The Benchmark DAC3 L is a high-performance 2-channel D/A converter trusted by some of the world’s top recording and mastering engineers and appreciated by thousands of audiophiles. Building on the success of the acclaimed DAC1 and DAC2 families, the DAC3 L delivers exceptional sonic transparency and detail, setting a new reference in D/A conversion.
The Benchmark DAC3 L offers all the core performance of Benchmark’s flagship DAC3 HGC, but omits the internal headphone amplifier, making it ideal for users who don’t require headphone monitoring. It incorporates Benchmark’s most advanced digital technology to date, centred around the ESS ES9028PRO converter chip. This results in lower total harmonic distortion and noise than the previous-generation DAC2, and offers remarkable stereo imaging and musical clarity.
Internally, the Benchmark DAC3 L processes audio at 32-bit resolution and includes 3.5 dB of headroom above 0 dBFS to eliminate DSP overloads, a common problem in many other D/A converters. Each balanced analogue output is created by summing four balanced 32-bit D/A converters, providing a 6 dB noise reduction and ensuring best-in-class performance.
All digital inputs support native 192 kHz PCM and DSD64, with DSD transported via DoP 1.1. The Benchmark DAC3 L performs native conversion of both DSD and PCM without any format translation, preserving the original audio quality. Seamless switching between native formats ensures maximum integrity during playback.
Designed for direct connection to power amplifiers, the DAC3 L includes Benchmark’s passive low-impedance attenuators at the XLR outputs. These help optimise gain staging, ensuring each component in the signal path operates at its ideal level, significantly improving overall system performance.
Transparency is at the heart of the Benchmark DAC3 L. It is engineered to provide a completely uncoloured and natural sound, crucial for studio monitoring and equally beneficial in high-fidelity home systems. Unlike products that add euphonic colouration, the Benchmark DAC3 L is designed to reveal recordings exactly as they were captured, letting the listener experience the music as the artist intended.
Whether monitoring a mix or listening at home, the Benchmark DAC3 L offers a neutral and highly revealing listening experience. It invites users to step into the recording space, allowing well-produced tracks to transport them directly to the performance itself, an effect that only the most transparent systems can deliver.
The Benchmark DAC3 L incorporates a wealth of advanced digital and analogue design technologies to achieve exceptional transparency and fidelity. At its core is the ESS ES9028PRO converter chip, enhanced by Benchmark’s ultra-clean analogue stages that allow full use of the chip’s dual harmonic compensation systems, which reduce 2nd and 3rd harmonic distortion. This gives the DAC3 L one of the lowest total harmonic distortion figures of any D/A converter available.
The Benchmark DAC3 L features Benchmark’s UltraLock3™ jitter attenuation system, which locks to incoming signals within 6 milliseconds while eliminating jitter-induced artefacts beyond the threshold of audibility. Internal processing is performed at 32-bit resolution, with 3.5 dB of headroom above 0 dBFS to prevent distortion caused by inter-sample overs, an often overlooked source of harshness in many converters.
A key design strength of the Benchmark DAC3 L is its quad 32-bit balanced conversion system. Four DAC channels are summed for each stereo output, achieving a 6 dB improvement in signal-to-noise ratio while averaging out non-linearities to reduce distortion. This high-precision digital section feeds Benchmark’s carefully engineered low-impedance analogue output stages, resulting in an uncoloured and highly dynamic signal path.
The Benchmark DAC3 L also includes Benchmark’s passive output attenuators, allowing direct connection to power amplifiers with optimised gain staging. Unlike the DAC3 HGC, the DAC3 L omits a headphone amplifier but retains the Hybrid Gain Control architecture for system-level volume control. This includes a servo-driven analogue volume control, digital gain control for digital inputs, and passive attenuators, ensuring optimal gain structure without introducing unwanted noise or distortion.
Connectivity is wide-ranging, including native DSD64 and PCM up to 192 kHz via USB Audio 2.0. Benchmark’s asynchronous USB implementation avoids jitter and requires no drivers on macOS. A sample-rate and word-length display ensures media playback is operating as expected, avoiding hidden down-sampling or bit truncation.
Additional features include a polarity switch, home theatre bypass mode with unity gain pass-through, digital pass-through on coaxial output, a bidirectional 12-volt trigger, and ultra-low standby power consumption of less than 0.5 watts. Power is managed through distributed low-noise regulation and is compatible with international voltages without manual adjustment.
The Benchmark DAC3 L represents a reference-class solution for critical listening environments where transparency, precision, and direct amplifier connectivity are essential.
Features
- Sample Rate Display
- Word Length Display
- 5 Digital Inputs
- 2 Stereo Analog Inputs (2 RCA)
- 3 Stereo Analog Outputs (2 RCA, 1 XLR)
- Digital Pass Through
- Native DSD Conversion
- Polarity Switch
- Asynchronous USB 2.0
- Home Theater Bypass
- Bi-Directional 12 Volt Trigger
- Power Switch
- Low Power Consumption
- ES9028PRO Converter
