Benchmark DAC1 vs CAL Sigma

Since, apparently, no one has done a direct comparison of the Cal Sigma with the Benchmark DAC 1 or the PS Audio, FWIW, maybe this is as close as you can get: I had a dac of approx. the same era, the MSB Half Nelson with upgraded power supply, and the Benchmark DAC1 ate it for lunch.

My friend had a Cal CD player of the same era, then replaced it with a new Classe CD 10 (I think it was), which cost $2,000 and was much superior to the Cal CD player, he thought. Then, he sold the Classe when he heard my Benchmark DAC1, which he felt was better than the Classe, and got a Benchmark also.

Looking at your system, I think a DAC1 would work very nicely, but be sure to use a reasonably good transport and a good digital cable.

Hope this helps.

Your shrillness at the top end could be either jittery hash from a DAC or it might be the metal drivers used on the F30. (All rigid metal drivers suffer from unwanted ringing and designers must all try to mitigate this within the crossover design - some people like this sound as it may sound more "etched" or detailed - others prefer paper/fabric damped cones as no crossover seems to completely cure the ringing problem)

Since you can usually get a Benchmark DAC1 for a home trial (from a pro music center), I'd recommend you try it and see and report back. If you don't find the DAC1 does enough for you then you can usually return it within 30 days - no questions.

I've owned both the Benchmark and the PS Audio, as well as a Musical Fidelity V-DAC, haven't heard the CAL.

To me, the Benchmark was too bright/harsh. The PS Audio was very nice, smooth yet detailed. But I ended up keeping the V-DAC. For about a third of the price of the PS Audio, it was very, very close. I'm still not sure if I heard a difference or if I thought the PS Audio was better because it looked nicer and cost more.

Good Luck

Dne, Thanks for the input, those comparisons are very helpful indeed. BTW I'm using a Morrow Audio DIG2 Reference Digital Coax & a Kimber OPT1 TosLink Cable with the Sigma.

Shadorne, Thanks for the helpful suggestions. I don't think that the F30's are the source of the shrillness. I've had the speakers since 2003 and have never had any issue whatsoever with upper end shrill until adding my old Sigma to the chain.

i used to own a sigma dac and i thought it sounded more to the warm side than having any shrillness to it. back then, i used a sony dvp9000es with it (the sony is a little bright on its own) and the sigma made it very enjoyable to listen. i thought the alpha was a step up to the sigma. as for the benchmark dac, i thought it was way cool sounding to me compared to other dac's. the other dac's that i have owned after the sigma that i thought were better sounding were from: audio research, manley, adcom gda-700, and the music hall 25.2 with an upgraded tube. the music hall is a sleeper of a dac. if you like tubes, you can roll the tube while using rca cables, while if you like a more solid state sound, use xlr cables to by-pass the tube. the other dac's to try are the new audio research dac-7, ayre, and the cary.
as for the comment above of somebody preferring the benchmark over the classe cdp-10, all i can say is that individual must like his music very analytical and bright sounding. i have a classe cdp-10 and that unit is much more musical sounding than the benchmark.