I own 2 Rega Saturns. Originally, I liked the first one in my speaker system so much that I bought a second one for my dedicated headphone system. Recently I completely changed my speaker based system from Thiel CS6/Classe CA400/CAT preamp to Harbeth SHL-5 speakers/McIntosh MC275/CAT preamp. After this change, I thought the Rega Saturn was no longer a great match for my system. Its hard to describe what I didn't like but I think wanted a better defined soundstage, better imagining and more air.
I bought the Benchmark DAC1 PRE a couple of months ago. I now use the Saturn as a transport for the DAC1 PRE. I think it is an improvement in my system over the Saturn by itself. My new system was already warm and musical and I don't need my CD source to be warm. So I my system, the Benchmark was just what I needed. Whether a dac will improve your system depends on what you are seeking. I wasn't sure that it would improve my system but I thought that buying the Benchmark was a no risk deal since I had 30 days to return it if it didn't work out. It worked out great for me.
