I noticed there is a dedicated thread to the HPA4, but I wanted to make a thread to discuss all of Benchmark’s products. I have been a fan of Benchmark’s products for a while so I would love to hear people’s experiences with their products, reviews, and just general discussion about their products and the company.
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I have a DAC3-HGC. I use it mostly for the DAC. It has a nice headphone amp as well.
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The first time I learned about Benchmark products was when I discovered Head-Fi in 2006-2007. I was a teenager and their equipment was what I considered high end and way out of my league. Everyone spoke very highly of the brand and I don’t think that’s changed at all well over a decade later.
When I started the hobby again over a year ago they were on my radar and I picked up the HPA-4. It’s by the far my favorite piece of gear I’ve ever owned and the quality/technical capabilities speaks for itself. If I was in the market for a power amp I’d definitely consider the AHB2 at the top of my list!
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Wow, sorry for that half sentence there, I don’t know what happened 
What I was trying to say was that it was good to know that you liked your HPA4 and thank you for the response. I was on the edge of ordering one and finally did.
Boring can be god, can it?
I recently got the audio nervousa bug and the itch did not stop during the whole spring and in my line of fire was my DAC. It started a while back with all the buzz about the Holo R2R DACs and since I owned an R2R DAC many years ago that I loved. My Ontech AD1865 DAC was really good with an addictive sound, lively, dynamic, true timbre and detailed but sadly it was not adapted to computers or other modern sources.
During all of 2023 the exchange rate between Euros and my Swedish krona have taken a dive so the Holo have become rather expensive for me. Hmm, I was forced to regroup and look into alternatives that would suite my budget and offer adaptability for both headphones and IEMs that I needed.
Starting to explore different R2R DACs online but soon all but the Holo was eliminated, usually for budget reasons. Didn’t want the sabre glare so that eliminated a few more but I also found that a few brands did use the sabre dacs but didn’t have it. One of those is the Benchmark DAC3 but also the Weiss dacs are in that group. At double the price and with features I wasn’t interested in it was soon off my list.
Comments about the dac says it’s nothing special and frankly a bit boring. That brought up a memory from way back when I owned an amplifier with very low distortion and guests that visited me commented that it was fine but a bit boring. To me it had almost no impact on the music and very little coloring of the signal which is fine by me. I started wondering if that Benchmark can be for me? I also read many other comments and one or two switching back to the Benchmark from the Holo and caught my attention. My conclusion is that its true to the recording and that can be fantastic or really awful and anything in between dependent on the production.
This summer I got lucky when I could buy a used a DAC3 HGC for a fair price to try at home.
You can adapt the DAC3 in many ways to suit your set up but with a twist. One example: when using my current Burson amp adjusting gain when switching from my Audeze XC to a sensitive iem is a 5 second affair. Push the menu button, choose gain, choose level and away you go. That is not the Benchmark way. First you have to disconnect all cables, unscrew 8 screws, take the lid off, adjust two jumpers, add lid, now screw 8 screws, connect all cables. Hopefully your guess on the chosen level was right or the process starts again. Lucky for me my two main headphones are have a sensitivity in the same ballpark so gain is OK for both. If yours are not then this amp is not for you.
Clearly the DAC must offer something else than convenience to people to buy it. Being in the A+ category in Stereophile recommended components will help even if their review wasn’t that clear as to why it got that rating except for the measurements.
Sound
For me its a bit hard to describe because it changes from track to track, from production to production. Its not hard to find recordings with cavernous acoustics with what appears to be a huge recording venue were very small details from that room like small echos from the back wall is clearly resolved. Old Decca recordings, Opus3, Harmonia Mundi etc for example but also a few pop productions from my collection. Linda Ronstadt, Loreene McKennit and Julia Fordham to name a few female productions that offer depth of soundstage.
Its also easy to find recordings that are as flat as a pancake, often modern pop or metal productions. Both can be rather nasty where distortions and other studio “enhancements” are resolved in its least pleasant way. Some female vocals on some pop productions can be so strident that you want to turn down the volume. On the other hand a better production can make the female vocal really shine as in some Madonna (surprise, surprise) tracks and Marie Brennan albums are just two examples of female artist where the production have a healthy respect for the their voices and don’t have a need to add effects to create a sound. The voice is clear, undistorted and a joy to listen to so the DAC is not at fault here.
Want to hear details and a really fine recording? I have these suggestions for you:
OPUS 3 album “A star is shining” by Eric Westberg vocal ensemble, track 4 Bereden väg för herran. Recorded with one (!) mic in a very large room, an old AKG C24.
The Everest in this category is the old Decca recording of the opera Aida by Solti from the opera house in Rome. Its recorded in 1961 by tube gear but I promise, you will find plenty of plankton if listen hard. If your setup will resolve it you have a soundstage with hight in some tracks.
A couple of rock examples, Green day, basket case is a decent recording but the DR value of 4 (ouch) is not making any friend with me. Pete Townsend, White city is a lot better in that regard and a tasteful use of effects that add to the music instead of killing it. The different acoustics of the recording is clearly resolved when listening to Rammstien, Mein herz brennt despite of all the distorted guitars and a DR of only 7. Headbanging is recommended.
So whats the conclusion? If you have read closely you understand that its super resolving, transparent, dynamic from a black background. It also digs deeper in all my music, good and bad. Bass can be dry and thin but also thundering and rumble as low as my headphones can reproduce. The same goes for the top but no ESS chip top end that I can detect. There are productions you want to listen to again and again and others that are trying your patience. The DAC can kill your darlings as it at the same time its somehow addictive.
So do you want this naked reality? There is a difference between sounding good and sounding truthful. I have wrestled with this as I love metal and metal productions usually suck big time but in the end I also have many really fine recordings that adds balance. In the end I find it hard to come up with better ways forward for me as it offers what I need for a modest fee.
Its a keeper for me, but the Burson will also stay.
Computer running JRiver- DAC3- Burson Soloist-Audeze XC or Elise Audio X Symphonium Helios SE
Mike
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