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DAC3 HGC Review - Theo Nicolakis, TechHive.com
DAC3 HGC - Tech Hive "Editors' Choice" 2018
Unboxing the DAC3 is an audio geek’s dream. You’re greeted by a spiral-bound, 8.5 x 11-inch color user manual. New users would do well to review its contents.
"The manual shows you how to fine-tune many of the DAC3’s settings ... the Benchmark DAC3’s design puts you in complete control of its operational parameters."
"The Benchmark DAC3 HGC looks like a premium product as you hold it. It feels dense and solid for its small size. The rear digital and analog inputs and outputs are gold plated to limit oxidation."
"Benchmark’s infrared remote control stands apart from the crowd. Its hefty, die-cast aluminum design puts it in sharp contrast to most of today’s remotes."
"The Benchmark DAC3’s DAC, headphone, and preamp functions are outstanding. I tested the preamp section with two of the company’s AHB2 power amplifiers with the amps set to bridged mono. I paired a set of of RBH Sound’s top-of-the-line Signature SV-1212NR Reference speakers with the amps; served content via an Oppo UDP-205 universal disc player, Roon Media server, and Tidal; and used Focal Clear, Oppo PM-2, and Beyerdynamic Amiron Home headphones in my listening tests."
"A Maestro of Any Musical Genre"
"Jazz, hip-hop, classical, or rock, the Benchmark DAC3 proved a maestro of any musical genre, consistently demonstrating tremendous balance, refinement, neutrality, and most of all, command."
"The DAC3 HGC is undeniably geared toward the discerning music lover or audio engineer who values peak performance. If you’re passionate about music, have the funds, and aren’t looking for bells and whistles, you can’t go wrong with Benchmark’s DAC3 HGC. Pair it with the right headphones and you’ll have many days and nights of sonic bliss."
- Theo Nicolakis, Tech Hive
Also in Reviews
AHB2 - A-Rated Recommended Power Amplifier - Stereophile
AHB2 - Receives Stereophile's Highest "A" Rating for Power Amplifiers
"Benchmark's AHB2 makes use of THX Corporation's Achromatic Audio Amplifier (AAA) technology, in which a low-power feed-forward amplifier drives a low-bias class-AB output section."
- Stereophile, 2023
"Much more apparent low-level detail in already-familiar recordings" - Kalman Rubinson
"A tonal balance that sounded more 'right' than any of [the other amps on hand]." - Kalman Rubinson
"An extraordinary amplifier." - John Atkinson
LA4 - Class A Recommended Preamplifier - Stereophile
LA4 - Receives Stereophile's Highest "Class A" Rating for Preamplifiers
"Benchmark's usual approach to design is to out-spec the competition, and so it is here. Like other Benchmark equipment he has tested, the affordable LA4 challenged the resolution of John Atkinson's test instruments, with 'superb' channel separation, 'extremely low noise, and virtually no power-supply-related spuriae.'"
"Benchmark's LA4 is the widest-bandwidth, widest-dynamic-range, lowest-noise, lowest-distortion preamplifier I have encountered." - John Atkinson
"In his listening room, Kalman Rubinson compared the LA4 to a cable—and couldn't hear any difference. He concludes, 'the LA4 is probably the most transparent and revealing audio component I've ever used. It does not seem to leave any fingerprints on the sound.'"
- Stereophile, 2023
DAC3 - Class A+ Recommended Processor - Stereophile
DAC3 HGC, DAC3 B - Receive Stereophile's Highest "Class A+" Rating
"The DAC3 B is a stripped- down, lower-priced version of the DAC3 HGC, which omits the headphone amplifier, balanced and unbalanced analog inputs, volume, mute, and polarity controls." - Stereophile
"The DAC3 was all about depths, in several respects...I heard deeper into the music."
"All I can say is Wow!"
- John Atkinson
"In a Follow-Up, JCA wrote of using the Benchmark processor with the same company's AHB2 power amp—a combination of high source output voltage and modest amplifier gain that he describes as 'optimal for minimizing noise and distortion' —and reported hearing 'richer and more interesting' reproduction of very subtle details."
- Stereophile