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Benchmark dac - why such diverging opinions?

I'm puzzled.
Audiophile sites and magazines continue to rave about the benchmark dac (HDR, USB, pre,...). Perfect rendition, studio quality, unbeatable value,...

Yet criticism stacks up high on many blogs. Too harsh, not musical enough,...

Why such divergence? Does its popularity make it the one one loves to hate? Are magazines just biased in their reviews? Are audiophile bloggers not good judges of quality. Are those considering buying a dac at that price having sub-par components whose imperfections the benchmark dac amplifies, while those going higher end don't consider the dac adequate vs a berkeley or weiss? Where is the catch?

I ended up buying a w4s dac. I considered the benchmark yet never had the chance to audition it.
mizuno
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
someone's rapture may be another's rupture.

or, someone's idea of great sound may be another's idea of terrible sound.
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Is this the sort of device that could switches for filters so you could select "neutral" and "warm" - so you could have the truth and ad some warm maple syrup when called for.
jon2020's avatar
jon2020
986 posts
 
For me, the big question is : "Is it musical?" Does it get my toes tapping or head bobbing? If not, then it won't do, no matter how clean or neutral it is. Is it like live music? - because live music is most certainly musical.
daverz
487 posts
 
"Musical" is just another way of saying "I like it", isn't it? Even "it sounds like live music" is totally subjective; everyone takes away something different from the experience of live music.

One thing that's only been touched on briefly so far that may effect opinions about the Benchmark is that it is "pro" gear. I don't think this effected my own opinion; I respect the hard-nosed engineering ethic of much pro gear. But some people crinkle their nose at gear from any company with a pro reputation.

By the way, I did try the DAC1 with the different output level settings (a feature I wish more gear had).
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Did you prefer the higher or lower gain settings? Any reason for higher than 2v for amps with 1v sensitivity?
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