The Benchmark DAC is easy to set up. It's a bargain used and even new seems a good buy. In fact, I'd love to find good one on Audiogon but, after a recent glut of them, they seem to be in short supply now. I owned one for a good while and, as is the way in this strange hobby, sold it in order to try something new and different. I have not heard anything since that I prefer to the Benchmark, although, if memory serves, the Cambridge 840 CD player might be its match. I liked the Benchmark better than two CD players I owned, a Rega Apollo and a Naim CD5i. The Benchmark does not smooth over rough edges or add midbass warmth -- it seems, to my ears, both neutral and engaging, clear but not bright. It won't do wonders for a lousy recording, but that's no fault of the DAC. I liked it. I miss it!
