What the benifit of using a separate dac?

...curious lack of objective press reviews...

That is an oxymoron. Where have yous seen "objective" press reviews on anything? How could there be such a thing, a review being written by a human being is bound to be subjective simply by definition.

Your clarification on your hot rod metaphor still doesn't connect with me. You're talking about mods that can be measured on a dyno (which really don't tell the whole story about how they translate real-world anyway - 90 ft lbs of torque may not be a good thing if the suspension and chassis isn't up to it, or if you don't know how to handle it). Also, there is an emotional disconnect with those mods, or rather it's not the same kinds of emotions involved in the enjoyment of music and the reproduction thereof. Bottom line is that the numbers do not tell the whole story and "objective" is only a tiny part of the picture. In my case I tend to largely ignore such things beyond the general knowledge of the component in question. What would an "objective" review of a modification read like?

BTW it was because of the press and my limited talks with the Benchmark makers that sent me away from previewing that piece altogether

Blindjim,

Interesting comment based on our discussion about one of the primary drivers for purchase decisions is the desire for differentiated products. The comment says more about you than the sound quality of Benchmark DAC1.

Is it possible that you chose not to preview it because of all the near universal accolades in the press and from professionals combined with relatively modest price means that this is an EBGO product in audiophile terms. EBGO = Everybody's Got One! Therefore the attractiveness of owning such a product is rather limited if you have any inkling to own a differentiated (more expensive) or "better" product.

If you mod your Bel Canto then you can feel even more secure that very few people have what you have!

FWIW: My friend and I bought two identical scooters when I was 15. Same store. Same model - probably produced within minutes of eachother at the factory from the same batch of parts. We had a 30 minute run to school each day and followed eachother. The performance was as near identical as you can get. At one time we got interested in modding to try and eek out more speed from these 50 cc slow-peds. instead of buying two racing type mufflers (with the motorcycle dealer assurance of a significant speed boost) we bought one and tested it. Well is sure sounded different - his scooter had a deep satisfying Harley imitation sound (nothing like that patented Harley sound mind you) while mine remained with its standard millions of scooters on the road sound. Now here is the kicker - my friend took it back a week later and got a refund because it did not make one IOTA of difference to the speed or acceleration.

To end the story, although I have lost track of this old friend, he also became an engineer. It may have been a formative experience. Engineers tend to trust higher authority. Engineers tend to believe text books. Engineers distrust anecdotal evidence without controlled testing and documented measurements to back it up. For Benchmark to plaster their measurements all over a manual with each of their products sold is a very bold thing to do (as any engineer or anyone with manufacturing experience knows). By offering so much detail and information one is exposing oneself to a potential huge embarassement (if anyon eproves you are full of it) and expensive product recall due to lack of performance/conformance should your products not live up to the published specifications (one year to the next). This is very unusual in audio.

HI, I was in the same situation, months back, was using camridge 840CDP, and borrowed a KORA" hermes DAC, and used the cambridge as a transport, and couldnt' believe the diference in sound, was dramatic, sound stage expanded, and holographic imaging was in credible, cambridge is a highly regarded player but adding a tube DAC, made that much of a diference, my system is: belles350ref, von VR4's KOra Hermes DAC,sonic frontier,transport, and purist audio cables:

Somewhere in the archives from years ago you might find some comments I made in listening and comparing an ARC LS2B I had modded by GNSC. My friend had the sme modest preamp in stock form and we swapped out the tube when we compared. Same cables, same system. Bottom line in that case is that we both readily heard improvements in resolution and sounstage. I do not recall specifics. Is that "objective". Someone else listening may have. Heard no difference at all. Which viewpoint would you invest in?

As far as the scooter mod - bolt-on exhausts can easily be as much a detractor from performance as they could an improvement. Adding such a mod with no attention paid to adjusting the fuel delivery (rejetting, re-mapping, etc.) Is far more likely to result in a drop in performance. Some don't work regardless of tuning. I'd really wonder how sensitive one could be to a seat-of-pants judgement on the boost in power on a 50cc scooter of, perhaps 1 hp in some part of the throttle range?! That also could apply to audio mods: our aural memory is actually pretty limited. So how sensitive are you going to be to the changes in a modified player you haven't heard for three weeks or more?

I'd really wonder how sensitive one could be to a seat-of-pants judgement on the boost in power on a 50cc scooter of, perhaps 1 hp in some part of the throttle range?!

Exactly. That is why travelling the same route daily with two identical scooters helped - multiple opportunities to compare under a variety of conditions. FWIW: I had already pulled out the baffle piping in the muffler of my scooter (as all 15 year olds must do) - so perhaps I achieved the same effect as the "racing" muffler. Anyway - it was all good fun - perhaps that is the pleasure in it all - the journey rather than the outcome!