GreenMan Wrote: > I've narrowed my selection to the following in no particular order: > > 1. Dac-ah from Poth Audio. > 2. Scott Nixon TubeDAC+ (I like the look of the mod w/blue backlighting > on the tube. > 3. Benchmark DAC1. > > These are different technologies in different price groups, though all > are under $1000. I like the reviews of the Benchmark, but I also wonder > if that's the right choice for my system which is already pretty > revealing. > > ... > > The dac-ah looks attractive in price, but I don't know how well the > stock capacitors hold up in the system. The Benchmark may be too > glaring in my system, but then again, with the Krell and the Thiels and > the SB2 feeding the Benchmark, that would be real transparency all the > way back to the music source. I've got the Benchmark DAC1 and the Scott Nixon Chibi Saru (with a much better power supply). The Benchmark is significantly better, and is certainly not "glaring" in any way. If anything, it is a bit too "polite" (compared to my old Naim CDS2, which was noticeable more involving). Although the Chibi Saru may not be quite as good as the TubeDAC, I would expect it's basic performance to be similar, so I would still suggest the Benchmark over it.
I should mention, though, that the Scott Nixon doesn't sound "bad". It just hides a lot of detail. The curious thing is that it's really quite any enjoyable listen, and it doesn't seem like your missing anything, until you do a direct comparison to the Benchmark. Sorry, but I've not tried the Dac-ah. -=> Mike Hanson <=- -- Mike Hanson _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
