Reviews

DAC2 HGC - "Inspired Me to Just Listen to Music for Hours on End"

"To my surprise, all of those words that audiophiles & engineers use to describe sound (depth, detail, focus, realism, etc) were even better with the DAC2 when compared to the DAC1."

"Several years ago I bought a Benchmark DAC1 to replace the built in converters of my RME Multiface II interface. This was a revelation for me as the difference was more than just subtle."

"The DAC2 HGC inspired me to just listen to music for hours on end and get lost in sonic bliss - that is a testament to its quality."

- captainj, Gearslutz

DAC2 HGC - "Does So Many Things, and Does Them So Well"

"As a headphone amp: I sampled the DAC2 with both Grado 325i's and Focal Spirit One cans. The DAC2 was more than capable of driving either of these and made them each sound their best."

"The Benchmark DAC2 HGC does so many things – I didn't even get to all of them – and does them so well, it's easy to recommend."

"Got an old amp and you need a preamp to make a system out of it? DAC2."

"Want a first class headphone amp? DAC2."

"Computer audio? Of course."

"The sound is sweet, engaging, and long on textural detail without fatigue."

- Rich Schmidt, Home Theater and High Fidelity

DAC2 HGC - "This Company is Called Benchmark for a Reason"

"The original DAC1 was aimed squarely at professionals, but was subsequently embraced by the audiophile market. It remains an excellent D-A converter, and its ability to completely isolate interface jitter sets it apart from most D-As, including some of the much more costly models. However, digital audio technology continues to make incremental improvements, and in the eight years since I reviewed the DAC1 the state of the art has clearly advanced."

"The DAC2 HGC is undoubtedly a major step forward in technical performance compared to its forebear and, although it costs almost double the price of a DAC1, it does also offer a lot of additional features and facilities."

- Hugh Robjohns, Sound On Sound

DAC2 HGC - "The Bottom Line ... Good for Any Mastering or Recording Project"

"With all the headphones I had available the DAC2 headphone amp rivaled the sonics of the stand-alone iFi iCan headphone amplifier ..."

"For me the bottom line on the Benchmark DAC2 HGC is that is it not only good enough to live with long-term, it’s good enough to use for any mastering or recording projects that might come up."

"The DAC2 HGC is easy to listen through, highly revealing, and with well-recorded material astonishingly three-dimensional."

- Steven Stone, The Absolute Sound

DAC2 HGC - "I Would Put the New Benchmark Unit Against Any 2-Channel D/A"

"The original Benchmark DAC1 has been used to master many Grammy-winning and chart-topping records. It is hard to imagine that even better performance has been squeezed out of that box, but the DAC2 HGC does that."

"More than an updated faceplate on the original DAC1, the DAC2 HGC offers its own reference sound that will be welcome in the listening environments of both audio engineers and audiophiles."

"Personally, I would put the new Benchmark unit against any 2-channel D/A on the market."

- Garrett Haines, Tape Op

DAC2 HGC - "Represents a New Reference Standard"

"The Benchmark DAC2 HGC represents a new reference standard in the category of 'DAC with line-level preamp'."

"Its sound is what any non-voodoo reviewer would expect on the basis of the Audio Precision measurements: the exact sound of the signal source, nothing more and nothing less."

- Peter Aczel, The Audio Critic

DAC2 HGC - "The Audio Quality is Pretty Stunning"

"The audio quality of the DAC2 is pretty stunning and like a lot of high quality amplifiers the first thing to jump out here was the soundstage."

"This and instrument separation gave a presentation which is hugely revealing and very enjoyable with good recordings although that comes with it an obvious double edged sword (depending on your preferences)."

"After these wow factors came the detail, now I'm not saying the detail is the 3rd best aspect, it's just that it hit me in that order. I think the best way to describe the detail is precise and edgy."

"Combine this machine with a pair of headphones that already display those traits and you have yourself a pretty impressive experience."

- Noble Hi-Fi

DAC2 HGC - "Far More Refined Than its Price Would Suggest"

"The DAC2 HGC uses one of the best digital chipsets on the market today to produce a quality of sound that, until a few years ago, wasn't available for less than $10,000."

"It sounds far more refined than its price would suggest, and when you consider that it can serve as the keystone of a digital and analog system, on a desktop or in a listening room, it becomes all the more remarkable." 

- Hans Wetzel, SoundStage! Access 

DAC2 HGC - "Silky Smooth Sonic Signature"

"Those who are used to the tight, bright and hard edge of the previous generation of DACs will be tickled by the DAC2 HGC’s silky smooth sonic signature."

"The DAC2‘s audio performance is stunning — in that it projects a smoother texture, with increased accuracy in the bass and mid-frequency soundstage. But the top-end is full of energy and detail. Usually, a DAC’s subjective improvements are subtle, but the DAC2 HGC’s audible improvements are obvious on first listen." 

"Benchmark has ensured compatibility with DSD by adding the DoP-decoding capability. Through computer software player programs, such as Pure Music, JRiver and Audirvana, computers can relay the DSD-on-PCM signal to the DAC2 HGC."

- John Gatski, Everything Audio Network