Benchmark DAC Thoughts

Congratulations! I (obviously) think you have made a great choice. I should tell you a few other things. I know you were looking to upgrade your speakers from an earlier post. I have the Vandersteen Treos CT you were considering. I also run my signal through a new Audible Illusions 3B tube pre- amp and then to a Parasound A23+ solid state amp. All wires are Audioquest. I also listen to a great deal of Americana, acoustic jazz and classical. I was in the music business for over 30 years and have played guitar for over 50 years. My wife and I love Shawn Colvin. I own a Martin Custom Shop 0000-28 similar to Shawn's. I was just listening to her Live CD again the other night after a long layoff. The entire album was breathtaking! I know what that guitar sounds like in person. That is why I am telling you all this. I'm sure you don't need to know this, but I realized in this discussion, like most discussions on the internet, you have no idea about the background or experience of the people posting replies to your questions. The Benchmark is built like a tank...because it has to perform in recording studios for hours on end with no breakdowns. Also, the most important engineering is not the dac chip... it's the input (jitter control) and the output stage. This is a pro piece of gear, period. It's not etched, sterile or whatever...the recordings are that. This is not a "flavor" control...it has been designed and built to do a job for us and it does that, EVERYDAY, with no editorial opinions. Now, that may not be what people are looking for...great! There are plenty of options out there. Please feel comfortable with your decision and check out Sara Jaroz....I'm sure you already have. ("Bury Me In Bones" is pretty great too! and  "Twist Of Fate")

One additional point I will make on the DAC3. I am a huge fan and will never sell it but this comment is a bit negative.

I worked with a very established audio vendor/musician on a digital streaming project this year. He has been involved with building recording studios and has a great ear. He has the DAC3L in his work area at his shop. So, he knows the DAC well.

He is not a huge fan of the DAC3 because he says it is a bit too bright for him. Now he thinks it sounds bright not because it is that way on top but because it is lacking some low end so the top end seems more pronounced. I disagreed with him when he came over to my place and heard my DAC3B. However, today after hearing the Musetec 005 I can see where someone could say the DAC3B lacks some low end. The Musetec seems to have more on the bottom.

Saying all that, I really never get tired of hearing the DAC3B. It fits my tastes rather well. I think I will move it from my Musetec 005 system and pair it with my warmish KRELL integrated because the DAC3B is a bit better than the internal DAC in the KRELL.

Depending on the listener involved and the system in question you can uncover flaws in any audio component.  You cannot escape from the subjectivity of audio and listening to reproduced music. I wrote earlier in this thread that some find the Benchmark ideally neutral and uncolored  and some find them analytical/clinical.  Neither is wrong as it is just a reflection of perspective. You can do this with any brand of audio products.  It is not  exclusive to Benchmark. When all is said and done,  buy what sounds best to you.

Charles 

If you have a ps audio preamp, why wouldn’t you go for the ps audio DS jr or DS sr dac? These dacs are far superior to the benchmarks in sq, Ethernet and i2s capability, and fpga based. I had the DS jr for a couple of years and then went to the DS sr with the bridge II card. Don’t use usb with or without the so called tweaks to try to make usb decent sounding, and go with a dac that allows you to put your music server (pc/Mac, 3rd party) in a separate room and use Ethernet (with or without fiber if your network is noisy).

The DS jr will get you 70% of the quality of the DS sr for about $2200 used or find a used DS sr for around $3500 used

DoubleYY...credit to you for looking for a good synergy fit for your DAC 3B. That’s exactly what we all should be striving to do, right? Funny after my first post, I was listening to an Igor Markevich recording of the the Tchaikovsky 5th on the new box set of his Phillips recordings. Wow! the strings were strident and hard to enjoy. Great overall performance through. This is why I’ve been so focused on the quality of re-issues lately. I don’t expect the Benchmark to fix this problem. It may trace back to the original digital transfer/mastering. EMI (and Sony to a lesser degree) do a really good job of addressing these remastering issues. I also want to clarify that I only provided the biographical and system information to give our OP some context for evaluating my opinions. I only post on these questions when I think I have some direct user experience of what the OP is looking for. I know you are, quite rightly, thought of as the Benchmark maven on this site for your personal experience and enthusiasm for the brand. I know that you appreciate what they do. I can say, especially after listening to some Brad Mehldau and Sarah Jarosz tonight after the Markevich is... I will need to change my listening position on a case by case basis.....not my DAC......and fortunately, I can do that. Keep on listening!