Benchmark DAC Thoughts

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).

@gnoworyta for what it’s worth I had come to the same conclusion as you that the benchmark dac looked very interesting, I was considering it against the topping D90 and the chord cutest and the RMEADI2 dac. I had not heard any of them and was going by reviews and comments. In the end I opted for the Rme ADI 2 because it seem to have the greatest versatility and I am happy to report the sound quality is all that I hoped. It has the advantage that it comes in about $700 below your budget cap. Like the benchmark it is also made by a company that caters primarily to studio audio but tailored for the home market. I am currently having it serves as both dac and preamp Sending a balanced signal into a pair of Nelson Pass designed ACA mono blocks and KEF LS 50s. I honestly can’t imagine the sound getting a whole lot better.

The RME and Benchmark DAC3s are pretty similar (as is the Topping D90SE). My friend on the streaming project I mentioned above ended up with 3 new RME DACs instead of Benchmark DACs. Now those DACs may not have been broken in because they were brand new. There were some technical glitches on 1 of the DACs that I had to work around, but for the most part it was a similar sounding to the Benchmark DAC3.

Thanks all. I will be using the DAC to listen exclusively to redbook CD at this time. No streaming plans in the near term.

Had the DAC 3L for a couple years. Thought it was great. Bought it direct from benchmark. They were very helpful with my questions I had for dacs in general. It was designed to be neutral, no colorization of the source music. It would be a solid choice.