The Benchmark is better than alot of people think. It performs quite well with the proper power cord, line conditioner and IC's; as well as isolation and digital cable. It is incredibly resolving, projects a wide, believable soundstage and does a great job at retrieving those little nuances which create the emotional involvement most look for. Mine did well with the upgraded fuse (HiFi Tuning). I didn't realize how great the Benchmark was until I upgraded to the Berkeley Alpha Dac. While the Berkley is much more resolving and much better in many, many ways, it isn't better by as much as I thought. The little bugger really surprised me. It wasn't blown away by the Berkeley. The Becnhmark, in my opinion, was half as good, which, compared to the Berkeley, is pretty good. Give a warmed up, broken Benchmark with good IC/PC, etc a listen and I think you will be very surprised.
