benchmark and apogee

Kijanki,

Cymbals are of all kinds so be careful reading to much into the sound. Sabian are made in eastern Canada - each one hand made and tuned by ear. It also depends how they are hit - closer to the edge or towards the bell - how large is the bell. Large cymbals will resonate more and will shimmer less. Curved shapes towards the edge will get you into "gongs". Man there is just everything out there...that is why music is so wonderful. be careful interpreting what you hear at a concert versus at home - studio drum sets are very likely differently setup from those used at concert.

If a tweeter produces a deep brassy sound (more so than say a soft dome tweeter) then you might ask yourself is it the rexcording or is the tweeter behaving like a "bell" itself......are you hearing tweeter ringing? Remember brass instruments are resonant devices which ring (sizzle) too. I am always wary when a speaker produces something noticeably more pronounced than others... a reviewer may say this is impressive or a good thing...it is certainly a difference...but is it right??

Shadorne:

That is a very good question. People compare to sound at the concert as reference point. It doesn't work well for popular music or jazz (bad acoustics). Symphony orchestra might be the reference if you can afford good seats.

Getting back to Benchmark - It was compared to few other DACs in the studio by playing instrument (guitar) and comparing recorded sound played thru DAC to direct sound. Benchmark scored the highest.

Kijanki,

That does not surprise me. It does sound pretty clean or neutral compared to many things that are quite clearly colored (often in a nice way but colored nevertheless) but that is just my impression - I made no tests like you have done.

Shadorne - I haven't done any tests - it was review I read.
What is good for me might (like neutrality) be bad for somebody else. Good example of this might be sound of the guitar that is often described by presence, projection, separation, sustain and tone. Most of people care for tone. Classical guitarist needs presence, sustain and separation while flamenco guy doesn't care about presence, hates sustain but needs huge projection. There is no instrument that would satisfy everybody.