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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.
velociti

Showing 1 response by thedautch

thedautch
329 posts
 
For me, USB cables made an enormous difference with my Benchmark USB DAC. I first tried the supplied USB, then switched to a Kimber Kable ($40 slight improvement) and then went to the Locus Design Axis ($550).

The Axis has improved things by several orders of magnitude, particularly in the midrange (more liquid and yet more precise), bass (more oomph and very tight), and timbre (a bit more crisp). The area in which it hasn't helped as much is separation of instruments, which is why I'm upgrading to Locus' $1150 Nucleus USB.

Yes, I know that's a lot of cabling relative to the hardware. Yes, I ignore normal rules about applying x percentage of overall costs to cables and no more. But INMO, my gear has sounded it's best when I've had it pretty much fully loaded (I'm also using a Furutech power cord and Kimber Select KS-1036).

In any event, the result has thus far been so impressive that I far prefer this iTunes-based system to my living room big rig. I'm hoping the Nucleus makes the experience positively sublime.

YMMV (duh), but I hope this has helped somewhat.
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