Benchmark DAC 1 or Musical Fidelity Tri Vista?


Should I get a Benchmark DAC 1 or a Musical Fidelity Tri Vista? Front end is Onkyo Integra DPC 8.5 universal player, Rotel RC 995 preamp, Odyssey Mono Extreme amps (awesome, just awsome amps), Paradigm Studio 100 V 3 speakers with Rel Storm 3 sub-bass unit. Good cables throughout with Audioparts Mas Signature Reference bi-wire speaker cables and Audioparts Mas Signature Reference interconnects, and Signal Cable Speakon for the Rel. Clean power to front end with Powervar power conditioner.

May replace preamp and speakers but first would like to try a DAC to correct system's perceived mild to occasionally moderate harshness on the upper end. It sounds great but could be better. Dakiom feedback stabilizers throughout have helped greatly and I've done pretty careful testing with and without the stabilizers, but I still want it to sound smoother with no loss of detail.

So......which DAC should I buy? Thanks.

ps If I go with the Tri Vista, how often do the tubes go bad?
mdhoover

Showing 2 responses by kenn39

Congrats on finding your digital bliss.

In your search, did you audition and form some opinions on the components in your original messages?
Thanks for sharing your experience.

In the ideal world, we should all have a shoot-out among some finalists before buying. In reality, this is often an intelligence gathering and analysis exercise and buying components unheard.