I've been pondering this exact thing and would go with the Benchmark initially for several reasons:
1) It clearly attempts to do digital right even if the results may not appeal to all
2) you can try it for 30 days and return it if you don't like it.
3) On paper, I like the fact that they try to isolate the DAC from timing issues that might come into play with external transports and introduce jitter.
If I deidn't like the BEnchmark, then I think it would give me a lot to think about in terms of where to go next, if anywhere.
1) It clearly attempts to do digital right even if the results may not appeal to all
2) you can try it for 30 days and return it if you don't like it.
3) On paper, I like the fact that they try to isolate the DAC from timing issues that might come into play with external transports and introduce jitter.
If I deidn't like the BEnchmark, then I think it would give me a lot to think about in terms of where to go next, if anywhere.