Hi guys,it looks like you are in the same situation as me-looking for a good DAC and having too many options.Last night I did try a benchmark-the one thing that looked perfect for me-wonderful reviews from Stereophile and others,perfect mesurments stating that even a cheap DVD would do and so on. I tried it with philips 963 as transport,Audio research tube preamp,Kora tube power amp and magnepans as speakers. So my impresions are these-this is the most detailed,3D sound I have ever heard in my life,with deep and wide stage,rock solid imaging and unbelievable resolution but it does not have life in it.I did not really belive the things I heard,every possible bit in the recording comes out easy and floats in the air,but at hte same time you just hear what's on the disk but you are kind of separated from the emotion on it.I think I read a post in one of the discussions about the DAC1 and one of the guys said that it is too thin in the midbass-I tend to agree,after what I heard last night I think he was right-it is not something that you really feel,it is just the missing magic in the sound.You have no idea how sad I am now-the DAC1 was the perfect thing for me on paper and now i have to look for something else.If anyone finds a musical DAC with the things taht the Benchmark did-transparency,detail,imaging,please let me know,I will buy it immediately.
