[RogerWilco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skysaxon Roger, can you give us the dimensions? Single input? Switchable? Thanks.

It is 9.5" wide 10" long

 

[Borat]

That is pretty awesome. It has some of the features that I think make the Benchmark DAC1 a good deal. Balanced output? Integrated headphone amp? All at a price slightly over $200? Ridiculously cheap. If it sounds even halfway decent then it's a steal at that price.

You better tell your guy that he's about to receive a flurry of 110v orders from this place.

 

[Teerawit]

This seems like a great deal! Now i can't wait for the pics

 

[skysaxon]

Thanks Rogerwilco. I'm now $243 poorer.

 

[RogerWilco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skysaxon Thanks Rogerwilco. I'm now $243 poorer.

lol---it's a worthy buy

 

[meat01]

What a cool, creative way to post pictures!

 

[Borat]

The DAC costs $180 like RogerWilco stated. Here are the shipping options to the US as quoted from Lawrence:

Speedpost (2-3 days) - $58 (*$243)
Air Mail (7-10 days) - $45 (*$230)
Surface Mail (35-80 days) - $30 (*$215)

*Optional Insurance added $5

Judging from initial e-mails, Lawrence doesn't seem very helpful, although it could be the language barrier more than anything else. But I am going to wait to see more in-depth photos and hopefully more impressions from Jeff before doing anything. The fact that he said this DAC does some things better than his EastSound is intriguing, albeit very hard to fathom for something that only costs $180. I still have my heart set on the Benchmark after I save up enough money. But this thing is so cheap by comparison that it's tempting.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skysaxon Thanks Rogerwilco. I'm now $243 poorer.

once it arrives, please be the first to post up pics of the back showing all the inputs/outputs, thanks!

 

[RogerWilco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meat01 What a cool, creative way to post pictures!

lol--thanks


I have found lawrences e-mails very helpfull.There always seems to be some kind of language barrier ,but he seems very Genuine on his thoughts of equipment and the reprodution of music.He sells alot of other equipment too,but does not require the higher profit that cattylink does.He seems to like listening to music as much as we do.

I am not saying the unit will kill some 3 or 4 grand dacs,but it seems it would hold its own--i would think this a great piece for some mods also.

I am curious on some more opinions on the unit.

Hopefully he will e-mail pictures of the back of the unit today.I guess when my family was on our last vacation and the digital camara fell in the water,it was time for it to start giving me problems--------

 

[skysaxon]

RogerWilco - could you expand on your impressions of this DAC re: Eastsound E5 comparisons?

And, how does the headphone output sound?

Thanks!

 

[Oddball]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Borat I still have my heart set on the Benchmark after I save up enough money. But this thing is so cheap by comparison that it's tempting.

Me too, except I'm deviating from my dream of an Apogee Mini-Dac. I hope good things come out of this thread.

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RogerWilco But it is like when i owned david bernings OTL amp--he uses just regular parts--nothing that would be considered highend parts.And had one of the best sounds of tube gear i have ever heard.It may lean more to circuit design than the sume of parts that is used. But the problem is unless you can A-B the old caps or resisters with the new replacements it may be hard to know.Most of the time first impression is always better--or is it just different.

Hi,

Well I was thinking more along the lines of with digital components. They are more susceptible to noise. I agree the design is also important. It also comes down to what your priorities are. I really like the bass and treble to be good and I find those are improved with better components.

I'm not a real fan of A-B. I usually remember the sound of what I'm doing and have trained my ear over time. Usually many things just offer a different sound not necessarily better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Borat The fact that he said this DAC does some things better than his EastSound is intriguing, albeit very hard to fathom for something that only costs $180. I still have my heart set on the Benchmark after I save up enough money.

Well considering there are not as many parts in this unit, it's cheaper to make than a good full sized CD/DVD player. I think the benchmark isn't as refined as I'd like and that's because it uses cheap parts. So the question is if you get this cheaper DAC, what could you do with the rest of your money to enhance your system? I'm thinking power conditioner, and whatever else you want.

 

[Tim D]

The casing looks like it was obviously meant for a headphone amp and not a DAC (it doesn't have leds for locks or sync rates, etc). I wonder where they get that case from...is the knob metal as well? An M3 would look great in there.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim D The casing looks like it was obviously meant for a headphone amp and not a DAC (it doesn't have leds for locks or sync rates, etc). I wonder where they get that case from...is the knob metal as well? An M3 would look great in there.

If I am looking at the first pic right, it seems like it HAS a headphones amp and a DAC, ala DAC1.

 

[Tim D]

I'm not contesting that, I'm only saying they obviously used a headphone amp case and I'm wondering if its an OEM part. The benchmark faceplate and casing however is custom to that product and includes the useful locks/error, leds etc. that are useful to a DAC.