Benchmark DAC Thoughts

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!

@rbstehno - Thanks for your input. Re: why not PS Audio...

I should have clarified that I prefer to buy new and have an absolute firm budget max of $2k.

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. 

Have a look at the ASR review and measurements of the PS Audio DS DAC (linked below). FWIW, it ranks #10 from the bottom of 117 DACs reviewed.  The Benchmark DAC3 ranks #11 from the top. Not that ASR is necessarily the last word in measurements, or that they measure the qualities that matter to YOU.  The PS Audio products do get a lot of raves from owners. Personally, I  like having ethernet as well as USB inputs. 

Stereophile rates BOTH the Benchmark DAC3 HGC and the PS Audio DS as "A+" components.  The PS Audio product is much more expensive (but used models have been widely available in the past).