Benchmark DAC-1 vs DAC-1 HDR

If you ever find the DAC-1 sounded a little white or edgy and not as smooth as you expected, make sure you put a pair of snap-on ferrite cores on each end of all digital cables except toslink, as well as on the power cord; it is particularly important if you use USB.

Those snap-on ferrite cores are cheap and you will be surprised what a difference they make.

Is anyone running a Benchmark DAC-1 output to a preamp rather than directly to an amp (i.e CDP to DAC-1 to Preamp to amp)? Even better, is anyone running it to a Mcintosh solid state preamp? If so, what attenuator setting did you use ? Additionally, what was the effect of inserting the DAC-1?

Musicnoise,

You can do that - but you will likely need the 20 db attenuation - you can verify that you are not overdriving teh pre by using the volume control on a loud loud CD track and see if you reduce distortion by reducing the volume.

You will lose the benefits of balanced XLR if you go to a preamp with only RCA (although the difference in most cases may not be audible but could be a significant factor on long runs).

I ran thr benchmarck dac1 directly into my amp, balanced, and was unimpressed. I think it sounds awesome into my preamp. Into the amp directly, it had no emotion, body, soul. I didn't bob my head, as I do through the preamp. Just my experience with these old ears.

I also tried running it directly into my amp. It sounded better when my preamp was in the chain. More bloom an depth to the soundstage.