Benchmark vs. PS Audio vs. Lavry

The Cullen Stage 3 PS Audio blows the Benchmark away. Rick Cullen has been involved in PS Audio's designs for years, and his mod is under warranty by PS Audio, which is very rare for modded equipment.

Cullen has a large facility that builds equipment for various companies, so the work is of the highest caliber.

I have had the Benchmark and the standard PS Audio. I found the BM to be too detailed in my system as my Merlin speakers are very revealing themselves. I was actually warned of this by another goner prior to buying. I find the PS unit to be more full and easier to listen to for long periods. Both are great but system dependent.

I'm using a DAC1 USB. Using it with a Hydra 4 and Taipan Alpha Helix power cord and Acoustic Zen Reference II RCAs. Very happy with the setup.

Not related to PC Audio, but to the Benchmark, I just hooked up a Masterlink CD Burner to the Benchmark using the AES/EBU 110 ohm xlr input (Apogee Wyde-EYE) and just can't believe how good it sounds. I do need to burn in the cable (the trombone in The Mooch - Sterophile Test CD) is a little isolated - a bit behind the sound stage) but the overall, initial sound, I gotta say, blew me away. I wish the squeezebox had an AES/EBU output. I would think one of the SB mods would be able to do that.

Thanks for all the replies. I am leaning toward the Benchmark DAC 1 Pre preamp. Since it has multiple digital inputs, I could attach my Apple TV via Toslink and my Oppo 681H via toslink. Presumably, my cable box also has a coax out. One thing I am unclear on: Obviously, when using the Oppo to play audio disks (Redbook, SACD, DVD audio etc.) the bitstream will be audio only coming out of the coax outputs. When playing a DVD will I still be able to run it into the Benchmark for audio purposes, or will it be a combinged audio/video signal? I know it sounds pretty basic, but I haven't paid any attention to the video side at all.

Thanks again.