Benchmark to amp direct question?

Ryder
Certainly that's what I've been trying to say. The Benchmark is essentially a balanced DAC, so the "correct" or optimal way to use it, is via its balanced outputs. The difference is not subtle.

I wonder if the output impedance of the balanced outs suits your amp better than the impedance of the rca outs ?
Might be worth thinking about , for others , rather than accepting a blanket conclusion that one connection type sounds better than another .

What really matters is that you found what works best for you . Congratulations and enjoy the music .

Hi Saki
Well certainly the impedence of the balanced outputs match my amp's input. Actually with the Benchmark, its a simple case of turning the attenuator pots down to use the RCA outs, but then you won't be able to enjoy the superior sound the balanced outputs produce.

My point was not so much that XLR cables are better than RCA, rather that the Benchmark's XLR outputs are far superior to the RCA outputs, so if those of you still using the RCA outputs, I would suggest you try the XLR connections on the Benchmark. Some of the common criticisms of the Benchmark - titzy highs, lean sound, are completely gone! You'll wonder why you never tried it in the first place.

I'm really enjoying the music, thank you.

PS: WARNING TO REMEMBER TO SWITCH THE TOGGLE SWITCH AT THE BACK TO "VARIABLE" OR YOU MIGHT RISK BLOWING YOUR AMP/SPEAKERS.

Bob_reynolds - this high RCA output impedance is only in the older versions, more than three years old. The new cisrcuit board has new buffers and does the voltage divider between buffers rather than at the output pins. The new RCA output impedance is 30 ohms, a bit too low IMO.

Steve N.

Cmk - the DAC-1 converts single-ended to balanced at the output drivers. I would not call this a balanced DAC, but I suppose there are other interpretations.

Steve N.