Moving around to the rear panel (shown overleaf), the analogue outputs are provided on a pair of isolated unbalanced phono sockets as well as a pair of electronically balanced XLRs. The latter always controls the volume of the headphone outputs, but can be switched to control the analogue line output level if required - making this D-A converter an ideal front end for active monitors. There's also a pair of full-sized headphone sockets (wired in parallel) and a large knurled and detented volume control. The input selector switch can be disabled via an internal jumper link and one specific source selected permanently. a DTS- or AC3-encoded data stream (both red). A recessed toggle switch selects one of three digital inputs (co-axial, XLR or optical) and a trio of LEDs indicate the presence of power (an essential blue LED), a clock error, and non-PCM data - ie. The black painted front panel carries an engraved Benchmark logo, a red DAC1 name tag, and white function labels. The substantial sculpted aluminium front panel contains standard rack ears on both sides, so one side can be bolted into a rack frame in the usual way, and the other side is attached using an optional 'coupler' either to another DAC1 or a bespoke blanking panel to fill the void to the other side of the rack (a matching stereo A-D is currently under development, and would make an ideal rackmount partner for the DAC1). The DAC1 is a compact self-contained stereo D-A, housed in a sturdy half-rack-width, 1U case that extends a modest 8.5 inches (216mm) behind the rack ears. The DAC1 avoids this with a novel approach which eschews the use of phase-locked loops (PLLs), the conventional means of dealing with jitter, as these can themselves cause problems. The fundamental reason for such a high standard of performance is the DAC1's almost perfect rejection of interface and conversion clock jitter, which causes unstable stereo images and varying anharmonic distortion in D-As, colouring and clouding low-level audio detail (see the box later for more on this). The DAC1 is one such device - a stereo, 24-bit, 192kHz D-A converter that costs less than £1000 in the UK, but performs at a level that eclipses more familiar devices costing two or even three times as much. ![]() Benchmark Media Systems are based in the state of New York and manufacture a range of professional digital and analogue audio products, many incorporating rather intriguing technology. Even the next best offerings from the likes of Apogee, RME, Audio Design and so on, usually cost well over £1000 in the UK.Īn American company has a product that has forced me to re-evaluate these ideas, though. In short, you require a superb D-A if you wish to assess and appreciate the quality of the best A-Ds! Sadly, as we all know, the very best converters - and I'm thinking of the likes of DCS and Prism - always cost a great deal of money, putting them outside the reach of most of us. ![]() However, the other end of the same argument is that you won't be able to hear the limitations of a sub-optimal A-D if the digital-to-analogue converter is incapable of resolving the detail encoded within the digital signal. This simple truth is widely understood by the majority of serious amateurs and professionals who have embraced digital audio recording, and most allocate a significant part of their equipment budgets to purchasing the best A-D converters they can afford. The ultimate sonic quality of any digital audio system is defined by the quality and resolution of the analogue-to-digital conversion used - any loss of signal resolution at this early point in the signal chain cannot be recovered later. ![]() We check out a surprisingly affordable high-quality example from the States. ![]() If you place importance on the spec of your recording system's analogue-to-digital converters, then you shouldn't overlook the quality of your D-As either.
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