DAC road traveled!

Randy

Again my point here is terminology not preference and comparing a product that has been upgraded and refined over the course of years to the first ever product of it's type from a company that has made DVD/Universal players and headphone gear. And like EJ they ran into the same issues with delivery, cost and heat for the new chip. As they were months behind their promised delivery date I think they got it out knowing that it could be upgraded to a point with software/firmware. What they do with it going forward is what matters most. Will they continue to refine it like W4S, PS Audio, Bryston and others or will they just let it sit as is. It serves it's purpose in the market it is aimed at as long as potential purchasers bother to read what is required to make it work before they buy.

Maybe one day I will send my boxed up DAC-2 back for the upgrade, but for now I am happy with the tube DAC in my main system and I prefered the Nuprime over the DAC-2 in the other one.
 
I don't disagree Jack. It is a good product for the market it is aiming at for sure. If you do upgrade your DAC2 you will probably be happy. Getting an upgrade to the v2 SE is worth it (not sure what they charge however).
 
Yea, sounds like your tube DAC is pretty awesome!

I am debating about selling the Benchmark DAC3 HGC or keeping it as my headphone amplifier. One nice backup DAC and preamplifier also. I know I am not using it to it's full functions now, but doubt I could get better headphone amp/DAC in it's price range (especially with new ESS chip). Then again I could probably get an adequate headphone amp/DAC for half the price...
 
Not a bad idea, and the Benchmark is brand new. It is their latest with the ESS 9028 Pro chip... nice metal remote, fully balanced, two analog inputs, motorized hybrid volume, etc. I have to think on that one for a bit.

Why the lyr-2 versus http://schiit.com/products/valhalla-2 ? Just because it is Tube and SS versus just tube?

Or maybe the step up because it has 4-pin balance because my Sennheiser has both SE and Balanced cables...

The Valhalla appears to be quite the deal....

Update:
Ok, so I understand what they are doing. You can use it with tubes or put their solid state thingies in that replace the tubes to run it solid state. That sounds pretty cool actually. Now if they would offer it in black :)...
 
So Jack, I tried hooking the RCA out of the DAC-2v2SE to an analog input on the Benchmark. It works just fine so I am now using the Benchmark in the exact manner you mentioned above. It works great but is kind of a waste not using the DAC3's DAC or preamplifier functions at all :).... it is a top rated headphone amplifier in the latest issue of Stereophile (received an A rating as a headphone amplifier), but still a bit of a waste.
 
Randy

I agree, at the price of the Benchmark kind of a waste of the rest of it's abilities but at least you know how it sounds.
 
Did Wyred4sound just raise the price of the limited edition model by around $700 in the last 24 hours? They were having a 25% off sale just for the weekend for AXPONA attendees and they just appeared to cut off a large piece of the discount by raising the price. Am I correct?
 
No, the 10th anniversary model is $4499, $700 over the DAC-2v2SE which is $3799. It is similar to the SE but some nice cosmetics to celebrate the anniversary limited edition and EJ also told me that the main board is redesigned to incorporate some improvements.

The prices on their website has not changed. I am not sure what, if anything, they are offering to show attendees.
 
Tony had an anniversary DAC at our club meeting yesterday. He was breaking it in for the up coming show. Features, connections, case size, etc., is identical to mine. I have not had a chance to compare them head to head as of yet. It would be interesting. I have a feeling that my old ears would not be able to hear a difference.
 
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