DAC3 Review - Alan Sircom, Hi-Fi+
DAC3 HGC - "The Goldilocks Spot in Tonal Balance"
"I am confident in saying the DAC3 has hit the Goldilocks spot in tonal balance ... it always sounded, just right."
"Benchmark Media Systems is one of the bastions of the new face of audio electronics. Benchmark was and is a pro audio brand at the forefront of the democratization of the recording industry and audiophiles became interested in the product line toward the end of the last decade."
Benchmark DACs
"Despite looking very similar to the DAC1 and DAC1 HDR, and virtually identical to the DAC2 HGC, the DAC3 HGC brings a lot of ‘new’ to the table. To recap, the original DAC1 was a fine 24-bit, 192kHz PCM converter with an excellent headphone amp, the DAC1 USB added 24/96 USB 1.1 input, the DAC1 PRE added a line-level input (at the expense of AES/EBU digital input), and the DAC1 HDR improved the circuit design, with special focus on the volume control. The DAC2 added native DSD processing and 192kHz compatible USB 2.0, with a range of variants that re-introduced the AES/EBU connection, removed the headphone amplifier, and finally added the company’s own Hybrid Gain Control. The DAC3 is the latest iteration of that Benchmark concept, once again revising the circuit to reflect the latest developments in digital design. It’s available in three variants today: the digital-only DX model (which includes an AES/EBU input), the L model (which removes the headphone amp but retains the analogue preamp) and the HGC model tested here, which features both the headphone amp and a line input in place of the pro-digital AES/EBU connector. All three are available in black or silver."
"The headline change to the DAC3 over the DAC2 is the use of the latest ESS Technologies digital converter chip, the ES9028Pro SABRE. Currently, the number of DACs that sport this state-of-the-art chipset could be counted on the fingers of one hand that had been involved in a fairly nasty industrial accident."
"In use, the Benchmark models have a reputation for being fuss-free, no-nonsense designs that just get on with playing music, and the DAC3 is no exception."
"What surprised me about the DAC3 was just how capable it was with a surprisingly catholic selection of music. It’s easy to point to a few audiophile recordings that sound great, in part because they sound great on anything, but this is more accommodating beyond the audiophile comfort zone. I’ve been playing Gang Signs & Prayers by Stormzy [#Merky Records, on TIDAL] and grime isn’t high on the playlists of audiophiles, but it seriously works through the Benchmark DAC3. It’s fresh, clean, and dynamic, never once making too much of a thing about the compression, exaggerating the top-end, or making it seem too diffuse or amusical."
"There’s an intrinsic sense of honesty to the sound. Stormzy’s fun but there isn’t much imaging involved, where ‘It’s Goodbye And So Long To You’ from Alison Krauss new Windy City album [Capitol, also on TIDAL] is atmospheric and expansive, with Krauss’ soprano soring high and pure, with an almost nostalgic acoustic bluegrass backing sitting a step or two behind and around her. Even moving to large scale orchestral, or transient-led electronica didn’t phase the DAC3 HGC, as it always sounded, just right… in the Goldilocks sense."
"If ever there were a reason to shout how we are living in a golden age for music lovers, it would be Benchmark DAC-shaped. The DAC3 HGC is the kind of DAC that not only pushes the technological envelope, but also does so without sacrificing the sonic performance, and doesn’t cost as much as a car in the process."
"Highly Recommended!"
- Alan Sircom, Hi-Fi+
Also in Reviews
DAC3 - Award Nominee - Best Digital Audiophile Product of 2024 (Cost No Object)
2024 Nominees
- Benchmark Media DAC3 B DAC, $1895
- Bricasti M3 DAC, $6000
- Bricasti M19 CD-SACD Player, $10,000
- T+A DAC 200, $7620
- Weiss Engineering Helios DAC, $21,995
"There was some debate about whether anybody can hear the differences above a good Chi-Fi DAC like the Topping D90. Unless you are missing most of your high-frequency hearing, you can hear where a high-end DAC makes a difference."
The Bricasti M3 is a great example of that performance in a $6,000 DAC."
"The Benchmark DAC3 B is an audiophile DAC, with pro audio roots, that punches way above its weight."
LA4 Review - Mike Prager, FutureAudiophile.com
"Benchmark Media Systems made its reputation in both pro audio and audiophile circles by designing gear with extraordinarily low noise and distortion, and selling it at reasonable prices."
"What Makes the Benchmark LA4 Preamp So Special?"
"A high-quality volume control is much of what makes a superior preamp shine, and the Benchmark’s volume control is outstanding. The Benchmark LA4 uses a bank of precision resistors switched by gold-contact relays to set volume in 256 steps of 0.5 decibels each."
"If accurate reproduction is your wish, you won’t find a preamp with meaningfully better objective performance than the Benchmark LA4, especially one made in the United States at anything near the LA4’s price."
"Very few preamps at any price reach the LA4’s level of objective performance."
"On the subjective end of things, the Benchmark LA4 preamp puts the lie to the old audiophile myth that neutrality means clinical, cold, or sterile sound. Instead, here neutrality means musical, involving sound, with precise, stable imaging, a sense of space (if one is on the recording), and exceptionally truthful timbres."
- Mike Prager, FutureAudiophile.com
AHB2 Review - Mike Prager, Future Audiophile
"For years, the audio world acknowledged one main contender (at least at sub-five-figure pricing) for the quietest, cleanest, most neutral power amplifier around. That was the Benchmark AHB2, whose specifications are still, for all practical purposes, unsurpassed, even by today’s excellent Class-D amps."
"10 years after its release, the Benchmark Media Systems AHB2 stereo power amp is still a standard-bearer in clean, neutral sound in the audiophile world."
"I greatly enjoyed having a pair of AHB2s in my system – their purity, neutrality, and seemingly unlimited power provided a clear window on the music and a lot of joy."
"I especially appreciated the AHB2’s smooth, well-integrated treble, free of splashiness or grain, and its natural reproduction of the human voice."
- Mike Prager, Future Audiophile