones you listed, I would choose it (or the Lavry DACs) over the others, as the Benchmark has been thoroughly tested for performance and their manual is very clear about that. The others all claim similar performance, and probably achieve it, but don't back it up.
 
Or you could save even more money and get a $500 Yulong D100 or $700 Matrix Quattro, both Chinese-made amps and DACs based on the same design but with some extra features and (perhaps) cheaper components. Should perform the same, maybe slightly worse, and sound the same.

 

[Liang]

Quote:

If you don't need USB input or a preamp, the $995 Benchmark DAC1 would be your best option from Benchmark. Of the ones you listed, I would choose it (or the Lavry DACs) over the others, as the Benchmark has been thoroughly tested for performance and their manual is very clear about that. The others all claim similar performance, and probably achieve it, but don't back it up.
 
Or you could save even more money and get a $500 Yulong D100 or $700 Matrix Quattro, both Chinese-made amps and DACs based on the same design but with some extra features and (perhaps) cheaper components. Should perform the same, maybe slightly worse, and sound the same.

 
thx, but i really need a usb input, course my source will be my laptop, that is the question, have you ever tried any of those DAC? for choosing those DAC, i had a hard time on it.

 

[Head Injury]

I've tried the DAC1. Great piece of equipment, but in the end it only validated my belief that all good DACs will sound the same, so I couldn't justify the price. That's a good thing, you should be fine with any of those 

 

[Liang]

all right, thx dude, really helpful,