Benchmark VS Mark levinson 36 DAC ?????????

I was and still am, for a change, impressed with stock Benchmark. A lot of reviewers were as well including 2004 Stereophile "Component Of The Year" award. Why then many people hear "forward and bright"? Possibly because Benchmark, according to their technical director John Siau, was purposely designed not to sound warm, since warm sound (enhanced even harmonics) does bad things to sound of instruments with more complex harmonic structure (like piano). Benchmark will do wonders with properly matched equipment.

06-09-11: Kijanki
I was and still am, for a change, impressed with stock Benchmark.

Go for it if you are impress with it. How it sounds in your system and to you is the most important.

I never found stock to sound bright or forward. It was a little muffled, lacking detail and resolution.

I sold mine a while ago but definitely worth a try for the $$.

Kijanki, this is the reason if you like it, go for it :-)

I heard the Benchmark in very sophisticated systems where it was the least expensive component including cables. I cannot stand brightness so it's possible the problem is NOT the Benchmark??

In his May 2004 follow-up to John Mark's July 2003 column on the Benchmark DAC1, John Atkinson stated "I find it surprisingly difficult to hear differences" to the Levinson 30.6 dac.

For what it's worth, I don't find the DAC1 bright or harsh. I've stated before that if you pop the top and set the jumpers to maximun output, pay attention to powercords and interconnects, use good power filtration if necessary, then you should get superb sound. XLR output is a bit better than the coaxial. Of course, your mileage may vary. But, to state that the Benchmark is hard, harsh, and/or bright is crazy. The unit is a runaway best seller, perhaps the biggest selling dac ever.