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Rogue Audio RH-5 preamplifier-headphone amplifier Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I measured the Rogue RH-5 using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). The procedure was a little more complicated than I had anticipated, due to the fact that the RH-5 has three gain options (indicated on the display, in order of increasing gain, as "1," "2," and "3"), balanced and unbalanced line inputs and outputs, balanced and unbalanced headphone outputs, and a phono stage. I tried, therefore, to characterize the amplifier's behavior in all operational modes.

The RH-5's line inputs could handle high levels without…

Benchmark DAC3 HGC D/A preamplifier-headphone amplifier

Much has been written about the divide in high-end audio between subjectivists, who trust their ears, and objectivists, who believe that anything not scientifically proven is fake news. I respect both sides and am skeptical of both extremes, and I like to think that's how most audiophiles feel. High-end audio is about experiencing music—that's the whole point—but scientific and technological rigor lie behind every real advance, past and future. I regret the cynical snake-oil salesmanship, bad thinking, and clumsy engineering that pervade certain parts of our hobby.

A couple of days ago,…

Benchmark DAC3 HGC D/A preamplifier-headphone amplifier Page 2

Here's an experiment: Record your favorite LP with a high-quality analog-to-digital converter, then play that digital recording with a DAC and digitally record the DAC's output—again and again, with an ADC/DAC loop. What if you were to listen to, say, the 16th recording and find you can't distinguish it from the original LP? Siau says that, with the DAC3 HGC (footnote 6), he can detect the difference only on pass 17. Now imagine that the DAC3 has a sound of its own that is audible in a single pass. By pass 17, that "sound of its own" would be so exaggerated that it would mask everything…

Benchmark DAC3 HGC D/A preamplifier-headphone amplifier Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Two-channel D/A processor–preamplifier–headphone amplifier. Digital inputs (switchable): 1 USB, 2 optical, 2 coaxial. Input sampling frequencies: 28–210kHz (coaxial); 28–96kHz (optical); 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192kHz, DSD64 over DoP (USB). Maximum word length: 24 bits. Analog inputs: 2 pairs (RCA). Analog outputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), 2 pairs unbalanced (RCA), 2 headphone (1?4"). Frequency response at Fs=48kHz: 20Hz–20kHz, +0dB/–0.015dB; –0.015dB at 10Hz; –0.005dB at 20kHz; –0.031dB at 40kHz; –0.15dB at 80kHz. Signal/noise: 128dB, A-weighted.…

Benchmark DAC3 HGC D/A preamplifier-headphone amplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog Sources: Thorens TD 124 turntable (reconditioned by Schopper AG); Ortofon RMG-212 (rebuilt), Thomas Schick 12" tonearms; Ortofon 90th Anniversary SPU cartridge.
Digital Sources: MacBook Pro computer (early 2015); Roon Optimized Core Kit running on Intel NUC computer with SSD drive; Benchmark DAC1, Meridian Explorer2 USB, Mytek Brooklyn, PS Audio DirectStream DACs.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Standard step-up transformer, EAR 834P phono stage.
Power Amplifiers: PS Audio BHK Signature 300 Mono monoblocks.
Integrated Amplifier:…

Benchmark DAC3 HGC D/A preamplifier-headphone amplifier Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

I measured the Benchmark DAC3 HGC with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 As We See It"), using both the Audio Precision's optical and electrical digital outputs and USB data sourced from my MacBook Pro running on battery power with Pure Music 3.0 playing WAV and AIFF test-tone files. Apple's USB Prober utility identified the DAC3 as "Benchmark DAC2 USB Audio 2.0" from "Benchmark DAC2" (sic), with the serial-number field occupied by "0000." The USB port operated in the optimal isochronous asynchronous mode, and Apple's AudioMIDI utility…

Tripping with Terry Riley

Did I really listen to and love the hi-rez (24/44.1k) file equivalent of four CDs chock-full of piano music written by and for the great Terry Riley (b. 1935)? Not only is the answer in the affirmative, but I can now honestly attests that pianist/pedagogue Sarah Cahill's Eighty Trips Around the Sun abounds in opportunities to take you on multiple mind-bending excursions through the mind of a true master.

As the composer of In C (1964) and A Rainbow in Curved Air (1969), Riley's reputation as "The Father of Minimalism" is assured. But as much as those two compositions changed the course of…

Capital Audiofest Starts Friday

From a small regional show, Gary Gill's seven-year old Capital Audiofest has grown into the East Coast Show of 2017. Set for November 3–5 in the Hilton Hotel Twinbrook in Rockville, MD, CAF will offer 57 exhibit rooms spread over three floors plus the hotel Atrium. That amounts to 93 exhibitors and over 200 brands, including a CanMania with 20 headphone vendors. For a show that, just last year, maxed out at 40 rooms with 65 exhibitors and 85 brands, this represents major growth.

One big reason for CAF's growth, which includes the presence of several major companies, is the switch from…

Recording of March 1977: <I>Direct from Cleveland</I>

Direct From Cleveland
Orchestral works by De Falla, Bizet, Tchaikovsky, Berlioz
The Cleveland Orchestra, Lorin Maazel (cond.)
Telarc 5020 DD1 (LP). Robert Woods, prod.; Jack Renner, sound eng.; Glenn Glancy, Michael Bishop, disc-cutting engs.

Potentially the best news for perfectionists in years is the announcement of the first stereophonic direct-to-disc recording (in the US, at least) of a major symphony orchestra. Advent records of Cleveland, in collaboration with Discwasher, Inc. of Columbia, MO put four complete and usable runsthrough onto two sets of lacquers. The…

Music in the Round #87: Oppo UDP-205

For some months now, I've lived mostly without music. To survive the dust and grit of the renovation of our Manhattan apartment, all electronics had to be covered with heavy plastic, the speakers encapsulated in large green lawn bags, and the listening room partitioned off with a temporary wall. We could listen to music with our little 3.1-channel TV system in the den (eh) or through headphones (not!), or we could decamp to our house in Connecticut, which we did as much as possible. I felt deprived. Now that it's all over, I'm grateful to have it back—and grateful for the improvements in the…