John Siau tears down a DAC3 HGC and compares it to a DAC3 L and a DAC3 B. He highlight the key components and shows the similarities between the three models. All three are built on a common platform and all three deliver identical audio performance. The purchasing decision should be based upon the required feature set and not upon an expectation of any difference in sound quality among the members of the DAC3 family.
The DAC3 converter is popular in studios due to its accuracy and musicality. Benchmark A/D and D/A converters are specifically designed to accurately preserve the analog waveshape through cascaded A/D and D/A conversions. This is achieved using high-headroom digital processing, linear-phase non-aliasing lowpass filters, and low distortion analog output stages. This topology has created a family of converters that are trusted by many of the worlds finest recording and mastering studios. They are also enjoyed in many home hi-fi systems.
The Benchmark DAC3 D/A Converter
- Digital headroom extends to +3 dBFS to prevent digital overloads
- Switch mode AC/DC power supply eliminates AC line-frequency magnetic fields.
- Switch mode DC/DC converters deliver lower noise than linear supplies.
- XMOS USB audio input.
- Optical and coaxial digital inputs.
- Burr-Brown digital input receiver, volume control and ASRC upsampler.
- ESS converter using 4:1 output summing.
- Benchmark voltage regulator for ESS converter.
- I-V converters at output of ESS.
- Differential amplifiers following I-V converters.
- Relay-controlled analog signal routing.
- Motor driven pot for analog control of analog inputs.
- A/D converter senses pot position for digital control of digital inputs.
- High power HPA2 headphone amplifier.
- Analog output buffers.
- Much more.
