I had a Benchmark. I think it was clearer than the Cambridge (from memory), but not terribly dimensional, a bit cool, and lacking the soul of music, although, again, QUITE a bit of clarity to it. Robert E. Greene loves it, though. I never quite warmed up to it, although I heard what people liked about it. It didn't quite sound like real music, though...
I now have a (Cambridge) 840C and a Rega Apollo. Prefer the Cambridge, if only for 1) the highs are really, really good (they float, for one thing) and 2), more dimensional with enough low-level detail that each cut sounds different (some sound humid, some very clear, some dimensional, airy, bright), which generally means less "personality." Also, for the first time, I can actually hear sound coming from the floor on cds (some of 'em!)and "space" down there, too. Fairly tall soundstage as well, although, now that I think about it, the Rega gives very good height, too! It (840C) is slightly lightweight-sounding, but then, that depends on the electronics AND the interconnects/cables. On the Parasound JC 2, it sounds "lighter" (not leaner, just a touch more ethereal, as in, say, when someone would materialize on Star Trek, and you could still see thru them a little, before they were fully materialized) than it does on the Antique Sound Labs AQ 1003, or the Hurricanes, or even an Arcam FMJ 22 integrated. Of course, using Nordost Frey interconnects may also be contributing, since they're lighter in the bass/lower midrange (I believe Harley uses MIT, which is typically much richer in the bass/midrange than Nordost). I'll have a better idea of the "lightweight" sound when I Put in the Transparent MM2s next week, but nonetheless, the Cambridge is slightly more ethereal than say, the Rega, or the Arcams.
I most definitely like the Cambridge more than a Consonance Droplet 5.0 CD player I had a couple of years back. The Consonance was a bit "golden," sort of "fuzzy" sounding, warm in the bass (double bass and cello were NOT its thing) and just pleasant, but certainly less revealing on say, Mercury Living Presence CDs, which the sound changes from cut to cut. Cambridge is quite good, and clean without bleaching out tonal colors - something I dislike.
