Cambridge 840c or Pioneer PD-65/Benchmark DAC 1

I just bought the Benchmark DAC to use with my Oppo DVD player. The advantage of this route is that in this day the DAC is becoming the heart of a system. It offers the flexability the try various transports, music servers, internet radio, etc.

If you read any pro recording websites the Benchmark and Lavry DACs are perfered in recording studios. A friend has compared it with a Sony XA777ES (Art Dudley's reference CD player) and it yielded better detail.

Like any new piece of gear it requires balancing it into your system.

Kijanki

It seems that the cheap DVD players are quite reliable.
I have read the cheap Sony DVD players are transports w/ good detail.

The Oppo's are very robust and their first and long discontinued 971 still performs. I have the discontinued 970 which had better audio at the time, before I bought a DAC.

If you watch movies as well the new 980 has excellent DVD picture (1080p), plus it is a universal player at $160. My experience is that Oppo's are very durable, and I have never heard of one failing.

More and more the high end mags are recommending cheap DVD players w/ near state of the art DACs (and for less than a Cambridge 840).

Beerad,
One advantage the 840 will have over a cheap DVD player as a transport is that the 840 has a better transport w/ better PS for the transport. I would keep it.

I didn't want to spend that kind of money and I wanted a stand alone pro DAC for it's flexability down the road. The other DAC option for me was the Lavry DA10, but honestly the Bencmark matched the faceplate of my amp exactly.

Oppo 970($150) + used Benchmark($700) gets me close and I can watch movies too, plus I can upgrade to BluRay player or an original Rega Planet transport if I want to. Win Win for me.

Kijanki,

My DAC1 is the newest version with the Texas Instument opamps, the 30 ohm optical input, and improved pcbs.

I'm using DAC1 directly to a tube power amp w/ outstanding results. Some say cabling makes a difference but I use only what I had on hand(XLO-ER2 RG6 digital cable, Dynamic Design Platinum interconnects).

The DAC1 is a real shock when you use it. If you have never heard digital playback w/o digititus it is almost impossible to explain. The highs are so detailed, clear and pure it sounds smooth. Not coloration smoothness but lack of harshness smoothness. It's crazy!

The DAC1 does not emphesis one audio frequency or one type of instrument over another. They are all presented fairly and honestly. No coloration that highlights a certain type of music. You can choose what you want to listen to in a recording, it doesn't tell you to listen to this or listen to that. I know why pros like theis piece, it tells it like it is.

This DAC is an eye opener to digital playback. It reminds me of my Consonance CD120 Linear w/ non-oversampling DAC in digital playback, but with added pristine and accurate sound.

For an unfair comparison, my Oppo was crude, closed in, harsh, emphisising dynamics of percusion over sweetness. It was inaccurate and all over the place. I couln't get involved with the sound as a stand alone player but as a transport with the Benchmark DAC 1 doing the duties of convertiong digital to analogue I'm very satisfied now. Especially with the built in preamp/volume control of the Benchmark directly to a tube power amp.

I have seriously considered a class D amp. Some recommend the Nuforce. I will use my tube amp for a while more until a really get a feel for the combo, as I really don't want to sell it yet. I may wait until I can afford a D amp to add to my system, and store the tube amp for later (or use for the winter months and swap between the 2 amps)... Or until I get tired of it - which ever comes first.