It is rare to find a converter review that does not draw comparisons to the DAC1. The DAC1 has been the best-selling 2-channel reference-quality converter and is in daily use at many of the finest recording studios and mastering rooms. DAC1 converters are also enjoyed by thousands of audiophiles. Benchmark has raised the bar ... the DAC2 defines a new reference.
Reference Performance
The DAC2 is Benchmark's second-generation 2-channel D/A converter. The DAC2 converter has lower noise and lower distortion than Benchmark's DAC1 converter.The performance of the DAC2 exceeds the measurement limits of some of today's best test equipment.
The DAC2 delivers outstanding musical detail and precise stereo imaging. It employs an advanced high-headroom digital filter design, and a new high-sample-rate Asynchronous USB Audio interface. All inputs are fully isolated from interface jitter by Benchmark's new UltraLock2™ jitter attenuation system.
Internal digital processing and conversion is 32-bits, and this processing includes 3.5 dB of headroom above 0 dBFS. This headroom prevents the DSP overloads that commonly occur in other D/A converters.
Four balanced 32-bit D/A converter are summed together to create each balanced analog output. This 4:1 summation provides a 6 dB noise reduction, and gives the DAC2 industry-leading performance.
Native DSD Conversion
All digital inputs on the DAC2 support native PCM or DSD conversion. From any input, DSD is transported with bit accuracy over DoP 1.1. DSD and PCM are both natively converted to analog. There are no DSD to PCM or PCM to DSD conversions to compromise the quality of the music. The DAC2 conversion system seamlessly switches between native PCM and native DSD conversion. DSD over DoP 1.1 is supported by many media players, and DSD downloads are now available from several sources.