How good is Benchmark DAC1 comparing to......

i had the Benchmark DAC-1 in my system and it is an excellent DAC for the money. it has great highs, but it is thin in the midrange and bass regions when compared to all the DACs i've had an opportunity to hear in my system. those include the MW lev2 modded P-Tech P-3/A, the EA modded P-Tech P-3/A, the Dodson DA-263, the Dodson DA-217MkII, and the Dodson DA-218.

"No one is claiming that the Benchmark DAC1 is the world's greatest reference dac in absolute terms...the DAC1 provides, at its relatively modest price, superb performance on an approximate par with much more expensive dacs, e.g., in the $5-$10,000 range."

for $975 IMHO, the DAC-1 is a GREAT sounding DAC - WAY better than it has a right to sound. all the other DACs i compared it to were alot more money w/ the exception of the MW LII P-tech P-3/A which is $1200 still 23% more than the DAC-1. in comparison to the MWLII p-3/a, the DAC had more openness and transparency across the highs. the midrange was a bit harder sounding and the bass lacked a bit of articulation. the magnitude of these differences was so small that it took repeated a/b comparisons to determine. then i conducted a single blind test on a friend who did not know which DAC was being played and my friend came away with the same opinions of the 2 DACs that I had.