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Within the past week, I’ve been able to mix, match and compare the following. Benchmark DAC1, Rotel RCD-1072 using Nordost Red Dawn I/C’s (balanced) and Cat Cables Kingcats RCA’s and Audioquest King Cobra RCA’s.
The Rotel and King Cobra’s I’ve had for a while, the others are newer acquisitions.
At this point I’m running everything through my Sony 777ES pre/pro. Please review my profile to see my other equipment.
Using the Rotel with the AQ King Cobra cables has been a joy. My favorite music range from jazz, blues to hard rock.
Comparing the Rotel to the Benchmark using the AQ cables there was betterment in favor of the Benchmark. This was found in two areas, the low midrange and the upper treble. The first was reduced which appeared so as to not mask the other frequencies. The latter was more subtle than the first, upper ranges were slightly better defined, I mean slightly. Frankly, I had expected more out of the Benchmark.
Next I received my Nordost Red Dawn, balanced. I connected these directly from the Benchmark to my Proceed Amp because my Sony didn’t have Balance inputs. The lower frequencies were fat and less defined than the AQ cables. Less definition in the lower midrange as well. I’ve read very good reviews of this combination and wanted to give the Benchmark every opportunity to prove itself. I’m continuing to put many hours of break in to these cables which are producing some results.
I expect them to get slightly better defined with some additional time, but I’m not expecting a transformation of their sound far above where they’re currently at.
I then received my Kingcats from CAT Cables. I connected them from my Benchmark to the Proceed Amp. Using the 9th track on Tracy Chapman’s New Beginning cd I was somewhat bewildered.
The opening guitar track was very scalped and dynamic. The upper midrange and treble were very clear and smooth, more in front. Any type of low frequency grunge had disappeared. Why hadn’t I heard that before? Switching to two Diana Krull cd’s, her voice was as smooth as I’d ever heard it. She was just “there”. The heavy hitting bass guitar from Joss Stone’s first cd, Mind, Body and Soul was a joy to listen to. The lower frequencies were firm with more punch than the other cables. The female voices from these and other cd’s had a greater texture and dynamic. These were NOT subtle changes. These was a GREATER improvement when comparing the difference between my Rotel RB-1080 amp to my Proceed Amp 3, which to me, said a lot.
I then connected the Kingcats to the Rotel cd player and the AQ cables to the Benchmark. The difference between the two almost disappeared. The Benchmark still maintained an edge but the difference was only subtle and would not have prevented me from returning the Benchmark to the mfr.
I have come away with the following impressions. The Benchmark can offer a great deal as long as the proper output cables are used. As for the Kingcats, I’m truly impressed.
The improvements I’ve heard were unexpected. I had expected this from the Benchmark alone which wasn’t the case. But when matched with the Kingcats, I now understand why the Benchmark has it's reputation.
Jeff
The Rotel and King Cobra’s I’ve had for a while, the others are newer acquisitions.
At this point I’m running everything through my Sony 777ES pre/pro. Please review my profile to see my other equipment.
Using the Rotel with the AQ King Cobra cables has been a joy. My favorite music range from jazz, blues to hard rock.
Comparing the Rotel to the Benchmark using the AQ cables there was betterment in favor of the Benchmark. This was found in two areas, the low midrange and the upper treble. The first was reduced which appeared so as to not mask the other frequencies. The latter was more subtle than the first, upper ranges were slightly better defined, I mean slightly. Frankly, I had expected more out of the Benchmark.
Next I received my Nordost Red Dawn, balanced. I connected these directly from the Benchmark to my Proceed Amp because my Sony didn’t have Balance inputs. The lower frequencies were fat and less defined than the AQ cables. Less definition in the lower midrange as well. I’ve read very good reviews of this combination and wanted to give the Benchmark every opportunity to prove itself. I’m continuing to put many hours of break in to these cables which are producing some results.
I expect them to get slightly better defined with some additional time, but I’m not expecting a transformation of their sound far above where they’re currently at.
I then received my Kingcats from CAT Cables. I connected them from my Benchmark to the Proceed Amp. Using the 9th track on Tracy Chapman’s New Beginning cd I was somewhat bewildered.
The opening guitar track was very scalped and dynamic. The upper midrange and treble were very clear and smooth, more in front. Any type of low frequency grunge had disappeared. Why hadn’t I heard that before? Switching to two Diana Krull cd’s, her voice was as smooth as I’d ever heard it. She was just “there”. The heavy hitting bass guitar from Joss Stone’s first cd, Mind, Body and Soul was a joy to listen to. The lower frequencies were firm with more punch than the other cables. The female voices from these and other cd’s had a greater texture and dynamic. These were NOT subtle changes. These was a GREATER improvement when comparing the difference between my Rotel RB-1080 amp to my Proceed Amp 3, which to me, said a lot.
I then connected the Kingcats to the Rotel cd player and the AQ cables to the Benchmark. The difference between the two almost disappeared. The Benchmark still maintained an edge but the difference was only subtle and would not have prevented me from returning the Benchmark to the mfr.
I have come away with the following impressions. The Benchmark can offer a great deal as long as the proper output cables are used. As for the Kingcats, I’m truly impressed.
The improvements I’ve heard were unexpected. I had expected this from the Benchmark alone which wasn’t the case. But when matched with the Kingcats, I now understand why the Benchmark has it's reputation.
Jeff
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