Benchmark DAC2 HGC - Black - Reference Stereo Preamplifier, PCM and DSD D/A Converter, Headphone Amp, Asynchronous USB

I use the Benchmark DAC2 to listen to CD's. The unit is fed by an optical input from a DVD player, and outputs to a preamp, and then an amplifier. I've used several DVD players, such an OPPO BDP-105, and CD players to play CD's, and this unit does the best job. My system is quite high resolution, and is in a sound treated media room, so small differences in performance are noticeable.The DAC2 also has an excellent design from a technical standpoint. It uses the best ESS DAC chip, plus the best op amps and sample rate converter from Texas Instruments. Benchmark has taken these pieces and others, combined with some excellent software (firmware) to provide a truly excellent piece of equipment. The bench tests in the Stereophile review of the unit, and those obtainable through the British Hi-Fi News website demonstrate the excellence of the design.I haven't used the DAC2 as a preamp to directly drive power amplifiers, due the layout of my system, but I'm sure that would provide excellent results.

Roughly less than two years ago I bough this device based on its good reputation in the field and feedback from previously buyers. Unfortunately my one has a relative bad quality . I had two issues and returned the DAC for repair service. The quality of this device likes the cars made in the USA. Even though the sound quality is claimed to be good, I'd rather get a much more reliable DAC from other brands with less $$.

A very good DAC with balance output and pre amp. I hook it up directly to the power amp. It sounded just as good as the Proceed AVP. However if you already have a pre-amp it is not worth the extra to get this and end up with complicated volume control and an extra remote. The sound quality is may be a hair better than the V90 DAC, I can tell the different when switching between them. I probably can't tell the different if it is a blind test between the V90 and the DAC2. I can surely tell the different on the price tag! If you don't have a high quality pre amp, this is defiantly the one to get, consider that any good quality preamp is almost 2000 and up.

OMG. That's all I can say. I'm not a techie. I don't speak audiophile-geek. But I have a really good set of ears. And because I listen to classical music and haven't been willing to drop coin on audio equipment because I've considered it to be frivolity, well, I haven't been listening to much of anything because the sound of mediocre solid state just killed it for me.Before springing for this, I tried three highly regarded "affordable" options and it was just more of the same. So I went for the Hail Mary. I've had this running for all of 45 minutes and all I can say is "Hail Mary." Holy cow. As I write this I'm listening to recording of Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Levine and...um...words are failing me here. The transparency, effortless dynamic range,the UTTER AND COMPLETE ABSENCE OF JITTER (and I have incredibly jitter-sensitive ears).To my way of thinking, yes, it's expensive, but worth every penny. And more.

update september 2020: what i assume is the power supply now emits an annoying high pitched noise and benchmark service hasn't replied in a week. three stars taken away - that shouldn't happen with a $2k DAC. can't recommend anymore.initial enthusiastic review:for the longest time, i had been using my old trusty $6.5k Accuphase DP-65v CD player as a DAC. i loved the sound of it as a CD player, and as my music listening transitioned more and more to be exclusively based on streaming FLAC and 256-320k MP3 files from a Squeezebox Player (as of today it is the Squeezebox Touch, and a series of others distributed about the place) i used the Accuphase's ability to also act as a DAC for other digital sources. however, the Accuphase CD player is also *big* and as i moved to a new place a few months ago i decided to build a more compact system that was more appropriate for my new listening environment.early on I zeroed in on the Benchmark DAC2 HGC because of its feature set, the multitude of inputs it supported, as well as its compact dimensions. the fact it gets rave reviews everywhere for a very accurate sound also helped, because the Accuphase clearly had pampered my ears for many years.getting it out of the box i was immediately impressed by the very high build quality, with a thick front aluminum plate, buttons that click authoritatively, a volume knob that feels good and provides great feedback, as well as a remote that is seemingly carved out of a piece of steel - very unusual.given all the inputs it offers (analog inputs, and several optical digital, coax digital and USB inputs) i was also impressed by the very compact design of the Benchmark, it's easy to make it fit anywhere.for now, i use it to switch between the two digital optical inputs. the Squeezebox Touch feeds it FLACs sampled from 192kHz (which it somewhat downsamples) to 44Hzk; and MP3 files. i rely on FLAC for classical and jazz wherever available, even though not all albums have a recording quality that merits the additional investment. for popular music, really, 256k MP3 is plenty, because as a rule it is indifferently recorded (at best) and often horribly overdriven... there should be a special place in hell for some recording engineers (but that is another topic).i use the Benchmark as a headphone amp (for Grado RS-1) and as a preamp. in the latter case, the chain goes into either and Accuphase E-306v IA or a NAD M22, depending on my mood (they sound amazing). these in turn power superb KEF LS50 or Totem Element Fire speakers. the DAC2 also drives a Velodyne MiniVee sub from the other pre-amp output (it's *great* to have 2 preamp outputs coming out of the DAC), which admittedly i keep turned down all the way most of the time.how does it sound? The DAC2 absolutely mesmerizes as either a headphone amp or as a preamp.as a headphone amp, it drives the Grado RS-1 to their maximum warm sweetness, and many people claim the Grado's are hard to drive. a phenomenal combo - full class A sound for under $3k, it doesn't get better as an audiophile. but of course, with headphones, the stage is within your head.the same superb sound is projected through the speakers, and the quality of the recording and the power-amp and speaker combo will always be the gatekeeper to what you hear, the Benchmark DAC2 will provide every nuance, every detail with utter and total transparency and clarity - that is the DAC's job. I do not want the DAC to inject any "personality" into its output - leave that to the amplifier and loudspeakers: they are the ones that ought to cater to my needs. note this means that if the entire chain is highly accurate, linear and revealing - yes, you will be able to hear a mouse fart behind the left wall in the studio etc, which also means you may end up with the kind of sound that is a bit fatiguing - i like accuracy, but too much of it can get a bit edgy. be aware of your preferences, i do like my music to be accurate yet also with a bit of warmth, and the Accuphase or M22 do that well (as would a Qinpu for just $300, albeit with less accuracy). you will NOT get "warmth" out of the Benchmark, it is designed for utter and total transparency just as the recording engineer mixed it, and leaves it to the components that follow to color the sound to your preferences.btw, the other digital input i feed from the audio pass-through in my TV, so the DAC2 also takes over converting sound for my 2.1 home theater system (i hate surround sound systems sorry), and does a predictably excellent job at that - but to me that is a secondary task. but it just shows given the multitude of inputs you can keep using the Benchmark DAC2 for other tasks.if you wonder why i use the 2 optical inputs - i don't think they are better, in fact the coax and USB input are the ones that truly support 192kHz natively (i don't hear a difference between a good recording in 44/16 and 192/24, honestly, but maybe there are such recordings out there). what i like about optical inputs is the convenience and electrical decoupling, hum doesn't get a chance. that's all. i will use the coax and USB inputs over time, though. and will use the analog inputs when i continue to digitize my analog music collection.i *love* the Benchmark DAC2 HGC. sure nearly $2k is not cheap for a DAC, but given the sound quality and the sheer versatility i regard it as a total bargain. the transparency of the Benchmark is ridiculous, and given the amount of input and output ports as well as its feature set, it is sure to fit into a system for many years to come, taking on all DAC tasks with the highest possible reference system quality. because indeed, as the name implies, the Benchmark sets a reference.

DAC2 surpassed my expectations. It is much better than an older high end DAC that I have which did not have an USB interface.I took it for comparison to another one which is at least 8 times more expensive and although it could not match the other one's performance, his own has gained the respect of those who attend the test.It presents a detailed and full sound, without the "digital" sound of earlier DACs, generally speaking.Crispy highs, smoother than previous model are a plus.A bargain for what it offers.