ADC1 Review - John Gatski, Pro Audio Review
ADC1 - "The Benchmark ADC1's sonic qualities are stunning"
"On original recordings of acoustic guitars, including a new Taylor concert-sized 712, the ADC1 transferred all the shimmer of the guitar and sound of the room space that could be heard during the performance, and there was no hint of harshness. The finger squeak decay from the guitar playing to the gradual fadeout of room reverb, this converter relayed all the information that was there. Stereo imaging at these high sampling rates is stunningly open. If you have the caliber of mics and preamps to make the best recordings, the ADC1 captures it in all its glory!"
"For those who are going to use multiple ADC1s for critical recording, I think they will be quite satisfied. For those who want it for archiving, mastering or other stereo tasks, the under $2,000 price per unit should make it attractive for those uses as well."
"Besides the pristine audio of the ADC1, I liked the word clock I/O and the auxiliary output, which parallels the main 24-bit output or outputs a separate simultaneous digital signal at 16-bit/44.1 kHz or 48 kHz. You can record high res and CD quality at the same time."
"The Benchmark ADC1's sonic qualities are stunning; the converter has the ability to realistically reproduce all the fine inner detail and presence subtitles that only the best high-resolution converters can. Impressive. Put a set of these in your Pro Tools rig."
- John Gatski, Pro Audio Review
The original review is no longer available after the merger with Mix, but the following link is a review by Barry Rudolph on Mix Magazine:
Also in Reviews
Benchmark System Review - Ricky Dasler, Living Sound, New Zealand
"With over 40 years as an audiophile and more than half those years as a hi-fi retailer, I feel I’ve finally put together a stereo that ticks all my sonic boxes. Those being in order of priority, dynamics, scale, tonal accuracy, fatigue free resolution and soundstage."
"For the last 25 years I’ve been fortunate to have a dedicated listening room. I use acoustic treatments from Real Traps, Vicoustic and Primeacoustic."
"My Benchmark components consist of the DAC3 B (connected to a Naim NDS streamer), LA4 line amplifier and two AHB2 power amplifiers run in bridged mono mode. All cables are Benchmark too."
"The Benchmark gear in my system has brought what I have wanted in my list of sonic priorities as listed above and then some. They have delivered way beyond what I thought could be possible in my system in my room."
"I’m delighted and stunned daily as my vast music collection comes to life on a whole new level."
- Ricky Dasler, Living Sound, Nelson New Zealand.
Benchmark Converters at Abbey Road - Geoff Pesche
"What are the Latest Advancements in Mastering?"
"Geoff Pesche weighs in on how the mastering team at Abbey Road Studios achieve first-class results." - Mix with the Masters
"The biggest sonic improvement in mastering in the last 5 or 6 years is D/A and A/D converters and that's very very important - what you have at the front and the back of the chain."
"We use fairly new Benchmark converters front and back."
"Abbey Road like a uniformity between the rooms so all of the rooms have the same A/D and D/A conversion."
- Geoff Pesche, Mastering Engineer, Abbey Road Studios
DAC3 Review - Alan Sircom, hi-fi+
"A Damn Good, No-Frills Digital Converter"
"Benchmark Media Systems’ no-nonsense approach to all things audio is rare today."
"Uniformly Good"
"This is a DAC that’s uniformly good at everything. It resolves well, has good imaging properties."
"It makes a balanced, honest sound that allows you to sit and listen to music for hours. That is what makes Benchmark’s products consistently popular with audio engineers. You don’t want ‘bright’ if you sit at a mixing desk 10 hours a day. "
"Leave No Trace"
"It also has the latest version of Benchmark’s jitter attenuation system (UltraLock3) and doubles down on the digital demon with its multi-mode asynchronous USB system."
"Benchmark also uses the distortion compensation facilities built into the ESS chip to reduce second and third order distortion."
"The net result is a DAC that delivers lower distortion, lower noise, less passband ripple, faster signal switching and locking onto signals and a more linear frequency response."
"The Benchmark Media Systems DAC3 B is very much in the ‘leave no trace’ school of good audio."
- Alan Sircom, hi-fi+