How good is Benchmark DAC1 comparing to......

My mistake was clearly to think you actually wanted a balanced discussion. Instead you obviously wanted a collective little 'w-word' without interruption. Most adolescents lock the door and do it in private. Otherwise they just look ridiculous.

To rectify my mistake I shall just tiptoe from the room and leave you boys to it. Enjoy!

Redkiwi, your only posts to this forum lately have been to belittle this product and tout what YOU own as the best piece for EVERYONE. You declare it a set in stone fact that the piece you own is superior to this product, and everyone must agree with YOU and YOUR TASTES! So, who is the narrow minded one here, really. Also, do you really think that you are making Dne look immature by your last post? Give us all a break from your rhetoric and inability to answer questions in an adult, let alone logical and methodical fashion and keep your opinions as what they are, just your opinion....

What planet are you on Uva? Where have I belittled the DAC1? By saying I prefer the Lavry Blue? When did I ever call the Lavry Blue the best? I can think of at least three DACs I have heard in my system that are better than the Lavry Blue. When have I said the Blue would be a better DAC for anyone else? You are simply making up stories. When I say the DAC1 is a great DAC, is that belittling it? When I say I bought one, is that belittling it? All I have done Uva is report what I have heard from these DACs in my system. I have not criticised what anyone has posted here about their experiences. Yet that is how small minded little twerps like you and DNE have reacted to my straightforward reporting of my experiences. From what I can tell, you guys are finding it unacceptable that I have pointed out that there are other DACs at around the same price that compete with the DAC1. What is it about such a suggestion that upsets you? Why do you feel so insulted when someone like me praises the DAC1 yet says he prefers a slightly more expensive DAC? I thought DNE a bit over the top - you have managed to top even him.

Abrahavt, sorry I can't get hold of the Audio Space contact details. If I do get them, I'll let you know.

The saving grace of these debates is that while the thread rages on, most of us privately and quietly make up our minds concerning whose opinions are actually useful (whether we agree with them or not). Some members have, over a long period of time, demonstrated that they not only listen to lots of gear but can describe what they hear
1) with precision (not "A blows B away" or even--sorry--"A was much more musical than B"),
2) comparatively across competing products, so we readers have a better chance of actually having a reference point based on our own listening, and
3) in reference to their own tastes, so we have a better chance of factoring in/out some of the copious amount of subjectivity that goes into such opinions.

These criteria are not easy to meet, and they add up to a degree of authenticity of opinion that makes the opinion useful.

Opinions that rely heavily on appeals to outside, "expert" opinions simply don't have this authenticity. Stereophile only costs $10/year and has lots of slick pictures to boot. I don't have to come here to read S'phile's opinions.

Fortunately, in the end it doesn't matter who shouts loudest or gets the last word or invokes the most "experts", except to those for whom that's what the hobby is mostly about.

Sheesh.