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BENCHMARK - DAC1 PRE IN SILVER

The Benchmark DAC1 PRE - Our Best Outboard DAC is Also a Killer Headphone Amp and Preamp!

The DAC1-PRE Won "Product of the Year" Awards from Stereophile, The Absolute Sound and HiFi News in 2008!

2009 Golden Ear Award Winner from The Absolute Sound!

This new DAC from Benchmark has everything you need! The DAC1-Pre is first and foremost a reference-quality DAC, with Benchmark’s award-winning 24Bit/192k digital-to-analog conversion. This DAC is dead-quiet with an extremely analog-like musical portrayal of instruments and voices. This can be the heart of any complex computer/digital audio system, incorporating six stereo inputs including an analog input, a USB computer input, an optical input, and three coaxial digital inputs (perfect for connecting a Wadia iTransport!). Its elegant analog output stage is what gives this DAC its supreme accuracy and perfect detail retrieval. The DAC1-Pre has a proprietary UltraLock re-clocking circuit to ensure you get bit-perfect transmission and complete immunity to jitter. Includes their incredible reference-level HPA2 Headphone Amplifier, a high-current output section with two headphone jacks on the front panel. There is a reason every audio magazine has gushed over this DAC...hear one for yourself! 100% Music Direct Money Back Guaranteed!

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“There is really no option but to honor this device. The Benchmark DAC1PRE measured performance shows all artifacts, analog or digital, to be miles downstream, and the sound lives up to the corresponding expectations. Completely quiet, absolutely clean, and uncluttered by any electronic detritus, the DAC1PRE gives the sensation of listening directly to whatever is coming in, be it digital or analog!"
– Robert E. Greene, The Absolute Sound, Golden Ear Award Issue, June/July 2009

“The Benchmark DAC1 PRE is not only an excellent device for the money; it is excellent compared to anything that I have encountered at any price! To my mind, it is the beginning of a new era in audio, in which the regeneration of the recorded signal has become a solved problem!”
- Robert E. Green, The Absolute Sound, August 2008

“Not just good, but stupefyingly good! In every mode, it excels. It sounds natural and authoritative, almost valve-like in the mid and treble. Sublimely well made, it’s an absolute joy to use. It does what it should, without drama. It is truly the Swiss Army Knife of HiFi!”
- Ken Kessler, HiFi News, July 2008

The DAC1-PRE is a reference-quality DAC with a built-in stereo pre-amplifier, a remarkable headphone amplifier, and a great computer audio playback device! The DAC1-PRE incorporates their very best 24-bit/192kHz Digital-to-Analog Conversion (DAC) System. With the DAC1-PRE, you will be blown away as your music engages your senses with breath-taking realism.

The DAC1-PRE is the culmination of years of high-precision analog and digital audio circuit design. Benchmark has achieved unprecedented sonic purity in their audio systems through an intelligent engineering philosophy - establish a pristine analog delivery path and eliminate digital distortion artifacts.

With six stereo inputs and four stereo analog outputs, the DAC1-PRE anchors expansive media systems and provides a pristine audio path from source to amplifier. The six stereo inputs include an analog input, a USB computer input, an optical input, and three coaxial digital inputs. The output section includes stereo XLR balanced, RCA unbalanced, and two headphone jacks driven by Benchmark's HPA2™ 0-ohm headphone amplifier.

The Acclaimed DAC1-PRE D-to-A Conversion System:
Engineers and audiophiles have grown to rely on Benchmark for critical digital audio conversion for more then 10 years. They are consistently finding themselves engaged in the music when using Benchmark digital analog converters - engaged in a way that is rarely achieved with many professional digital converters.

The superior performance of the award-winning DAC1 has made it the 'Benchmark' of D/A converters. The DAC1 PRE gracefully merges the DAC1 conversion system with elegant analog circuitry, Benchmark's HPA2™ 0-ohm headphone amplifier, and essential features and functions.

Jitter-Immune UltraLock™ Clock System:
Benchmark’s proprietary UltraLock™ clock system achieves an unprecedented immunity to jitter. Many modern (and expensive) converters suffer from significant jitter-induced distortion. If jitter is not effectively addressed, a converter will generate non-musical sideband tones and digital distortion. Benchmark’s highly-regarded UltraLock™ clock system ensures that jitter is never a problem, even under extreme conditions.

Even in the presence of extremely high input jitter, no jitter-induced artifacts can be detected on the outputs of the DAC1-PRE (using state-of-the-art testing equipment by Audio Precision). UltraLock™ will block more then 12.5 UI of jitter (@ 1 kHz). With the UltraLock™ clock system, the D/A conversion-clock in the DAC1-PRE is totally isolated from the clock of the digital audio source. The UltraLock™ clock system easily outperforms most well-designed two-stage PLL designs.

The bottom line is this: Benchmark converters will consistently and faithfully deliver the most realistic audio without jitter-induced artifacts, no matter what variables are present. The special clock circuit in the DAC1-PRE is one of the reasons this is their best sounding DAC!

AdvancedUSB™ Audio Technology:
The USB interface of the DAC1 PRE operates with Benchmark’s unique AdvancedUSB™ technology. Unlike many USB equipped D/A converters, Benchmark's AdvancedUSB™ technology supports 24-bit audio at sample rates up to 96 kHz without the installation of any drivers or other special software. Benchmark’s UltraLock™ clock system isolates the converter from the high levels of jitter that are found on USB interfaces. AdvancedUSB™ responds automatically to sample-rate changes to bypass the operating system’s sample-rate conversion. The DAC1 PRE achieves transparent, audiophile-quality playback through a true plug-and-play solution.

It is very important to have a 24-bit USB path, even for 16-bit playback, because digital volume controls and other DSP function s can increase 16-bit audio to 24 bits. If a 16-bit USB interface is used, up to 8 bits of each digital audio sample will be truncated resulting in significant, non-musical digital distortion at audible levels.

Audio streamed via USB is subject to significant amounts of jitter. The AdvancedUSB™ interface utilizes the UltraLock™ clock system. Consequently, the performance of the USB input is equal to the performance of the other inputs, regardless of the jitter present. The DAC1 PRE is natively compatible with Windows Vista/XP/2000 and Mac OS X. As a native device, there are no drivers or other software required to install or configure.

HPA2™ Headphone Amplifier:
The DAC1 PRE includes the HPA2™ - Benchmark's signature high-current, 0-Ohm headphone amplifier. The HPA2™ is arguably the ultimate reference headphone amplifier. It will deliver the full rated performance of the DAC1 to the headphones. The HPA2™ maintains less than 0.0003% THD+N under a full load from two sets of headphones. The DAC1 PRE has two 1/4" headphone jacks on the front panel.

Features
• Six Stereo Inputs: Analog RCA, USB, TOSLINK optical, and three digital coaxial
• Utilizes 24-bit/192-kHz DAC1-PRE DAC system
• Benchmark’s phase-accurate UltraLock™ technology provides total jitter immunity
• AdvancedUSB™ computer audio interface for native 96k/24bit USB audio
• Compatible with Windows Vista/XP/2000 and Mac OS X without driver installation
• State-of-the-art LM4562 high-current, low distortion op-amps for all analog circuits
• Four stereo outputs: XLR balanced, RCA unbalanced, and two headphone jacks
• True-analog volume control on front panel
• Built-in HPA2™ headphone amplifier - 0-Ohm, high-output, two output jacks
• Selectable gain-range for headphone amplifier to match headphone sensitivity
• Left-most headphone jack mutes XLR and RCA outputs (this feature is defeatable)
• Power button and rotary source selector
• “Calibrated/Variable” switch determines gain control for main analog outputs
• Front-panel gain control of all analog outputs (in “Variable” mode)
• Front-panel gain control of headphone outputs only (in “Calibrated” mode)
• Rear-panel trim-pots control gain of XLR and RCA outputs (in “Calibrated” mode)
• Selectable, low-impedance attenuators (0, 10, 20, or 30 db) on XLR outputs
• Status LED’s - display input selection and error conditions
• Low radiation toroidal power transformer significantly reduces hum and line related interference

Performance Specifications
• Digital Input Sample Rate Range: 28 to 195 kHz
• THD+N: -107 dB, 0.00045% (w/ -3 dBFS input)
• SNR - A-W eighted: 116 dB (w/ 0 dBFS = +20 to +29 dBu)
• Maximum Amplitude of Jitter Induced Sidebands (10 kHz 0 dBFS test tone, 12.75 UI sinusoidal jitter at 1 kHz): < -141 dB
• Maximum Amplitude of AC line related Hum & Noise: < -126 dB
• Headphone amp output impedance: 0.01 Ω
• Headphone amp output-level range (@ 0 dBFS into 60-Ω load): Off-to-+21 dBu
• Headphone amp THD+N: -107 dB, 0.00045% (w/ -3 dBFS input)