I think people looking in the close to $1000 or even $2000 range should not be put off by some of these negative sounding comments regarding the Benchmark. Some glowing reviews including the one in Stereophile may make it sound like it is the best DAC in the universe, bar none, in every system, which of course, is impossible IMO. (I'm not saying the reviewers said that, you may just come away with the impression that they did after reading a glowing review.)
The bottom line is every system component designer makes choices (I hesitate to call them compromises) based on the sliding scale between accuracy and "musicality", desired price point, output levels and many other things. This also means that something can sound better or worse in your system than it did in a reviewers not just because of "sound" issues but for reasons of level or electrical compatibility, or choice of transport or even type of music. Then we have the downstream to consider - perhaps your speakers + room won't benefit from the most revealing front end even if revealing does not mean etched or negatively anayltical.
You could just get stuck in an endless research loop looking for something that everyone loves and even then it may not be the best match for your system. I find that there is nothing here (unless incredibly obscure) that is universally loved by everyone, if you search hard enought, and for good reason.
By all means consider the right components and narrow the field of competitors then pick the likely candidates and *try them in your system*. Try your best to make each work but don't be surprised if you end up with what you thought would be your number 2 choice or #3, 4, etc.
The bottom line is every system component designer makes choices (I hesitate to call them compromises) based on the sliding scale between accuracy and "musicality", desired price point, output levels and many other things. This also means that something can sound better or worse in your system than it did in a reviewers not just because of "sound" issues but for reasons of level or electrical compatibility, or choice of transport or even type of music. Then we have the downstream to consider - perhaps your speakers + room won't benefit from the most revealing front end even if revealing does not mean etched or negatively anayltical.
You could just get stuck in an endless research loop looking for something that everyone loves and even then it may not be the best match for your system. I find that there is nothing here (unless incredibly obscure) that is universally loved by everyone, if you search hard enought, and for good reason.
By all means consider the right components and narrow the field of competitors then pick the likely candidates and *try them in your system*. Try your best to make each work but don't be surprised if you end up with what you thought would be your number 2 choice or #3, 4, etc.