Benchmark DAC2 HGC does anyone run one?

I describe mine as warm, very clean and neutral, I really liked what it did in my system. I found it to have a very wide and deep sound stage with a lot of detail. It was a major step up from the benchmark dac1 pre which was a little more forward. For the price of the dac2 it is a feature packed unit, and performs really well in all aspects. The DAC being the strongest point of its features. I did notice better sound through xlr than through RCA, so I recommend using those. And it uses 4 ESS 32 bit DAC sabre chips per channel on the xlr output if I recall correctly. Also you can crack it open and adjust the gain for the outputs using little jumpers. It does have home theater bypass, and from what I noticed it seems to automatically adjust to the correct gain with the volume knob (does not have fixed and variable switch on the back like dac1).

I use mine as a stand alone DAC right now, but it's good to know it has a pre amp in case I need it as a back up. I really feel the benchmark doesn't get as much love as it should in the audiophile world. They were the one of the first ones in the DAC game from what I know.

Add a power cord and nice cables to it and sit back and enjoy. I had many people surprised with the sound that comes from that small little box. I would say go for it. Mine did require a lengthy break in period though.

How can something be warm and neutral?

I will, was just bustin' you balls...............

H9

heiney9 wrote: »

I will, was just bustin' you balls...............

H9

He's probably trying to relate that the new DAC2 is not as "sterile" sounding as the DAC1's were. I agree whole heartedly. The sound has a touch more "body/solidity" to it.

You can get a few variations; The DAC2 HGC, DAC2 L, DAC2 DX and DAC2 D--they all feature the Hybrid Gain Control 32bit volume setup.

I've never been a headphone guy, so the "L" saved me $200. The "DX" is new and features the much missed XLR digital input of early DAC1's.

If it means anything, Stereophile's comments were: "The DAC2's measured performace is superb."

mikeyb128 wrote: »

And it uses 4 ESS 32 bit DAC sabre chips per channel on the xlr output if I recall correctly.

It has four ESS Sabre 9018 DAC chips with four channels allocated to each side of a stereo signal.

Each 9018 has 8 individual channels which can make an 8 channel DAC or you can join inputs/outputs together. Some manufacturers will use a couple of DAC's for headphone out. Oppo did that. The DAC can be internally remapped via firmware.

This illustration shows what goes on with a single 9018 chip with DSD inputs combined and internal remap. Note we have four DAC's for channel A and four for B.



This one with PCM and inputs combined, no internal remap. Note we still have 4 DAC's per channel.



Changing the Quantizer in the DAC's firmware alters the output config.

Quantizer / Input Channels Used /Output
6-bit 8 (All) 8×1 – 8-Channel
7-bit 8 (All) 8×1 – 8-Channel
8-bit 4 (#1,#2,#5,#6) 4×2 – 4-Channel
9-bit 2 (#1 and #2) 2×4 -Stereo

Even more than you would possibly want to know. These details were extracted from a diyaudio thread by the ESS Sabre lead designer. It contained info beyond that in the data sheet.

https://hifiduino.wordpress.com/sabre32/

The DAC chips firmware determines the DAC's configuration. The manufacturer sets the firmware to fit their design parameters based on the data sheet ESS Sabre furnishes. Firmware settings can be fixed with either manual dipswitches and onboard microcontroller or with I2C serial communication and external microcontroller.

Just a guess, but Benchmark could use two DAC chips for PCM output and two for DSD output. Depending on input sensed the DAC chip can be muted, firmware settings changed, DAC unmuted and ready to go in a second.

Firmware can also be optimized per input. PCM and DSD like different settings. However manufacturers are unlikely to allow customers to change the settings as they can lose the rabbit they were hunting and get lost themselves.

An illustration of most of the settings in an ESS 9018 DAC chip. Without knowing what each do, one could get a poor sounding or non functioning DAC. Missing in this illustration is the OSF or oversampling filter. It can be turned on and off.

rednedtugent wrote: »

It will take me a while to drink this in.
Thanks!

I think what Rich (Scomp) is saying is that unit uses a very high performance dac chip.They also paid attention to the important analog section by incorporating some very good LME49860 Opamps.