Preamp or DAC?

I just got an ayon stealth and will just plug it into my Callisto eclipse.  A good DAC is great, but world class attenuation is golden.

@kellen I also went with the professional XLR StarQuad from Benchmark because the folks at Benchmark were very confident that these cables, which can carry a signal at 24 dBu+ (no idea what that means) will bring the best out of the system. Consumer XLR cables are at half this value.

I am waiting on Benchmark to get stock back on their speaker cables since they talk about the Neurlink (sp?) connector being better than standard HiFi connections. Purifi seems to feel the same. 

This Benchmark gear is for my system #2.  System #3 is a headphone only bedroom system that I made with a Bryson BHA-1 headphone amp.

I will be also building out a much sweeter sounding System #1 (maybe sooner than expected now). Different DAC, amps, speakers. However, I think I will buy a second HPA4 or LA4 for that system too. It will be interesting to see which I listen to more #1 or #2.

@kellen Congrats I have a feeling you will be very happy. Post your thoughts when you have it setup.

BTW - someone asked me a PM question on some things I said on this thread. I am going to post my reply since someone else may find it useful.

1) I had the DAC3 HGC + AHB2 combp 3 years ago and sold it when my son was born because I lost my music room. I used the default pad setting since that is the best one for the all Benchmark stack.

2) Since my auditory memory is from 3 years ago. I cannot get into specifics of sound but I can say that listening late at night for example I was always adjusting the volume to find a good level. I was usually unhappy at the low volume settings since the sound seemed to collapse a bit. I also felt like I was listening to audio components. Though I liked them a lot. My mind was getting into thoughts of what I did not like I guess.

Now with the HPA4 + amp section of my now sold Peachtree Nova 150. The volume issue at low volume was not a concern. I could always find a good setting and did not feel like the sound collapsed when turned down. One thing I have noticed is that I do not feel like I am listening to audio components anymore. I am 100% focused on the music. Now the Peachtree class D amp, while quiet, is not great. The sound was very enjoyable. I am excited to hear the AHB2 with the HPA4 at the end of this month when my order is shipped.

Since the HPA4 preamp is quieter than the DAC3B I have, I think what is happening is that the better circuitry on the preamp, compared to the DAC3 HGC, is sending a better signal to the amps. It does not matter if it is my analog tuner or my digital streams, both sound great.

Some reviewers were starting that the LA4 makes DACs sound better and you may find a lower cost DAC to be improved with the LA4. I can see that given the quieter specs of the preamp to every DAC out there. I was thinking of using the DAC3B as a second system DAC but after listening with the HPA4 I am wondering why I need to spend more money on the digital side. I bought the DAC3B after I sold the HGC and was not very excited about buying it, but I wanted to try an all Benchmark system again with the HPA4. I am glad I did.

d2girls I thought you were down on Hegel for manufacturing in China.

@Kellen - Amen, you are not alone!

D2girls

So in your enlightened opinion, someone exhibiting provincial attitudes is ignorant? You are basically calling everyone outside the US ignorant. Not been my experience. 
Limiting the revenue to governments or regions to as little as possible is a choice each  person is entitled to make when spending their resources in a free society. So is disregarding enlightened  individuals who always think they know what is best for others. 

Bricasti is made in the USA. Your rant about China is not only ignorant, but pointless. 2/3 of the worlds supply of Silicon and other rare earth metals used in in the creation of all manner of devices, the dac chips, board pcbs, even the plastics are mined in Chinese mines. 

And to mr audio Troy please learn to proof read before hitting the post your response button. Thank you.

Hi Dave/Troy --I'm not familiar with Bricasti, but appears may be one of those "designed in USA, manufactured in China" kind of products.  One of the reasons I'm staying within the Benchmark family of products is because they are wholly made in the USA.  I've pretty much had it with China, not just because they are so iffy on quality control, but also because I'm definitely ticked at how they've polluted the world with the virus we're dealing with.  The death toll they've spread around the world is terrible, not to mention the global economic damage.  Really don't want to buy anything made in China now.

go bricasti me way better dac also a very transparent analog volumen control
No snalog ins though



The me is rather extraordinary

Dave and troy

Audio intellect nj
Bricasti dealers

Thanks for the input George.  Pulled trigger already.  Benchmark describes it as a linear system starting with the DAC3, so that will be next, just need to sock away some quarters and dimes to get to that point again.  Expect the LA4 will serve well until I can get to that more complete stage.

kellen OP

Save your money on any preamp, put it toward upgrading something else. The Benchmark Dac3 has a very good volume control, and it's output stage would put many preamps to shame..

Benchmark Dac3 volume control
HGC™ Hybrid Gain Control HGC™ is Benchmark’s unique hybrid gain control that combines analog and digital gain control into a single volume control knob. The HGC™ system uses an active analog gain control for analog inputs and a 32-bit dithered volume control for digital inputs. Both types of inputs leverage the low-impedance passive Manual for DAC3 HGC and DAC3 L with 2.X Firmware - Rev. D Page 7 analog attenuation system at the XLR outputs. The dual-domain HGC™ system combines the high dynamic range of Benchmark’s HDR™ analog control (used in the DAC1 HDR) with the low distortion and accuracy of a digital control. HGC™ outperforms traditional analog or digital volume controls, including the twostage DAC1 HDR™ system. Musical details are preserved over a very wide range of output levels. Analog inputs are controlled in the analog domain. Digital inputs are controlled in both domains. The volume control is a servo-driven analog potentiometer. This control rotates in response to commands from the remote control while providing the convenience of manual adjustments with a physical knob.

60ohms output impedance, with up to 18v output available, this is more that enough for any amp ever, would even drive a First Watt F? Nelson Pass amp that has virtually no gain

Cheers George

Oh, to clarify, I don't use headphones so couldn't justify the added cost...

Thanks for that excellent input yyz....., just what I was hoping for.
I followed your advice and ordered the LA4.  Same with cables.  Since I was literally on the cusp of going one way or the other your quality information and recommendation tipped the balance.Thanks again!

BTW - use balanced XLR's for your Benchmark gear. Their StarQuad cables are very good. I also use Audience AU24e XLR's with them.

The HPA4 is something you should consider over the LA4. I was going to get the LA4 because I was not into headphones. However, people were saying that the HPA4 has one of the best headphone amps so I thought I may one day get headphones and be bummed out if I got the LA4. The HPA4 is amazing as a preamp and also amazing as a headphone amp. It has the same THX circuit as your AHB2 but for headphones so you know how nice that is. I use the Meze Empyrean with the HPA4. Yesterday, I had a marathon 9 hour (till 5AM) listening session while I worked and the HPA4 + Meze made that task so much more enjoyable.

I used to own the DAC3 HGC (what you own) with the AHB2 and KEF LS50. I did not like the volume control on the HGC. It was not great at low volume and the tuning granularity of the volume was not fine enough to find the perfect level. THE HPA4 is amazing and fixes all the issues I had with the HGC, I have nothing bad to say about it.

In comparison I found the NEW SYSTEM much better than the OLD SYSTEM. The only reason was because of the HPA4 added to the mix. Even with a lesser amp than the AHB2 I still liked the NEW SYSTEM more.

NEW SYSTEM :
KEF LS50 + DAC3B (no volume) + HPA4 + CLASS D amp from PeachTree NOVA 150 (now sold). I have a AHB2 coming to replace the Peachtree

OLD SYSTEM:
KEF LS50 + DAC3 HGC + AHB2

I am not sure how much power your speakers need but I do know that the AHB2 in stereo is not that powerful. When I get new speakers I will add a second AHB2 to run in mono. For example a Magico A3 was not good with a single AHB2 but I imagine 2 would be much better.