September 2018


Best Of 2018 Blue Note Equipment Awards

Benchmark DAC3 HGC Hi-Res Audio DAC, Headphone Amp, And Preamplifier
Price: $2195
Click here to read the complete review.

  It was back in March of 2009 when Clarke Robinson reviewed the Benchmark DAC1 PRE digital-to-analog-converter / preamplifier / headphone back in 2009, and it was about the same time this component became the reference DAC in my own system. Back then, some might have looked at this diminutive DAC and wondered how a $1600 converter could be described as one that could compete with DACs three times its size and weight, not to mention those three times its price. In his review Clarke Robinson called the DAC1 PRE a "miracle of engineering", and "a bargain" due to its "neutral, uncolored sound".

According to Clarke, "After listening to the DAC3 HGC for a while, I asked Benchmark Media's sales manager Rory Rall about the lack of an outboard power supply, and how they achieve this model's high performance with such a small internal one. His answer made perfect sense: that "good engineering practices" allow for such a compact power supply to be so effective.  Despite its small size – it measures only about 9.5" wide and deep, and is only about 1.75" high – the DAC3 (I'll usually call the Benchmark Media DAC3 HGC the DAC3 from now on) is packed with features. First of all, this DAC doubles as a preamplifier, a real preamplifier. Not only does it have two analog inputs, it used an HGC (Hybrid Gain Control), which combines motor-driven active analog potentiometers, 32-bit digital attenuators, and passive analog attenuators to achieve what Benchmark claims is state-of-the-art performance. It has what's called "low-impedance passive output pads" (0, 10, and 20 dB) which they also claim optimizes its output level while maximizing the unit's signal to noise ratio."

"As the years passed and the rest of my system improved with the introduction of higher quality components," Clarke continues, "I was able to hear this difference with greater and greater clarity. Of course, there are other characteristics, such as high-frequency accuracy, transparency, and bass quality, and that comes with advances in digital conversion competency. But it is this sense of space that I more often than not notice first. And I noticed this trait immediately with the Benchmark Media DAC3 HGC."

Sure, you can find a better DAC if you want to spend much more money, you can find a better headphone amplifier if you want to spend much more money, and you can find a preamplifier with more features and better sound quality if you want to spend much more money. But here it is folks, a digital-to-analog converter, headphone amplifier, and preamplifier all-in-one unit that can be called a bargain, even at a cost of about $2200.

Click here to read the complete review.

Previous Annual Blue Note Awards

Product of the Year Awards 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, and 2001.