Benchmark DAC3

Ok I just tried the DAC3 with and without the Recovery... definitely improved with it... on a Norah Jones DSD album a subtle brush on drum and cymbals are much cleaner and more defined with the Recovery. Also there is a very subtle, quite acoustic guitar playing that I didn't even hear, didn't know it was there when the Recovery was not being used.

For what it is worth I am using a iFi iPower and Wireworld USB cables with my Recovery... the lower purple WW cables...
 
Randy Myers said:
Ok I just tried the DAC3 with and without the Recovery... definitely improved with it... on a Norah Jones DSD album a subtle brush on drum and cymbals are much cleaner and more defined with the Recovery. Also there is a very subtle, quite acoustic guitar playing that I didn't even hear, didn't know it was there when the Recovery was not being used.

For what it is worth I am using a iFi iPower and Wireworld USB cables with my Recovery... the lower purple WW cables...
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Randy, thanks very much for checking that and responding. On another forum, I've been discussing with some other posters about this issue and wondering if there might be an incompatibility between the DAC3 and the Recovery. What you're saying eliminates that possibility, which is helpful in getting closer to sorting out what the problem is.

I'm glad to hear you've had a good result with yours combined with your DAC3. I think I'll reach out to Wyred 4 Sound during the week and see what their thoughts are.
 
Empire_City_Denizen said:
One of the components in the chain was a Wyred 4 Sound Recovery powered by a 9V TeraDak LPS. Strangely, the Recovery has had a significantly negative impact on the sound quality of the system
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Could you try another power supply for the Recovery? Perhaps the stock power supply that came with it?
 
wklie said:
Could you try another power supply for the Recovery? Perhaps the stock power supply that came with it?
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Thanks for your suggestion. The Recovery actually did the same thing with the stock power supply, although I'm no longer able to use the stock power supply because the plug broke off the wall wart the first time I tried to unplug it from the receptacle in a power strip.
 
Just an update on the Wyred 4 Sound Recovery compatibility issue. After a few phone calls with Wyred 4 Sound tech support I was able to resolve the problem, and the Recovery and DAC3 are working very well together now and putting out great sound.

The incompatibility was actually between the Recovery and the computer I had been using to play music. I had been using a 4 year old lightweight laptop, with relatively low end internal components, running Windows 7. When I switched to a new high end gaming laptop with higher quality internal components, running Windows 10, the problem went away completely. It's not clear to me what in the older computer caused the incompatibility.

I had a very good experience with Wyred 4 Sound tech support, very patient, helpful and friendly.

I'm enjoying the DAC3 more and more as I continue to use it. I'm also impressed with both companies, Benchmark and Wyred 4 Sound, and would happily buy their products in the future.
 
I am very happy that you got it figured out. Yes, I agree that both companies are excellent and stand behind their products. I really like the DAC3 and when my Wyred 4 Sound STP-SE arrives next week I will continue to use the Benchmark as my DAC and headphone amplifier!

Not sure who you spoke with at W4S; either Tony or EJ, but they are both excellent and make sure that customers are taken care of.
 
Just wanted to report that I have been immensely enjoying the DAC3 HGC (went for HGC since I got a good deal through the Canadian dealer). Can't believe how tiny the unit is compared to my previous DAC Azur 851D.


One question, I have seen in this thread there have been talks about the DAC sounding "better" after 24 hours, does that I mean I should keep it on all the time? I don't have an issue keeping it on, unless over time that can be detrimental to the unit.

Thanks!
 
I think what you are referring to is the initial burn in period. You will probably notice an improvement in the unit thru the first 50-100 hours of use. After that it is up to you. I personally do not leave my equipment on.
 
Randy Myers said:
I think what you are referring to is the initial burn in period. You will probably notice an improvement in the unit thru the first 50-100 hours of use. After that it is up to you. I personally do not leave my equipment on.
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Thanks! Will turn it off as I have been doing :).
 
Randy Myers said:
I am very happy that you got it figured out. Yes, I agree that both companies are excellent and stand behind their products. I really like the DAC3 and when my Wyred 4 Sound STP-SE arrives next week I will continue to use the Benchmark as my DAC and headphone amplifier!

Not sure who you spoke with at W4S; either Tony or EJ, but they are both excellent and make sure that customers are taken care of.
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Sorry for the delayed response, I tried to respond earlier but there was some sort of technical issue that wouldn't allow me to type on the webpage.

Thanks, I'm glad you like your DAC3 also. Can I ask why you would get a pre-amp (the W4S STP-SE) when as I understand it the DAC3 is designed to act as a pre-amp itself?

I spoke with Tony at W4S, he was very helpful, informative and friendly. We ended up chatting about all sorts of audiophile related issues, and I came away with a great impression of the company.

I haven't had an experience with Benchmark customer support yet, but have heard they're good -- good to hear you've had good experiences also.
 
I've always left my DAC2L on when not using but volume down, unless I go on extended holiday. The current draw is not much. I've been doing this for years starting with the DAC1, never had any problems. Saves waiting for warm up.

My DAC2L did take about 100 hours for the sound to come right from new. This is the same for most new equipment. Best to run music through it, use a radio tuner to help speed things up overnight or when you are at work. Doesn't need to be loud to work.

Benchmark Customer support is excellent.

Robert
 
Yes Tony is great! He and EJ are both in our local audio club.

Yes the DAC3 HGC is a pre-amplifier also, but it's main duty is that of being an excellent DAC and a darn good headphone amplifier. The Wyred 4 Sound pre-amplifier is extremely good and with the stage 2 upgrade is truly world class. There are many people who believe that the pre-amplifier is the heart and soul of your system. I am not sure that I am of that mind set as of yet, but I also believe that the W4S STP-SE is in a whole different world than the Benchmark is as a pre-amplifier. One of the best volume control system on the market, a true high end piece of gear in every way.

When I had it in my system I was just rediscovering this crazy hobby and I was at the experimental stage. My buddy grabbed it from me and pitted it against some of the absolute best of the best pre-amplifiers on the market. He came away saying that it held it's own against machines that were many times (some as much as 15 times or more) it's price. He was blown away. So when he finished his comparisons I had the opportunity to get it back from him. Dam glad I did :).... I will eventually get the stage 2 upgrades done and I will know that I have a true world class pre-amplifier in every way!
 
Welcome to the forum, thank you for joining.


Robocop said:
I've always left my DAC2L on but volume down. The current draw is not much. I've been doing this for years starting with the DAC1, never had any problems. Saves waiting for warm up.

My DAC2L did take about 100 hours for the sound to come right from new. This is the same for most new equipment. Best to run music through it even using a radio tuner to help speed things up overnight or when you are at work.

Benchmark Customer support is excellent
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Could someone please help me out. When I connect my Benchmark dac3 HGC to my mac via USB I still have full scale system volume control. Is it supposed to be this way? Im not talking about the volume control in any music player. Im talking about the global system volume control which you can control in System Pref > Sound - or with the volume up/down hotkeys on the mac keyboard. In my case if I turn down the volume on my mac this causes the volume of the Benchmark to go down as well. So the mac is acting as a pre-amp to the Benchmark dac3? The other dacs in my possession disable the volume control on my mac. This is worrying as I don't think it should be this way. Please let me know if this is case with anyone else or if you have any solutions. Thanks.
 
I could not say for sure, but it sounds like a setting in the driver/audio player. You should verify that you have the audio set to fixed volume.
 
I bought Randy's DAC 3 HGC. It is one of the best audio purchases I've ever made. Thank you Randy! I'm using it as a DAC only. The synergy with the rest of my system is outstanding. Are there better DAC's out there? Certainly. With this little guy, I can happily wait until the best DAC's slide down the price/performance curve a bit.

I'm using a dedicated SurfacePro 3 running JRiver as a music server with a WW Platinum something or other cable that cost almost as much as the computer. :)
 
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