Benchmark DAC1 USB Black

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List Price: Price Unavailable
Sale Price: $1,195.00
Today's Bonus:

• Two Channel, 24-bit, 192-kHz, D-to-A Conversion
• Jitter Immunity with Ultra Lock technology
• 1 x USB, 1 x AES, 1 x S/PDIF, and 1 Toslink input. Balanced XLR outputs, and unbalanced RCA outputs.
• Driverless USB 1.0 - 96kHz, 24-bit
• HPA2 headphone power amplifier

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This was admittedly an upgrade from an audio component (an ASUS Xonar Essence STX sound card) that sat within a few of our audio-dedicated computer workstations, and although the Xonar Essence STX was a very, very competent piece of audio gear for its form factor, there was absolutely no comparison with respect to the sheer control, clarity, extension and unblemished sound of the Benchmark DAC1 USB.

We auditioned the Benchmark DAC1 USB next to an Ayre Acoustics QB9, which is another phenomenal piece of equipment (both pieces have been very, very favorably reviewed in many audio magazines and online resources) but the bottom line was that our workstations needed the multiple digital inputs available to the Benchmark DAC1 USB, as well as the dual headphone outputs, none of which are available Ayre Acoustics QB9.

We gave both the Benchmark DAC1 USB and the Ayre Acoustics QB9 100 hours burn-in apiece using pink noise tracks and various instrumental and vocal CD tracks played through a Musical Fidelity M1 CDT transport, an older CAL Audio Delta transport, and native LG Blueray burners attached to our computer workstations, and then auditioned each unit with Have, AudioQuest and Kimber digital inputs via the USB, AES and coax inputs of the Benchmark DAC1 USB, and via the USB input of the Ayre Acoustics QB9, since the Ayer only accepts USB input. The speakers used for auditioning were Mackie HR624 MK2's and Neumann KH 120's, all connected to the DACs via AudioQuest King Cobra XLR or Kimber Hero XLR interconnects. For lower-end bass testing, we also tested both DACs using both a Velodyne MiniVee and Focal Sub6 subwoofers in conjunction with the aforementioned studio monitors.

In terms of the sonic landscape, the extension and control of the lower registers was phenomenal for both the Benchmark DAC1 USB and the Ayre Acoustics QB9, as was the breathtaking clarity of the midrange and cleanness of the upper registers. Some of us thought that the Ayre Acoustics QB9 may have had just a very slight advantage on a few occasions when it came to the decay of notes in certain source material, but this was not uniformly agreed by everyone, and even by those who thought it to be an advantage, there were times when their vote shifted to the Benchmark DAC1 USB when other source materials were played.

In the end, however (at least for us) the slightly greater openness sometimes heard in the Ayre Acoustics QB9 was nowhere near enough incentive to rationalize the Ayre Acoustics QB9 costing more than twice as much as the Benchmark DAC1 USB. In addition, the Benchmark DAC1 USB had a notably smaller footprint, which made it ideal for the workstations where it was to be deployed. The footprint wasn't the ultimate deciding factor by any real means, but we thought it worth noting for those who may be looking for a USB-connected DAC for their home setups.

In all, the Benchmark DAC1 USB is a giant killer representative of the best that digital audio has to offer. Very highly recommended.

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We produce a daily 5-hour music mix for over 100 public radio stations around the USA (undercurrentsradio.net). Day and night, the DAC1 USB, patched directly into ADAM A7 self-powered monitors, is the direct pathway between our digital music library and our ears. We can't rave enough about how great this unit sounds ~ everything is so sonically delicious it's hard to tear ourselves away!

Build quality, reliability, flexibility, esthetics, they too are all top-notch. The only glitch we've encountered is the volume pot has degraded, making a little bit of static when it's adjusted. Benchmark has a 5-year warranty and they've offered to replace the defective part and swap a loaner unit while its in the shop, all with a prepaid shipping container. That's service!

There's another point I'd like to mention, one not often discussed but critical to us. Over the years we've used a range of popular semi-pro and professional audio gear for critical monitoring and had to deal with the annoying habit they all shared of choking when jumping between playback on iTunes, YouTube, SoundCloud and our own library of .wav and lossless files. The clock would get stuck on one and not seamlessly handle the next, so frequent reboots were the norm. The Benchmark DAC1 has changed that forever because the clock is so rock-solid that it never ever loses synch on playback. That, plus the obvious 20% bump in audio quality, makes it worth every penny.

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I have just purchased my USB1 DAC....What an improvement over my creative titanium hd sound card. This unit has a good amount of flexibility,and the Head phone amp is quite good especially for hi z headphones. USB1 Even gives you a choice of Headphone jacks . Light but well designed unit, My biggest pro is that the unit has a very transparent output and does not color your music.

Also you can increase the volume by removing the jumpers (10db pad) and then give the headphone amp tremendous volume for your cans. XLR out can also be increased by moving the head jumpers to a different position.

No Cons