I have a DAC1 USB to a Luxman P1u to a pair of HD820. Should I do better than the DAC1? I have limited space. Probably pointless to upgrade. Wish I had a DAC still that would not fit there:

I'm persona non grata. Guess I'll stick with with the DAC1.

I don’t think the non-grata is an issue. It’s just that improving from a Benchmark isn’t easy and most of us haven’t been into audio much lately, or at least enough to offer any insight worth reading.

My first thought was a Schiit Mimir. I haven't heard one, so I didn't feel qualified to comment. Still, the price looks right and it might be a sideways upgrade (it may be too wide for your arrangement).

All I've got is a tiny Schiit Fulla 2... it still sounds great. There's been a lot of new entrants in the field and I'm way out of date on new equipment. I listened to a Chord Mojo 2 but it didn't sound any better than my portable CD player's headphone output.

The Benchmark DAC3 B would be the logical thing to compare, but they look expensive and I'm not sure it would be that much of an improvement. I've been curious about the Chord Qutest but it may be out of your budget range.

Perhaps it's worth a trip to the local stereo shops?

Edited August 29, 2025Aug 29 by HiWire

The DAC1 sounded like glass breaking to me.

I am liking an ESS Sabre based Dac recently.
I missed the AKM chip fad, so maybe someone else can comment on the those.

I’d be curious to try the Topping D70 Pro Sabre, due to the form factor and marginal upgrade over my all-in-one mass drop Ess/thx 789.

The real appeal is in a few years relegating it to living room duty, and using the Bluetooth function for easy uses.

Makes me feel a little bit of the Swiss army feeling I got looking at the NAD M51.

Impossible to tell with just measurement data.

But the mid-fi DAC game is like playing whack-mole with compromises.

I’d be happy if something sounded marginally better than my iPhone dac, and has balanced outputs.

Rebook only is still a thing. I recently saw a PMD100 surround sound Dac for cheap that looked cool. I’m not sure how the components hold up, and can’t justify used gear unless I see internals these days.

 

Does Quad still make a DAC or some Quad-like equivalent?  They love to make CDPs and preamps with digital inputs.  To this day the most "musical" DAC I've ever owned is my Quad 99 CDP-2 (which is now so old it'd be a senior in high school.)  Looking at their website, they have an "Artera Play+" model which appears to be a CDP with six digital inputs and USB.  That sounds like the Quad I know and love, batshit insane but with a real beauty mixed in with their quirkiness. 

 

Maybe rearranging my desk to fit a PerfectWave 2 (which I used to own) is the way to go. 

On 9/1/2025 at 6:32 PM, Knuckledragger said:

Does Quad still make a DAC or some Quad-like equivalent?  They love to make CDPs and preamps with digital inputs.  To this day the most "musical" DAC I've ever owned is my Quad 99 CDP-2 (which is now so old it'd be a senior in high school.)  Looking at their website, they have an "Artera Play+" model which appears to be a CDP with six digital inputs and USB.  That sounds like the Quad I know and love, batshit insane but with a real beauty mixed in with their quirkiness. 

 

That ain’t gonna fit on my desk :)

On 8/29/2025 at 7:19 PM, HiWire said:

My first thought was a Schiit Mimir. I haven't heard one, so I didn't feel qualified to comment. Still, the price looks right and it might be a sideways upgrade (it may be too wide for your arrangement).

All I've got is a tiny Schiit Fulla 2... it still sounds great. There's been a lot of new entrants in the field and I'm way out of date on new equipment. I listened to a Chord Mojo 2 but it didn't sound any better than my portable CD player's headphone output.

The Benchmark DAC3 B would be the logical thing to compare, but they look expensive and I'm not sure it would be that much of an improvement. I've been curious about the Chord Qutest but it may be out of your budget range.

Perhaps it's worth a trip to the local stereo shops?

The Benchmark 3 is what I want, but budget doesn’t allow. 

Benchmark has made changes/improvements to their DAC line over time.

The DAC1 USB you have uses an Analog Devices AD1853 dac chip like its predecessors, but upgrades the stereo-outs to LM4562/LME49860 opamps, which should sound better(read: smoother) when connected to another amp than the original DAC1 that many people heard back in the day.

The DAC1 PRE updated all the op-amps to LM4562/LME49860 opamps, so the headphone-out should sound better too.

The DAC2 line changed the converter chip to the ES9018, which adds DSD64 decoding capability, if that is relevant to the content you play.

The DAC3 line changed the converter chip to the ES9028PRO. I have no idea if that sounds any better, or what it would take to detect a difference.

IME, the hardware component factors that affect the sound of a DAC is the converter implementation, along with the output stage. For me, the DAC2 line was/is the sweet spot when it comes to price::features::performance for Benchmark.

It doesn't sound like I'll gain a lot, especially since the the DAC I have fits my physical space so well already.  Thank you!

I bought a DAC3. It sounds identical to the DAC1. I’m glad to have the DAC1 for a different setup, so it all works out. 

Edited November 17, 2025Nov 17 by EdipisReks1

After listening for a while (and getting the output under control: it's HOT out of the box), I think the DAC3 is a subtle audio upgrade, but a noticeable one. The voicing is just so similar to the DAC1 that I didn't notice it at first. Also, trying out DSD audio for the first time.

I’m a big DSD fan. Lots of great recordings, though they are always getting harder to find outside of sketchy Russian trackers. 
 

I’ve enjoyed my RME DAC for years, but the old “is it good enough?” brainworm has made its way back to me. Anyone have any really stupendous DACs they want to recommend?  Bonus points for a good volume control and native DSD over USB or IIS.