Reviews
DAC1 Review - John Atkinson, Stereophile
DAC1 - "An Essential Companion"
"The DAC1 will be an essential companion when I next record on location. I bought the review sample."
"Whether considered as a standalone D/A converter or a versatile headphone amp, Benchmark's DAC1 is an audiophile bargain."
"Use it to revitalize the sound of your long-in-the-tooth CD player or the DVD player that you never thought sounded as good playing CDs as you had expected."
"Thanks, John Marks, for alerting both the readers and me to the DAC1."
- John Atkinson, Stereophile
DAC1 Review - John Marks, Stereophile
DAC1 - "Genuinely High- End"
"At $850, the Benchmark DAC1 is, in my experience, the lowest-priced piece of digital gear that can give sonic performance that is not just improved mid-fi, but genuinely high-end."
"This column will examine two bits of kit from the polar ends of the price spectrum: Benchmark Media System's DAC 1 ($850), and TEAC's massive two-box Esoteric P-70/D-70 CD playback system ($14,000)."
"The Benchmark was slightly more articulate in the musical line, and slightly more detailed in spatial nuances, particularly the localization of individual images in space, and in soundstage depth."
"All you need is a transport to feed the DAC1, a digital signal, a power amplifier, speakers, and a few bits of wire, and you have a stripped-down hot rod of a system that is ready to rock'n'roll."
- John Marks, Stereophile