Benchmark as a preamp

steveinaz

UPDATE: Week 5 (5/20/2008)

Just wanted to update. Things are going great, and the Benchmark will stay as my preamp. Since the A3CR was my first preamp that had a remote, I got over that situation in about 3 days. My fat **** needs the exercise anyway, and the sonic benefits are worth it, IMO.

I-SIG (Wes) was down this weekend, maybe he'll shed a little light on what he heard as he is intimately familiar with my system, and the A3CR. We listened to CD's; watched some concert DVD's, and I introduced Wes to Bluray...

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Every now & then I get a little bored and feel a need to phutz with stuff, so for the last 2 weeks I pulled my MF A3CR out and used my Benchmark DAC1 for preamp duties. Since all of my inputs are digital (BluRay/DTV via toslink, CDP via coax) it works out well. This also eliminates another set of cables, and about 30lbs of electronics (the A3CR).

I was more than a little surprised to hear an immediate difference in 2 areas; bass was definitely more weighty, but at the same time cleaner. Treble appeared to be moved back (in reference to level) on the same plane as the midrange, and cymbals sound more real than they ever have. The sound is very tonally balanced throughout the spectrum, with no particular emphasis anywhere. The Benchmark's ability to melt the speakers into the room with it's 3-dimensional, airy soundstaging also betters the MF, though in a more subtle fashion.

This is a bit of a shock to me, and I didn't trust my instincts at first as usually change that is immediately apparent--turns out to be change for the worse. Bottom line, after 2 weeks of intense listening, the changes are real, and they are good.

A second thing that surprised me to a lesser degree--at first I left the Benchmark atop my CDP, where it's been from day 1, but later moved it to the preamp shelf. My AES/EBU digital cable, at 1/2 mtr, would no longer reach from the CDP to the DAC1, so I put my Signal Cable 3ft coax in. Proof positive again (reinforced) that digital cables do make a difference--and this from a listener with a trashed left ear. Bass with the coax is tighter, where the AES/EBU gives more warmth at the cost of a little bloat. Mids & treble appeared about the same.

I'm very pleased with the Benchmark DAC1 in the preamp role. The A3CR won't be going anywhere, anytime soon though--you know, just in case...:cool:

heiney9

Doesn't surprise me a bit. The Monarchy's are the same way; a very formidable pre-amp section.

H9

steveinaz

I'll tell ya, I am really surprised at the results of this change--I didn't have much confidence that the Benchmark would compare favorably to the MF, I was wrong. I'm back to rifling thru my CD's, anxious to hear what the next one will sound like. I hate to come off as a Benchmark "fanboy drinkin' the Kool-aide" but this DAC continues to impress me, and in my opinion has earned every once of praise it has received. I was thinking about the Stereophile quote in the "Measurements" portion of the review: "...and the analog section is every bit as impressive as the digital.." and couldn't agree more.

heiney9

Think about it, if the Dac sounds fantastic there isn't much more to do when adding a pre-amp section. Generally I believe a stellar stand alone Dac will always have a killer pre-amp section. It just makes sense from a design standpoint.

The system I am currently working on is:

Monarchy NM24 dac/line stage pre-amp (tube or solid state output)
Pass Labs Aleph 30 amp
SqueezeBox fed by a dedicated computer music server via wireless router.

Simple, elegant, unobtrusive and should sound fantastic. It's a lot of work to get the music ripped and the expense is still quite high but I'm trying to get it done piece by piece with the music coming first.

I have no doubt the Monarchy will be a stellar pre-amp.

steveinaz

I did some late-night, very low level listening last night--Steely Dan "2 Against Nature" and was floored by the solidity of the bass, and the ability to hear each and every instrument even at this miniscule volume level. Incredible resolution. The proverbial veil has been lifted.

Gaara

Ever tried a passive pre? I did source direct for a while but was always afraid something would go wrong and I would have the full output of the source going to my amps. Good passive pres really don't alter the signal much at all, very similar to source direct.

venomclan

I was interested in going this route but 2 things about the Benchmark absolutely keep me from buying one:

1 - No Remote. Even the $1500 new version does not have one. A big disadvantage. A $30 Wally World dvd player has a remote.

2 - No Home Theater pass thru. I use this feature a lot on previous pre's. Not a big deal to add it to the mix.

I spoke to Benchmark Technical about these, he asked me to send the request in writing to them. We shall see...

steveinaz

Gaara wrote: »

Ever tried a passive pre? I did source direct for a while but was always afraid something would go wrong and I would have the full output of the source going to my amps. Good passive pres really don't alter the signal much at all, very similar to source direct.

I did source direct to the amp before for a week (my amp has level controls on the rear), and it was so neutral I found it borderline boring. It's just a little too sterile in this mode for me. Another factor is that I run my 2-channel as my HT as well, so I have to have some flexibility in switching. I do find the Monolithic passive/active pre (PA-1?) an interesting piece that I considered buying in the past.

Face

I saw the same improvement going from optical to coax.

madmax

I think the MF has very little coloring. To me it looses quite a bit of emotion but the tonal response is almost perfect.
madmax

wingnut4772

I tried this before and found it to be a little too sterile sounding.

steveinaz

madmax wrote: »

I think the MF has very little coloring. To me it looses quite a bit of emotion but the tonal response is almost perfect.
madmax

I'll try to articulate what I'm hearing; the DAC1 sounds as if there is less noise between instruments--more individual layers of sound that have dead silence in between them. My A3CR seems to cast treble out forward of the midrange a little--a bit of discontinuity--the DAC1 reels it back in, and provides a more seamless midrange/tweeter transition, like a good 2-way speaker. You can't identify the tweeters position behind the grill, it's better blended with the midrange. The DAC1's treble seems more real, but at the same time less prominent.

steveinaz

wingnut4772 wrote: »

I tried this before and found it to be a little too sterile sounding.

I had the same experience the first time I tried this a couple years ago, but I was running different speakers/cable, who knows--maybe a synergy thing?

steveinaz

Here's a comparison of the DAC1 and M24:

http://www.dagogo.com/BenchmarkDAC1-1of2.htm

steveinaz

Update, see original post.