What the benifit of using a separate dac?

Blindjim - just to toss monkey wrench: Empirical Audio converts upsampling jitter rejecting DAC (Benchmark DAC1) to NOS non-jitter rejecting DAC (plus other improvements) -you might be sorry with cheap transport and cable. I'm pretty sure Steve from Empirical Audio advices customers but others might not. The point is that modds sometimes can change functionality/make it worse and customer has to be informed.

I even suspect that some mods might introduce a little of harmonic distortions that Benchmark is free of to make sound more lively and less sterile (less clean).

Kijanki

My modding plans surround my Bel Canto DAC3 initially, and following that operation, perhaps an Oppo refference DVD player I believe I'm going to get as I'm going to go largely with the PC as a source now.

But that's an interesting point too, as each time I
've replaced an item with some likewise yet different thing, there has always been the need to re-address some of the cabling... or footers... or tubes.

it's seldom been a plug and play event. I suspect once a thing is 'changed' it would be the same deal again.

BTW it was because of the press and my limited talks with the Benchmark makers that sent me away from previewing that piece altogether.

...curious lack of objective press reviews...

That is an oxymoron. Where have yous seen "objective" press reviews on anything? How could there be such a thing, a review being written by a human being is bound to be subjective simply by definition.

Your clarification on your hot rod metaphor still doesn't connect with me. You're talking about mods that can be measured on a dyno (which really don't tell the whole story about how they translate real-world anyway - 90 ft lbs of torque may not be a good thing if the suspension and chassis isn't up to it, or if you don't know how to handle it). Also, there is an emotional disconnect with those mods, or rather it's not the same kinds of emotions involved in the enjoyment of music and the reproduction thereof. Bottom line is that the numbers do not tell the whole story and "objective" is only a tiny part of the picture. In my case I tend to largely ignore such things beyond the general knowledge of the component in question. What would an "objective" review of a modification read like?

BTW it was because of the press and my limited talks with the Benchmark makers that sent me away from previewing that piece altogether

Blindjim,

Interesting comment based on our discussion about one of the primary drivers for purchase decisions is the desire for differentiated products. The comment says more about you than the sound quality of Benchmark DAC1.

Is it possible that you chose not to preview it because of all the near universal accolades in the press and from professionals combined with relatively modest price means that this is an EBGO product in audiophile terms. EBGO = Everybody's Got One! Therefore the attractiveness of owning such a product is rather limited if you have any inkling to own a differentiated (more expensive) or "better" product.

If you mod your Bel Canto then you can feel even more secure that very few people have what you have!

FWIW: My friend and I bought two identical scooters when I was 15. Same store. Same model - probably produced within minutes of eachother at the factory from the same batch of parts. We had a 30 minute run to school each day and followed eachother. The performance was as near identical as you can get. At one time we got interested in modding to try and eek out more speed from these 50 cc slow-peds. instead of buying two racing type mufflers (with the motorcycle dealer assurance of a significant speed boost) we bought one and tested it. Well is sure sounded different - his scooter had a deep satisfying Harley imitation sound (nothing like that patented Harley sound mind you) while mine remained with its standard millions of scooters on the road sound. Now here is the kicker - my friend took it back a week later and got a refund because it did not make one IOTA of difference to the speed or acceleration.

To end the story, although I have lost track of this old friend, he also became an engineer. It may have been a formative experience. Engineers tend to trust higher authority. Engineers tend to believe text books. Engineers distrust anecdotal evidence without controlled testing and documented measurements to back it up. For Benchmark to plaster their measurements all over a manual with each of their products sold is a very bold thing to do (as any engineer or anyone with manufacturing experience knows). By offering so much detail and information one is exposing oneself to a potential huge embarassement (if anyon eproves you are full of it) and expensive product recall due to lack of performance/conformance should your products not live up to the published specifications (one year to the next). This is very unusual in audio.

HI, I was in the same situation, months back, was using camridge 840CDP, and borrowed a KORA" hermes DAC, and used the cambridge as a transport, and couldnt' believe the diference in sound, was dramatic, sound stage expanded, and holographic imaging was in credible, cambridge is a highly regarded player but adding a tube DAC, made that much of a diference, my system is: belles350ref, von VR4's KOra Hermes DAC,sonic frontier,transport, and purist audio cables: