Burson HA160D or Benchmark Dac1

2nd hiccup noticed on the Burson HA 160-D

with the volume pot at zero, there is still a very low level signal that can be heard from the Aerial 10T's mid/tweeter unit. It is definitely the music signal.

I was told by Burson that there should be none of this going on.

I contacted Sound Earphones and they are going to take care of this issue.
Great service and great people - so far.
However, I'll have to wait til they get their new shipment. Should be another week.

I'll report back again after getting the unit that is performing as it should.

I would add that the dynamic range with the Burson directly driving my Bryston 4B SST is huge. Watching DVD's with Oppo driving the Burson via coaxial, no compression or strain is noticed. Dynamic effects can be truly startling via the Aerial 10T's.

I also have both- the Burson - just breaking in- and the Benchmark. Agree completely with above- the Burson has a richer sonic signature, a more tactile, alive presentation, and more "startling" dynamics compared to the Benchmark. That said, the Benchmark's leaner midbass creates a sense a greater detail- on movie soundtracks I notice that it is a little harder to hear the dialogue with the Burson (the Benchmark is a dialogue champion).

Like others, my Burson is only accepting 16/44 via USB right now with a "fix on the way."

I do not have the Burson but as a stand alone DAC/PRE, the Benchmark is as detailed yet has better dynamic and body / weight than my extremely good Alps blue velvet passive volume control set up of umpteen years.

Hi,
has anyone experienced more with the Burson? I'm between that and the Benchmark to run a Primare A30.2 power amp (has balanced inputs). My source will be a Logitech Squeezebox Duet. I'm not too much into headphones, but I might get more interested if the headphone amp is as good as people say.

I just sold my Benchmark DAC1 USB and purchased a Burson HA-160d to replace it. All I can say is "wow".

I used the USB connected to a PC running Foobar 2000 with ASIO player FLAC files with both DACs and the Burson does not make me miss the Benchmark at all. So much easier to picture myself still listening to in 5 years.

I have not noticed any loss of detail. The most apparent things that I have lost are the harshness and cringe factor of the Benchmark. The Burson just presents the music in a more musical way that makes me want to listen more.