DAC3 Review - Michael Zisserson, Future Audiophile
"At 37 years strong, Benchmark has been making studio-grade electronics that are as transparent and neutral as one could ever ask for."
"The DAC3 series has amazing measurements that Benchmark is thrilled to boast about on their product page. And they should be proud. Signal preservation is the name of the game if you want absolute sonic transparency, and they hit their design goals, hard. Much of this is thanks to the new ESS ES9028PRO chip."
Hybrid Gain Control
"Analog inputs are handled analog, and all digital inputs are handled digitally. Approaching attenuation this way preserves each type of signal in the best way possible."
"All volume in the digital realm is handled by a 32-bit active gain control that plays to the end game of preserving all the dynamic information in the music."
High Headroom Digital Processing
"Commercial digital recordings can contain information that causes clipping in audiophile DACs. Typically, these distortions can be attributed to the top-end sparkle in the sound some audiophiles like, but in reality, it is distortion. The DAC3 HGC’s High Headroom DSP eliminates clipping artifacts that are inherent in the conversion process, mitigating this problem."
HPA2 Headphone Amplifier
"Do you need to use a pair of wired, audiophile headphones now and again? The HPA2 headphone amplifier drove the snot out of my Grado SR80’s. The HPA2 headphone amplifier in the DAC3 HGC is designed to deliver the full rated performance of the DAC, even with dual, power-hungry headphones connected."
Built in the USA
"Designed, built, and tested in the USA. Precision, consistency and quality require production control. Benchmark keeps a tight grip on their product through the manufacturing process which assures nothing but the best quality possible."
Uncolored
"The DAC3 HGC does not color the sound of your audio. It is a studio-grade piece of audiophile equipment that can be used by recording engineers and mastering artists alike to flesh out all the musical detail they wish without having to worry about the sonic signature of their equipment."
Professional Audio Component
"The DAC3 HGC is a professional audio component used to make, monitor, and engineer the very recordings we love. All of what is prioritized in the DAC3 HGC has been developed with laser-like focus for this purpose."
Listening to the Benchmark DAC3 HGC
"When listening to digital recordings with odd-ball spatial queues intentionally built into the music, such as “Sail” by Awolnation, the soundstage extended WAY beyond the loudspeakers in both the vertical and horizontal planes. It was very cool because those hard to reproduce queues were so locked-in by the DAC3 HGC, they were presented nearly as good as my $10,000 Bricasti M1."
"If the space is engineered into the recording, it’s there, if it is not engineered in, it is not there with the DAC3 HGC."
Final Thoughts
"The Benchmark DAC3 HGC is a pro audio DAC with audiophile appeal that allows a look into your music as a recording/mastering engineer would hear it. While there is a lack of romance in that statement, there is a huge up-side to the DAC3 HGC. This up-side comes in the form of music appreciation on a very honest, and deep level that would appeal to musicians and those who listen to and work with live instruments. The ability of the DAC3 HGC to keep the integrity of instruments, and the recording, make the listening experience one of honesty, rather than an experience that is euphonic and romantic."
- Michael Zisserson, Future Audiophile
Read the full review at FutureAudiophile.com
Also in Reviews
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+
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."
