Reviews

DAC3 DX - 2017 EAN Product of the Year

"Open, smooth detailed sound with that recording studio accuracy that I am used to from Benchmark." 

"I cannot say enough about the DAC3-DX’s sonic character of transparency and accuracy."

"My DSD DSF rip (of the often played) Warren Bernhardt - So Real SACD sounded incredible through the MartinLogans using this DAC. The audible cymbal splash sheen detail is like hearing the cymbal in the front of your listening room."

"Same with the Steinway piano tone. Upper register notes are so live sounding. The “air” and “space” around and between the instruments is simply stunning when played on the best gear."

"On numerous hi-res tracks, the opinion was the same: sonic excellence!"

- John Gatski, Everything Audio Network

Awards

• EAN Stellar Sound Award
• 2017 EAN Product of the Year

DAC3 DX and AHB2 - "Shine Brightest When Used Together"

"In this age of ultra-refinement in the production and playback of music, Benchmark Media shows that it is to be recognized as a paragon of musical integrity at an affordable price point."

"I suspect that especially younger ears, and the ears of those who spend much time with headphones, will appreciate the Benchmark sound. I appreciate them as I have experienced many less accurate systems, and I revel in high purity playback."

"The only listener who will need to consider carefully prior to commitment to Benchmark is the lover of warm, perceptually “softer” or “laid back” sound."

"Those who are seeking a highly revealing sound, perhaps considered “honest” or “truthful”, and invigorating, would find great satisfaction with these components."

- Doug Schroeder, dagogo.com

DAC3 DX - "Will Bring the Studio to Your Home Audio System"

"Benchmark’s DAC3 DX DAC is designed for recording and mastering studios, but it is a great product for consumer use as well."

"The Benchmark Media DAC3 DX is the successor to the DAC2 DX. The differences between the DAC3 DX and the DAC2 DX are (1) active 2nd harmonic compensation, (2) active 3rd harmonic compensation, (3) lower THD+N, (4) lower passband ripple, (5) improved frequency response, (6) faster PLL lock times, (7) faster switching between inputs, and (8) adjustable calibration."

"For the bench tests, I have moved to using much more sensitive measurements with the Audio Precision ... the distortion is so low, it is beyond the Audio Precision’s capability."

- John E. Johnson, Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity

AHB2 - "Best Stereo Amplifier of 2017"

"Masterfully detailed and transparent with spot-on tonality and some serious punch." 

"The AHB2, which is rated at 100 watts per channel into eight ohms, uses THX's patented AAA feed-forward error correction technology designed to virtually eliminate the distortion that's normally produced by the output stage."

- Ben Shyman, Home Theater Review

ADC1 - "Very Natural Sounding"

"The ADC1 USB is very natural sounding. What I put in, is what it captures. Should I wish to color a track, I can call upon other gear in my rack."

"In a mastering context, a neutral, flat-sounding converter is very desirable."

"Benchmark’s trademarked UltraLock clocking scheme delivers quality conversion even when slaved to a suboptimal external clock."

"The best standalone clock in the world becomes irrelevant if the receiving converter’s locking system botches the signal. Unfortunately, many manufacturers skimp on PLL synchronization. Thankfully, not Benchmark."

- Garrett Haines, Tape Op

DAC3, AHB2, ESL 11A - "Something a Little Different, and Highly Enchanting"

"The folks from Benchmark and Martin-Logan teamed up to do something just a little different, and entirely enchanting, in the Jackson Room!"

"Multi-channel bliss with the Martin-Logan ESLs driven by an all Benchmark system."

Benchmark and Martin-Logan System at Capital Audiofest, 2017

• 3 Benchmark DAC3 Converters (5.1)
• 5 Benchmark AHB2 Power Amplifiers (Bridged Mono)
• 5 Martin-Logan ESL 11A Electrostatic Speakers
• 2 Martin-Logan Balanced Force 210 Subs

"The resultant sound was extremely clean and fast, surprisingly dynamic, and the space, as you'd expect with good multi-channel, was get-up-and-walk-around through. Well done!"

- Greg Weaver, enjoythemusic.com

DAC3 HGC - "Astonishing Fidelity and Emotional Expressiveness"

"Benchmark Media Systems’ DAC3 HGC is evidence that an engineering-focused company—one that seems to spend more time staring at instruments than testing its devices with their ears, and that cares more about transparency than it does about whether or not you like the sound their products make—can produce a product of astonishing fidelity and emotional expressiveness."

"Science works ... never underestimate a good geek."

- Jim Austin, Stereophile

DAC3 HGC - "All I can say is 'Wow!'"

"The Benchmark DAC3 offers extremely low levels of harmonic distortion from all its outputs. Intermodulation distortion was similarly vanishingly low."

"No power-supply–related spuriae can be seen, and the random noise floor lies below –160 dBFS!"

"When the DAC3 decoded dithered 16-bit and 24-bit data representing a 1 kHz tone at -60 dBFS, the increase in bit depth dropped the noise floor by more than 30 dB, indicating that the Benchmark’s resolution is at least 21 bits."

"This as good as a DAC can currently get!"

"All I can say is 'Wow!'" - John Atkinson

DAC3 DX - "The DAC3 Hits the Mark"

"If we had to categorize the sound of the DAC3 using three words, those words would be precision, precision and precision."

AHB2 - "A Significant Powerhouse"

"Partnered with the AHB2 power amplifier, the system represents a significant powerhouse in a relatively small footprint."

"Dynamics were surprisingly tight, quick and responsive in a manner that would make most audiophiles take another look at the “pro” side ..."

- audio-head.com

DAC3 HGC - "At the Top of its Class ... Highly Recommended"

"I’m immediately struck by the way the depth presented by the current model immerses you in the recording."

"Having put the DAC3 through its paces with a wide range of tube and solid state amplifiers for The Audiophile Apartment, as the core of a high performance, yet highly compact system, the DAC3 is a charmer, indeed."

"The three-dimensionality is the best I’ve achieved on my reference system."

"This is a special digital product indeed."

"Since the introduction of the original DAC1, Benchmark has set the industry on its ear..."

"We gave the original DAC1 our first Exceptional Value award in issue 3, and the current DAC3 HGC is an equally good value, earning this award again in 2017."

- Marck Marcantonio, Tone Audio

AHB2 - Stereophile Class-A Recommended Component

"The 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, the latter energized by a system of class-H power-supply rails that deliver power in response to demand—resulting in an extremely efficient amplifier capable of robust power output."

"In his listening tests, KR discovered "much more apparent low-level detail in already-familiar recordings"—a characteristic he credited to the Benchmark's evident noiselessness—and a tonal balance that "sounded more 'right' than any of [the other amps on hand].""

"In measuring the AHB2 and attempting to confirm its specified very high signal/noise ratio, JA observed nonlinearities in his testing equipment that "haven't affected the measured performance of other amplifiers I've tested, but they were detectable with the AHB2's very low intrinsic distortion and noise." His conclusion: "an extraordinary amplifier.""

"KR's last word: "bargain.""

DAC2 HGC - Stereophile A+ Recommended Component

"Although similar in appearance to previous Benchmark models ... , the new DAC2 HGC uses four 32-bit ESS Sabre DACs, run in balanced configuration, for a significantly lower noise floor; has a new Hybrid Gain Control (HGC) for volume attenuation, which combines active analog gain control and passive low-impedance attenuators in the analog realm with a 32-bit digital DSP gain control for digital signals; and provides front-panel displays for both sample rate and word length."

"It had a pleasantly forward sound, with smooth highs, a solid bottom end, and excellent image separation, said EL."

"JI noted the DAC2's good scale and sense of ambient space."

DAC2 - Stereophile Class-A Recommended - Headphone Amplifier

"Although similar in appearance to previous Benchmark models, with a front-panel volume control and two ¼" headphone jacks."

"The new DAC2 HGC uses four 32-bit ESS Sabre DACs, run in balanced configuration, for a significantly lower noise floor; has a new Hybrid Gain Control (HGC) for volume attenuation, which combines active analog gain control and passive low-impedance attenuators in the analog realm with a 32-bit digital DSP gain control for digital signals."

"It had a pleasantly forward sound, with smooth highs, a solid bottom end, and excellent image separation, said EL."

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 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."

"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."

"There’s an intrinsic sense of honesty to the sound ... it always sounded, just right… in the Goldilocks sense."

- Alan Sircom, Hi-Fi+

DAC3 HGC - "As Close to Flawless Sound Quality as We’ve Ever Heard"

"There is an absolutely staggering amount of high-level technology packed into the tiny black box, and what it amounts to is this: glorious audio quality."

"Whether we were using it as a preamp, a headphone amp, or a straight DAC, it was nothing but outstanding. What grabbed us, more than anything else, was the clarity and realism. We genuinely felt like we were hearing every single note like it was meant to be heard, with almost no coloration or distortion."

"Although it worked well in all genres, it particularly excelled at things like heavy metal, offering mids and highs that really allowed the guitars to bite. And again, everything was just crystal clear, with no distortion whatsoever. It got to the point that we were throwing different styles and genres at it, just to see if we could get it to falter. It didn’t. No matter what we tried, the DAC3 never missed a beat."

"As far as we’re concerned, it comes as close to flawless sound quality as we’ve ever heard."

DAC3 HGC - "Benchmark has Moved it to the Next Level"

"Benchmark has taken an already remarkable product and moved it to the next level."

"Benchmark Media Systems, Inc.’s DAC series of high-performance digital-to-analog converters (DACs) have earned the respect of audio enthusiasts and professional users alike for their state-of-the-art performance, including exceptional audio transparency and vanishingly-low levels of noise and distortion."

"Now Benchmark has made its DAC3 even better with the upgrade to ESS Technology’s new ES9028PRO DAC chip."

AHB2 - "It's phenomenal! Gobs of power, detail, finesse and control."

"Benchmark has been around for a long time. In fact, they are one of the early Audiophile pioneers of USB DACs ... I had always thought of them as more of a digital conversion company, and not an amplifier company—until the AHB2 came about."

"A PF colleague of mine (Steven Lefkowicz) said... Dude, you HAVE to try the Benchmark in your system (which at the time was going through a gamut of speaker changes as part of a myriad of reviews being done for PF) to which I replied, wow, they have an amp?"

"I was immediately taken aback with the level of detail given to this unit. Just one glance at the back plate will tell you that this is a well-engineered piece of equipment. Fully Balanced = Check. Speakon Outputs = Check. Bridging Support = Check. Input Sensitivity Adjustment = Check. 12v Trigger support = Check."

"So, how does it sound, after all of that? Well, this thing is no slouch. It's phenomenal! Gobs of power, detail, finesse and control."

- Peter Davey, Positive Feedback

AHB2 - "A Technologically Advanced and Remarkable Amplifier"

"It improved my listening pleasure for a song that I have probably heard 500 times."

"As with a Class A amplifier, I could detect the muscle of the AHB2 and hear it in the sheer weight of presentation in the lower octaves."

"The AHB2 can drive virtually any speaker load with significant power--especially in monaural mode--yet it never lacked finesse on delicate passages."

- Ben Shyman, Home Theater Review

DAC3 HGC - "Musical Truth"

"So, what exactly is musical truth?"

"The truth is when your senses receive what the artist intended to portray. When the audio quality gets to your ears at a more accurate level, the groove and emotion of the music improves accordingly, getting you closer to exactly what occurred in the studio or at the live concert, in a blood, sweat and tears kind of way…" - Marty Feldmann

"The folks at Benchmark Media, with their background in the recording industry, are driven to get that musical truth into the home with their products. With the release of the original DAC1 models and the second generation DAC2, Benchmark has been on the bleeding edge of digital technology trends, especially from a price/performance perspective."

"In my time with the DAC3 I kept going back to my musician days, and the time I would spend in the studio. The immediacy and intimacy of how everything sounded, from single tracks to the completed mix of a song all came to mind. That says a lot to me about this DAC…! Musical truth…"

- Marty Feldmann, The Connoisseur, Connoisseur Corner

DAC3 HGC - "Outstanding - Amongst the Best"

"A versatile and well thought-out unit that's a good all-rounder when it comes to sound quality, the DAC3 HGC is unlikely to disgrace itself even if partnered with the finest ancillary equipment."

"Headphone listening was also a most enjoyable experience, and builds on the unit's strengths as a DAC."

"The DAC HGC presentation can be remarkably detailed - without being overly analytical."

- Martin Pipe, Hi-Fi World