Benchmark DAC1 HDR - Digital to Analog Converter, USB Interface, Pre-Amplifier

For anyone trying to achieve the finest quality available in their home entertainment system, the DAC1 HDR from Benchmark is the missing link that will really elevate your audio to its full potential. With multiple inputs for devices such as digital cable boxes, high-definition televisions, iPods, your personal computer and more, the DAC1 HDR was truly designed to be the heart of your audio entertainment world.

While it would be equally at home in a recording studio, the role that this inconspicuous device plays in your home entertainment system isn't immediately obvious. The DAC1 HDR enables you to enjoy the same premium audio converters, digital clock technology, and pristine analog circuitry that is usually only found in high-end production studios and mastering facilities.

To achieve this world-class audio quality in your home or business, you connect the digital audio outputs of your television, cable box, Blu Ray player, etc. into the inputs of the DAC1 HDR. You can also plug your computer (Mac and Windows compatible) into its USB port, so you can use the DAC1 HDR as the computer's audio output. You complete the installation by connecting the outputs of the DAC1 HDR into the inputs of the equipment you use to amplify sound; such as an auxiliary input on a home theater receiver, the inputs of an amplifier, the inputs of powered speakers, etc.

By attaching the digital outputs of your computer and home entertainment equipment to the digital inputs of the DAC1 HDR, you will be utilizing its premium quality D/A converters to decode all of that digital information into lush analog sound. Home entertainment users typically don't concern themselves with the quality of an audio component's converters, but in professional production studios the quality these components is absolutely critical. Using the digital inputs of the DAC1 HDR also means that you're taking advantage of its jitter-immune UltraLock clock system.

If you think about all of the digital processes taking place in today's home entertainment equipment, it's not hard to imagine the audio content getting jumbled and degraded from cost-effective electronics. A high-quality clock corrects this flow of information and eliminates poor sounding sideband tones and digital distortion that inferior components produce. It's a process that goes on in the background that you never have to worry about or adjust, and you will hear the results immediately.

The DAC1 HDR also features a finely tuned HPA2 headphone amplifier. If you ever want to indulge yourself in the rich textured tones a great pair of headphones can reproduce, this built-in high-current headphone amp will expose the finest details of your music collection like you've never heard before. Two headphone outputs are supplied, so the enjoyment of music and entertainment will remain a shared experience.

While the tasks that the DAC1 HDR carries out are unusual and complex, its integration into your system and its operation are both very simple. A refreshingly easy-to-use IR remote control is supplied that features just a few buttons. It enables you to fade down the volume for commercial breaks, and adjust the motorized volume control of the DAC1 HDR at your leisure. In order to take full advantage of the quality your system is capable of producing, owning the DAC1 HDR is a must.