Randy, I heard the Benchmark as well. HGC3 with 9028PRO. Just had to compare. It's a good unit. Where I believe you'll notice the differences is in the ability of the new W4S V2 Dac to portray a musically superior reproduction of what data you're listening too. Music is more musical,dynamic,analog. Yes analog. No digital signatures. Easy to listen and no listener fatigue ever. Throw in more detail,information retrieval,expanded sound stage front to back and side to side. Well. You get the point. I've been in this business for almost 30 years. I had gotten so jaded to the claims of newer and better that they didn't ring true for me anymore so I rebuilt OEM units with upgraded components. Reason EMOTIVA is equipment I use and find it satisfactory. That being said,between the release of a new chip by ESS that was really a significant upgrade over the previous got me curious. Then having spoken to you my appetite got overwhelming. Plus your suggestion of using the Remedy was well received. THANK YOU Randy! If it weren't for you I'd still be thinking of upgrading speakers, amps,pre, etc. Nope. No more. I believe I've reached my Nirvana with this new DAC. It's that Great! I believe how you implement digital technology is just as important as how great the parts are suppose to be. So many high end Dacs use the same chip but sound different. Parts quality is part of the equation as well as implementation of the circuitry that was designed. Here I have to give the highest kudo's to W4S.
Randy. Give it a try. You'll never know what you missed out on.
Thanks again for all your input.
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