Here we go!
Ok, I've had some time listening to the Benchmark and TriVista side by side and am ready with my first round impressions and notes. Of course, all that follows are perceptions that I hear/feel/express in my room with my components. Your results may vary. So, without further ado, here is where we stand after day 1
Comparo Round 1:
As I stated earlier, at a tiny 9 in long by 9 or so deep, the Benchmark DAC1 isn’t going to win over any audiophile’s heart on looks alone. My TriVista looks like Godzilla and the Benchmark looks like an iguana in comparison. The good news…it fits ANYWHERE. There isn’t a place or a rack this won’t squeeze into. Also, All of my LED lighting is a Deep blue – from the Blue “M” logos on the Odysseys to the Velo Sub, and all of my components. The Benchmark fits right in on that note. But since my rack is pretty full, the HD-DVD player had to get the boot in order to do the A/B comparisons (that’s what it gets for losing the format war and making me have a useless player). I have two digi coax cables. One, the VDM-5 is Silver. The other, a VDM-1, is copper. Suspecting that the sole silver cable in my line up is bringing an unwanted brightness to my otherwise super sweet sounding Classe’s, I will use both to see if there are noticeable changes. I will play three songs – each played 8 times. Four times for each DAC. Two with Silver, two with Copper. My review is really just my notes taken during listening with maybe tiding the sentence fragments up a bit.
Using the VDM1 with the Benchmark:
The Peter Malick Group featuring Nora Jones Track2 Strange Transmissions:
Cymbals sound natural and are prominent as if the drummer is striking the hi hat here in the room with me. Nora’s voice is a bit too full if not a bit boomy, Bass drum is full but maybe a tad uncontrolled. The rest of the percussion is to die for. Soundstage is as wide as the speakers in the front, but arcs out with good depth ranging from behind the speakers to behind me for the piano. Good separation of instruments without losing composure. Everything stayed where it should during the entire song.
Nora Jones: come away with me Hybrid SACD Track3: cold cold heart:
Overall Nora’s voice came through very nicely without any harshness, nor too full and boomy. Piano sounded very natural and detailed and again the benchmark did not disappoint in clearly discerning where each instrument was playing from. Soundstage was larger than previous CD, and this may be because this cd has superior mastering.
Nora Jones: come away with me Hybrid SACD Track4: Feelin the same way:: This track can easily become overwhelming with my denon on it’s own. The electronic instruments bloom too much, and the fretwork on the guitars that should come through very nice and clear from the left and right speakers sound blurred a bit. The Benchmark was very good at presenting a consistent soundstage regardless of pace. Her voice again may have been a tad boomy and resonant in the mid range, but never too sharp in the high frequencies.
Replacing the VDM-1 with the VDM5 and repeating same tracks:
Definitely more detail shows through
The piano sounded less natural and more pronounced. This cable widens the soundstage but I feel like the sound is more forward and more analytical than the VDM1. The 1 sounds more intimate and more tube like where the midrange is a bit more laid back and sweeter. I think the VDM5 is more transparent and colors the sound less allowing the Benchmark to sound more forward and less colored like Solid state should. The VDM5 also made it feel like I had turned the volume up higher.
Musical Fidelity TriVista21 using the VDM-5
The Peter Malick Group featuring Nora Jones Track2 Strange Transmissions:
Definitely more engaging than the Benchmark here. I find myself moving with the music more with the tube DAC than the SS. Nora’s voice is more natural and real. But it’s obvious the DAC is adding that sweetness everyone speaks of with tubes. The benchmark doesn’t paint the musical picture like the TriVista does. The Benchmark provides a clear window to view the music through, if not a bit dull. It is very composed and even tempered. The TriVista is more alive and engaging, but adds something to the music that wasn’t there before. I felt that I lacked a bit of the separation when compared with the Benchmark. The details were all there, but some were more pronounced than others. The Benchmark seemed to even everything out so that your attention wasn’t completely drawn to one specific instrument.
Nora Jones: come away with me Hybrid SACD Track3: cold cold heart: Voice is so natural and feels like she’s in the room. Piano sounds very full bodied but completely composed and the soundstage is very large. Not one harsh note where the Benchmark fumbled a bit here with the silver cable. The decay of the piano notes are more natural and real sounding to me. I had to resist the urge to turn up the volume and remind myself of the reference level I was comparing these songs at. I would definitely give the nod to the TriVista on this track. It was much more involving.
Nora Jones: come away with me Hybrid SACD Track4: Feelin the same way:
With the VDM5, the TriVista sounded excellent. Fast paced and large soundstage. Vocals sounded liquid smooth like she was in the room.
Again it was more engaging, but I couldn’t help feeling that I may have lacked a bit of the separation that the Benchmark provided.
Using the VDM-1 with the TriVista repeating same tracks above:
Switching to the VDM1 with the TriVista revealed mixed emotions. I liked Nora’s voice a bit better with the 1, but it brought the instruments too far forward and in my face. I didn’t like the more forward presentation with the TriVista. I liked the more intimate playback received by the VDM5. I was actually surprised I liked the 5 better than the 1 in this respect. But cymbals sounded better on the 1 than the 5. I believe this may have actually been because of the more pronounced and forward presentation of the music.
In Summary based on initial impressions:
The Benchmark may be good for extensive long listening sessions if you listen at higher volumes. It seems to be very consistent regardless of pace with regard to instrument separation and has great composure. It never misses a beat or muddies up the instrumentals. But there are downsides too. It’s not nearly as engaging as the TriVista is; that is, I found myself getting more involved with the music listening through the TriVista. It has the ability to make vocals sound more lifelike and real, as if the artist is in the room with you.
The Benchmark is amazing with Snare drums and the closest to perfect I’ve heard in my system with cymbals. I kept wanting to rewind tracks to the cymbals and high hats because they were so natural. This DAC is way beyond it’s price point here. I have always liked how the TriVista sounded with cymbals, but the Benchmark does it better.
The Trivista has a wider and deeper soundstage. I felt that “wall of music” experience with the TriVista. The Benchmark was a bit more constrained here.
The Benchmark also performed it’s best with the VDM-1 and not the more expensive silver VDM-5. I enjoyed listening with the “1” a lot more. If I were to keep the Benchmark, I’d hook it up to a copper cable in my system. Silver didn’t seem to bring out it’s strong suits to me. In fact, I like the Benchmark with the VDM-1 so much that I’m not ready to give it up just yet. It’s not exciting to listen to like the MF DAC is, but it does such a great job with separation of instruments and the natural sound presentation that it’s hard not to like. I would want to find a way to make Nora’s voice a bit more like the TriVista maybe through trying different brands of cables, but that coupled with a smaller soundstage is really all I have to gripe about, if anything at all. They are both great in my book. I will do more testing with more dynamic material tomorrow. :music: