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Finding a little warmth from Benchmark1 USB DAC

So I've always appreciated a relatively dry sound from my audio equipment, and abhored the sound that tubed equipment yields. I started the hobby when I was in high school by getting a pair of Dynaudio Contour 1.8 mk IIs, and wound up with a Krell 300il (identical to the 400xi)last year. I just finished off my "system" after buying a Benchmark 1 USB DAC, that I am connecting to an older iMac that has my music collection in a lossless format.

My issue is that while I adore the setup's overall resolution and pinpoint accuracy, it's producing a very lean sound that is a bit bright, and stark for my tastes. My favorite listening setup was a Levinson 383 integrated hooked up to Dynaudio Special 25s. The Dynaudios had spectacular resolution and neutrality, while the Levinson was able to give a substantial, slightly darker sound that was not overly rich (like tubes can be for me).

So my question is, with the way I've framed things above, are there suggestions for interconnects or equipment that will find that balance for me? I feel like my existing components have potential, but it's just too much of the analytical sound.

As an aside, I tried the Benchmark with my brother's S3 B&W 801s and Audio Research gear, and it wasn't bad at all.
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Showing 1 response by almarg

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almarg
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This goes against your anti-tube bias, but I suspect that adding an inexpensive but good quality one-tube line stage, such as this one from Antique Sound Labs for $345 (new), would be a more effective fix than changing interconnects, power cords, etc. And it would provide you with the flexibility to fine-tune the sound via tube rolling.

http://www.divertech.com/asllineone.html

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ASWL1

I have used this model in the past, and I found it to be essentially neutral in a system which otherwise leaned slightly in the rich, warm sounding direction.

If you decide to try it, be aware that it inverts polarity, so you would want to reverse the + and - connections to each of your speakers.

Regards,
-- Al

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