The Zardoz Ultimo Transport starts around $1k and goes up to around $4k depending on the upgrades you want. It's a superb DAC and will also allow you to send music wirelessly from your Mac Mini (cuts off the source, feel free to message me if you don't understand how network transfer works).
The Other option is the Mojo Audio DAC, which I've been somewhat beta testing over the last 6 months. It's better than the Z, but it'll cost right around $2k.
There are other options in the pro-audio realm, the TC Studio Konnect 48 is a stellar piece of gear for $700-1k. If you aren't familiar with routing and using pro-audio I can help with that. But the TC is lower noise than the Mojo Audio and Z. We can get a little more expensive also into the $4k range and skyrocket into the $30k+ performance range.
Of the three units you mentioned the Havana is by far the most musical. The problem is that the tubes are noisy. The Benchmark is VERY bright and analytical. You don't want any oversampling DACs. They destroy the emotional content of the music and give an artificial sense of detail. Oversampling uses an algorithm to correct for information that either isn't there. That algorithm creates jitter, which means timing errors. So you may have a more detailed sound, but you loose the proper time tune and tone of the music.
So I'd recommend going with a good NOS DAC. All of the DACs I mentioned I have owned or had in my system for a good length of time. I currently own the Prism Sound Orpheus.
You can't go wrong with any of the DACs I mentioned. They are all in the top tier of performance.
The Other option is the Mojo Audio DAC, which I've been somewhat beta testing over the last 6 months. It's better than the Z, but it'll cost right around $2k.
There are other options in the pro-audio realm, the TC Studio Konnect 48 is a stellar piece of gear for $700-1k. If you aren't familiar with routing and using pro-audio I can help with that. But the TC is lower noise than the Mojo Audio and Z. We can get a little more expensive also into the $4k range and skyrocket into the $30k+ performance range.
Of the three units you mentioned the Havana is by far the most musical. The problem is that the tubes are noisy. The Benchmark is VERY bright and analytical. You don't want any oversampling DACs. They destroy the emotional content of the music and give an artificial sense of detail. Oversampling uses an algorithm to correct for information that either isn't there. That algorithm creates jitter, which means timing errors. So you may have a more detailed sound, but you loose the proper time tune and tone of the music.
So I'd recommend going with a good NOS DAC. All of the DACs I mentioned I have owned or had in my system for a good length of time. I currently own the Prism Sound Orpheus.
You can't go wrong with any of the DACs I mentioned. They are all in the top tier of performance.