[Jon L]

Good Lord. Just relabel this thread "DAC1 vs. 1.3 in Position B" and be done with it.

Is anyone really telling me that position A vs. B will make such a significant audible difference that it'll convince Benchmark fans to switch over? Didn't think so..

 

[Ori]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon L Is anyone really telling me that position A vs. B will make such a significant audible difference that it'll convince Benchmark fans to switch over?

Frankly Jon, no... Didn't make much of a difference to my ears, but it was a quick enough experiment, so what the heck... I just tried it...

 

[lan]

If you like the Benchmark sound, it's highly unlikely you'd switch over regardless of jumper position.

But to me the differences are clear. Next time the boys are over I'll demonstrate the noise differences in jumper settings.

 

[Ferbose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ori I hope not. This should be a hobby, not a war zone... Even if you're wrong, you are free to do whatever you want. I'm not certain the jumper would make that much difference, but it's a 2 minute task, vs. half a day of "bit**ing and mo**ing about this jumper over so many posts".

It takes only two minutes to swicth the jumper, but it takes a long time to re-compare everything against other sources. There are a few jumpers that control coaxial input impedance and XLR output level/impedance in DAC1, did you try to switch any of them when comparing Zhaolu to DAC1? At least you can read the manual and understand what the jumpers actually do, so it must be worth trying, only takes two minutes...

Anyway, I don't have the Zhaolu anymore. And it is not a big deal, in the XLR comparison, I put Benchmark under triple disadvantage (XLR converted to RCA, extra volume pot in signal path for level matching, and fed with toslink), and even if Zhaolu has the disadvantage of jumper B, it is still a fair game and DAC1 still bettered Zhaolu in a few subtle ways.

 

[Patu]

Well written comparison. I enjoyed reading it. Thanks.


Quote:

Originally Posted by RogerWilco I will just say i disagree with most of the review.

So you have heard DAC1 and Zhaolu side by side? What's your opinion about them?

 

[zdogg]

Jumpers aside (and again I agree with lan that the choice of jumper setting on the 1.3 significantly affects the sound), I think Ferbose's review highlights the possibility that the later revisions of the DAC1 really do sound different than earlier revisions, as has been suggested by others.

I say this because another head-fier came by yesterday with his serial #40XXX DAC1 and we did some serious listening comparisons between the DAC1 and the Zhaolu 2.0 (CS dac, caps removed, Dy2000 center position with opa2604 in side positions, XLR disconnected) using my speaker rig with squeezebox 2 unmodded as source. Our consensus was that the Zhaolu sounded less "hard", more refined, and with a deeper soundstage than the Benchmark. The DAC1 gave the impression of plenty of detail, but forced forward in a less pleasing, less musical way to our ears (although we agreed some might prefer this presentation, e.g. studio folks, etc.) Bass seemed a little lighter on the DAC1 too. The differences were not subtle.

But I'm not sure this is the latest DAC1 revision (my fellow head-fier does not think it is). And we're comparing to the Zhaolu 2.0, not the 1.3. I'd like to get my hands on a latest-version DAC1 and see if I hear what S.A.B. and Ferbose heard (using my 1.3).

 

[eyeteeth]

Pity your efforts ended in frustration Ferbose. Goes with the terrain unfortunately.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaGWiRE A lot of lavry and dac1 comparisons exist, go search the forums, theres probably been 3-4 people if not more who have already created threads on them.

I was greatly entertained by this writer's thread.

Lavry DA10 vs Benchmark DAC1: DEATHMATCH!

I don't know how correct or incorrect he is in hearing but his use of pictures is great.

Too bad he never finished.

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zdogg The differences were not subtle.

Hey that's one of the phrases which should be banned from audio IMHO.

Too bad I don't have a hot rodded Zhaolu with which to form an opinion as I never get into cars with strangers or believe what I read.

 

[Ori]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zdogg I'd like to get my hands on a latest-version DAC1 and see if I hear what S.A.B. and Ferbose heard

I sure would like to join in on that one!
Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferbose it is still a fair game and DAC1 still bettered Zhaolu in a few subtle ways.

That's a fair statement. Your comment about DAC-1's internal switches is fine too. What do you recommend?
Quote:

Originally Posted by eyeteeth as I never believe what I read.

Heck of a philosophy for someone with 3586 posts...

 

[akwok]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patu So you have heard DAC1 and Zhaolu side by side? What's your opinion about them?

QFT

 

[JaGWiRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eyeteeth Pity your efforts ended in frustration Ferbose. Goes with the terrain unfortunately. I was greatly entertained by this writer's thread. Lavry DA10 vs Benchmark DAC1: DEATHMATCH! I don't know how correct or incorrect he is in hearing but his use of pictures is great. Too bad he never finished.

I have to arree, those are very funny pictures, lol

.

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ori Heck of a philosophy for someone with 3586 posts...

Especially those types!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaGWiRE I have to arree, those are very funny pictures, lol .

Love it.

 

[Ferbose]

My DAC1 was bought two years ago.
Serial #: 37780
PCB revision C
The main concern to audiophiles is that RCA output impedance is 1250 ohms.
This facilitates the use of Y-splitters for RCA out.
The latest version changed this to 30 ohms.
BTW, some people NE5532 op-amp is now changed to the TI version.


As for the internal jumpers, I keep my coaxial input impedance low and the XLR output level high. XLR output level is really high this way, 29 dBU=22 V, ten times higher than ordinary CD players. A lot of amplifiers are not designed to handle such high input voltages and can sound harsh thereof. That's why Benchmark provided jumpers to lower it to 7V, 2V and 0.7V. Another way to lower output level is using front volume pot but I like to bypass it. Calibrated output still goes through ten-turn helical pots in the back so I made sure to set it at zero attenuation. If one does not pay attention to the helical pots in the back the result can be signal attenuation and L/R imbalance.

Its RCA out is still 5.5V, perhaps too high for some amplifiers. In some systems it may cause harshness, because downstream component isn't designed to handle such inputs. Most preamp and power amps today have input sensitivity of 500 mV or lower. DAC1's signal can be 20-30 dB above that. To convert XLR to RCA out requires floating pin 3 using modified adapters or cables. My PreSonus Central Station, designed for studios, simply shines with the 22V balanced input. But my consumer integrated amplifiers or headphone amp sound constrained even with 11V (XLR-to-RCA, half the voltage swing) input.

As a studio equipment, DAC1's output is not so readily pluggable into a consumer system. Care really has to be taken about how to feed its output to downstream equipment. There are lots of possibilities and careful listening is the only way to guide this process.

 

[Graham Maynard]

Just for interest.
When making reproduction comparisons, does anyone ever use CD recorded white noise ?
This can give an indication of dynamic capabilities with frequency, and switching between equal level signal outputs with a common external audio system, or plugging phones between modules, can easily reveal slight differences with cues for where to look for audio playback differences.

 

[Ferbose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graham Maynard Just for interest. When making reproduction comparisons, does anyone ever use CD recorded white noise ? This can give an indication of dynamic capabilities with frequency, and switching between equal level signal outputs with a common external audio system, or plugging phones between modules, can easily reveal slight differences with cues for where to look for audio playback differences.

I don't have white noise tracks but I am sure it's easy to find.
I don't understand what you are saying.
To be more specific, I don't know what white noise is useful for.
What slight differences can white noise reveal?