Your post illustrates why the cost of a piece of equipment does not translate into listening pleasure for everyone. I was beginning to think that the DAC1 was sent from heaven with all the positive reviews, articles, posts, etc. But, I keep hearing the same words used, as you mentioned: detail, precision, accuracy. When I listen to vinyl I mostly listen for emotion, flow, natural voices and instruments. These are not exclusive of each other but are different flavors, like ice cream. Thanks for your post. I am interested to hear if others have compared the two and their reactions. For the money, the SN is hard to beat!
Scott Nixon Tubedac = WOW
I literally connected my new to me, second hand, broken in, Scott Nixon tubedac + about 1 hour ago and boy am I impressed. It's being used in place of my Benchmark DAC1 right now.
There is more heft and realism thru the SN. The DAC1 is very detailed as most people have reported, however, I have been using the DAC1 since before I assembled my current system and did not realize how detailed it was until I compared it to the SN. It's like not noticing something is there until it's not.
The SN is a very "easy" dac to listen to so far. The best way I can describe it is that it just goes with the flow.
If I were a recording engineer, the DAC1 would be my choice. If I just want to listen to music, the SN is the one I would choose.
Overall, the DAC1 is the better of the two, but the SN more than holds it's own. Of course, it's only been an hour since I installed it in the system.
There is more heft and realism thru the SN. The DAC1 is very detailed as most people have reported, however, I have been using the DAC1 since before I assembled my current system and did not realize how detailed it was until I compared it to the SN. It's like not noticing something is there until it's not.
The SN is a very "easy" dac to listen to so far. The best way I can describe it is that it just goes with the flow.
If I were a recording engineer, the DAC1 would be my choice. If I just want to listen to music, the SN is the one I would choose.
Overall, the DAC1 is the better of the two, but the SN more than holds it's own. Of course, it's only been an hour since I installed it in the system.