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In Reply to: RE: Benchmark DAC1 - 1st edition - opinions ? posted by Sprezza Tura on July 01, 2015 at 09:33:07
When it first came to the attention of the audiophile community, there was nothing, nothing, at its price point that could touch it.
Build quality is nothing short of excellent.
Succeeding generations had better sound.
To call it a paint peeler is a flat-out exaggeration.
Audiophiles need to read what they write and not stoop to personal invective.
Follow Ups:
There are a number of reports that indicate the build quality is in fact, substandard.Invective?
They are opinions based on experience and research. Of course, some opinions are less grounded in facts that others.
It is also true that there were just not that many simlarly priced & featured products that were on the market. The headphone jack was a pretty good feature that was one of the selling points for John Marks.
Comparitive analysis by people with experience showed this product for what it is. It is not "bashing" and opinions are balanced with people qualifying them with both good and bad points. You labeling reasonable criticism as "bashing" doesn't serve you well.
Finally, if this product was so great, why did Benchmark take dramatic steps to improve later iterations?
"Asylums with doors open wide,
Where people had paid to see inside,
For entertainment they watch his body twist
Behind his eyes he says, 'I still exist.'"
Edits: 07/02/15
... , in minimal configuration without USB input, shortly after that.As I posted more than once, I had an Apogee MiniDAC on hands at the same time, and also acquired used PS Audio Digital Link III shortly after that.
Out of these 3, Benchmark was clearly, unmistakably the worst, competing - and winning over PS Audio - only in the bass. From there up, it was thin, shrill, dry, fatiguing, and any other negative epithet you could come up with. I was relieved when sent it back where it came from (I believe it was AudioAdvisor), mere 2 weeks after it showed up.
So much for bashing.
Edits: 07/01/15
We came to the same conclusion when my friend got one. He replaced it pretty quickly with a Resolution Audio Cantata, which was a proper DAC (although it is still not one of my favorites).
Your experience is mirrored by a multitude of others, including mine, and a large number of friends who were early DAC adopters.
The fact is, the magazines were looking to introduce a new advertiser into the fold. The fact that several Stereophile writers called it a reference is pretty frightening. The Audio Critic recently called it "perfect". What a hoot.
I'm not asking whether he is "well" - that is certainly not the case for at least last 30 years.
"What the Benchmark DAC1 HDR adds to or subtracts from its input signal is borderline unmeasurable, so the sonic character of its output is obviously the sonic character of its input. It's as simple as that. It has no sound of its own. Furthermore, its measurements could be 20 or 30 dB worse and it would still sound the same. I have convinced myself of that over and over again in double-blind listening comparisons of all sorts of electronic components at matched levels. The 100% purity of the DAC1 HDR is of benefit mainly in professional systems, where the integrity of the equipment chain needs to be verified and guaranteed. To audiophiles it's a somewhat abstract luxury—but not an excessively costly one."
"The Benchmark DAC2 HGC represents a new reference standard in the category of "DAC with line-level preamp" (excluding mysterious megabuck products designed to meet voodoo criteria). I refer you again to the links above if you wish to explore the unit's awesome feature set, with any and all digital or analog signal sources, be they audio components or computer. Its sound is what any non-voodoo reviewer would expect on the basis of the Audio Precision measurements: the exact sound of the signal source, nothing more and nothing less."
- Peter Aczel, The Audio Critic
Unfortunately, I can't find a full version of the review so I can pull up the "perfect" quote.
As an alternative to the Cardas,check out the Monoprice premium XLR cables.I still use one for my aes-ebu.You might try using them for the digital and stereo out.They have an inverted smile frequency balance,but still quite musical and revealing.I have replaced mine with PADs,but can still highly recommend.Especially at the price-give you a better deal on my replaced ones,if interested.
Tom:cat
I stand by what I said. Trying to get past the 30 minute mark with it in the system was a chore..to put it kindly.
You DO have a point about it not having much competition when it was first introduced, but then again it was not really necessary to have a DAC at that point in time.
N/T
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