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DAC1 PRE Review - Robert E. Green, The Absolute Sound

The Absolute Sound Logo

Benchmark DAC1 PRE

DAC1 PRE - "The Benchmark DAC1 marks something of a new era in audio"

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"Benchmark is not a “we promise it works but pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” company. It almost bombards you with technical data, even in the owner’s manual. Its design work, like the sound of its devices, is ultra-transparent. (This means a lot to me. Call me a skeptic, but I am quite tired of companies that promise amazing results but offer no test data to support their claims)."

"Still, it is the listening that counts, and I have been listening to the Benchmark conversion method (in the DAC1, which I bought) for more than a year. To say that it wears well would be to understate the case. It has become for me simply the way I listen to CD when I want to hear exactly what is on it. And it seems to do the job so nearly correctly that if I am disturbed by what I am hearing, I look elsewhere for the cause without hesitation."

"To my mind and ears, the Benchmark DAC1 PRE marks something of a new era in audio."

"The Benchmark DAC1 PRE is not only an excellent device for the money; it is excellent compared to anything that I have encountered at any price. To my mind, it is the beginning of a new era in audio, in which the regeneration of the recorded signal has become a solved problem."

 - Robert E. Green, The Absolute Sound

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