Digital Drive: REVIEW: Benchmark DAC 1 DAC Processors by rp1@surfnetusa.com

Model:	DAC 1
Category:	DAC Processors
Suggested Retail Price:	$995
Description:	Black, with volume control and source switch on the front.
Manufacturer URL:	Benchmark
Model Picture:	View

Review by rp1@surfnetusa.com on June 25, 2004 at 01:37:28
IP Address: 24.6.62.160

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for the DAC 1

Well I have been borrowing, with varied and creative excuses, my friends Benchmark for far too many times now and finally bought one of my own. As I had written in a preliminary post, we thought it exceeded my Levinson on the first night we compared it. But I was reluctant to write this review; after having the experience of writing a glowing review of something that I ended up hating, I did not want to write something that I would have to repudiate later.
Now that I have it in the system, and dialed in, I can report that it is...even better than I first thought. First thing noticed by all is the inter-note silence that is an evolutionary jump above the Levinsons. Notes have a better feel and shape in the accustic field. Highs are clearer and more tuneful with the abilities to define the different brands of cymbals used (to a musician friend at least, I woudn't know one from another). Bass has startling impact and definition, yet is still able to be resonant and full. Vocals are also a step beyond the Levinsons ability to render. Layering and shading is more subtle, with no artificial warmth hiding things(as the Levinson has to a small degree).
Does all this sound like my earlier reports on the Levinson? I bet it does, for the simple reason that this diminutive unit does all that the Levinson does only better. The Levinson, over time, presents itself with a sort of "grey-slate" sound; the Benchmark, with either the Levinson or the Panasonic as the transport, is simply clear as water.
The other thing is that while the Levinsons Processor section has lousy jitter rejection, and down converts outside digital streams to 16 bits (at $6800 that is, shall we say, an irritant), the Benchmark up samples and runs any present digital pcm stream full resolution and, better yet, will reject amazing amouts of jitter (according to the extremely well-written manual some 2400 nano-seconds of jitter,or about 1000 feet of digital cable before ANY reduction in spec occurs) and will give identical performance on any digital cable. Hell, it even worked with a coat hanger and an aligator clip as the digital cable...no change! The factory guarantees that if it can lock on at all, it will be jitter free. From my torture tests I can say they are not lying. Your fancy cable can't improve it; it can only hurt it (if possible).
All the above is well and good, but as a sharp young man asked me, how do I FEEL when listening to it?
Of course there is the excitement that comes from hearing instruments and their relationships that I never heard before, but of course we soon come to take the resolution for granted. What is left after the excitement is over? I would say that for the most part the added transparency allows one to hear into the musicians intentions better; if it was emotion that is called for, you get emotion in spades. If the music is an intellectual study of harmonics and musical timing, that too comes through clearer. The Benchmark can be relaxing and soothing if the music is such, if the music is brash and edgy (massed trombones for instance) you won't be relaxing, you will be trying to move to the music. I was playing some Spanish toreador music; I felt for a moment like I was going to fight the bull myself.
My friends system is designed to be a more romantic sounding system; on his system the music is uniformly inviting and seductive with this DAC. My system is designed for tranparancy and to capture the live dynamics. Warm seductive music comes across as just that, able to capture that "smoky" feeling on Pat Barbers music. On large orchestras there is the sense of great size and mass. Strings are better than I have heard on any other DAC (so far) with the balance of wood, rosin, and gut just right. Rock,on those few albums with real dynamics, the drum attacks can just explode. Complex bass lines are powerful yet easily unravled. That all important PRAT is there in spades along with image and depth. (With the power I am employing there damned well better be dynamics or there is going to be some bitchin'.)
I just wish it had a remote control. I think if Benchmark got off the stick and made a model with remote control and put it in a bigger box it would be more appealing to audiophiles. Hell, if they added a sprinkling of "audiophile parts" (whether or not they improve the performance is irrelevant) they could easily triple the price. This is the DAC to use for those that are thinking of using their hard-drive for music storage; it sounds marvelous with computers!

Product Weakness: Small box, doesn't match well with other audio gear in looks. No remote control. Won't impress audiophile friends with its looks.
Product Strengths: Pro design, very robust and moron resistant. Via precision ten-turn pots can be matched to any preamp. Amazing dynamics yet very smooth. Oversampling weaknesses addressed at the source. Exemplary power supply design (-140db noise floor doesnt happen by accident). Great headphone section.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Bryston 4BSST on woofer/mids Spectron on Ribbons
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	DAC is its own preamp.
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Levinson 390S and Panasonic DVD as transport
Speakers:	Active xover Newform 645
Cables/Interconnects:	Analysis Plus, Goertz, Synergistic Research
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Rock, Cantatas, Indian, Jazz, Celtic, Country
Room Size (LxWxH):	40 x 20 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments:	Carpet, Drapes, furniture, dirty dishes, dirty laundry....
Time Period/Length of Audition:	Counting friends time...2 months...
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	All conditioners removed. All my gear is heavily regulated and just sounds better into the wall.
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Small box, doesn't match well with other audio gear in looks. No remote control. Won't impress audiophile friends with its looks.
Product Strengths:	Pro design, very robust and moron resistant. Via precision ten-turn pots can be matched to any preamp. Amazing dynamics yet very smooth. Oversampling weaknesses addressed at the source. Exemplary power supply design (-140db noise floor doesnt happen by accident). Great headphone section.