What do you replace a Benchmark with for 24/96?

Benie, I have been thinking that lately but I am also looking for a way to warm up the sound a little. The Benchmark sounds a little cold vs. the Onkyo but the Benchmark is certainly more dynamic with better impact. If I could get that but with a alittle tube sound I would be in heaven.

Fishwater, I know what you mean. I really like my Benchmark Dac but For 7 months ran it Direct to my amp as I found it much better than the preamps (ss,tube) I tried. But I found Magic with a New Tube Preamp from Space Tech.Labs. It put me way into the next level, can't say enough about this Preamp. Mine is pictured on his website it's the the one with the tube rectifier + bigger Power Suppy.http://www.space-tech-lab.com/SP-QA-111-BAL.html All his Models are handmade point to point wiring and I am just a happy custmer.

I love my pre-amp, a modwright 9.0, I am really looking to get the DAC up to the next level. Seems like it is pretty hard to beat this DAC at the price & slightly above.

The Lavry Black will overcome the thinness of the Benchmark, and improve the sound in general, but you will still need to use rca to xlr adaptors on the Lavry for a second coaxial SPDIF. The receiver used in both the Benchmark and the Lavry automatically decode SPDIF or AES/EBU through either connection. For the source you use adaptors on, it is important to keep the cables short - a meter is OK. FWIW I found that adaptors into the XLR input on a Lavry Blue was better than using a Canare 75 to 110 ohm transformer.

Fishwater If you want a little tube warmth maybe think about put a good tube buffer between the Dac + pre. same brand as my preamp. a friend back east has the 103 tube buffer on his CD player on said it was a 30% improvement in Sonics. Bal. or RCA in/outputs, there are afew models to choose from. Keep your Dac and get some warmth,30 day money back on the products