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150 July/August 2013 the absolute sound

uring the years that J. Gordon Holt and I made

recordings together he often complained about the lack

of “pro” audio gear being reviewed in consumer audio

publications. Many times he found a particular piece of gear

that he wanted to review, but because it was sold and marketed

principally to professional audio engineers, it was deemed by his

editors to be inappropriate. He found this so irritating that he

didn’t write as many reviews in his later years as he might have, if

given freer rein. Gordon’s last reference speakers, the ATC SC-

40s, were just such a “prosumer” product.

Flash forward ten years; computer audio has reduced the gap

between pro and consumer gear to the point where they are

almost interchangeable. This convergence of current-generation

consumer and pro gear is a result of parallel technical paths. The

latest computer-audio pro and consumer products employ the

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concepts. Nowadays differences in input/output options, routing

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separating pro from consumer devices.

The latest generations of state-of-the-art DAC chips from

Cirrus Logic, Wolfson, and ESS have the built-in capability to

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this added capability are from companies whose prime focus

has been the pro market: Mytek, Benchmark, and Lynx. But

the $1595 Mytek Stereo192-DSD-DAC, $1995 Benchmark

DAC2 HGC, and $2495 Lynx Hilo all bridge the gap between

pro and consumer so completely that, except for where they

are purchased, the difference is moot. I have no doubt that this

would have pleased J. Gordon Holt immensely.

The Mytek Stereo192-DSD-DAC

Manufactured in Poland, the Mytek Stereo192-DSD-DAC was

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were A/Ds and D/As for the pro recording market. According

to one of Mytek’s background papers, “The ADCs and DACs

prototypes designed by Michal have been used to record many

now classic albums of David Bowie, Lou Reed, Mariah Carey,

James Taylor, B52’s, and many more.” In 2005 Jurewicz was

commissioned to design a DSD master-recorder for Sony’s

SACD division. And while SACD’s moment in the audio sun

was distressingly brief, the experience put Jurewicz in an ideal

position to make a DAC/pre that supports DSD.

The Mytek Stereo192-DSD-DAC comes in three versions.

The differences involve ergonomics and cosmetics. Fortunately

for consumers, all three have the same price. The “standard”

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chassis 192-DSD-DAC has front-panel volume-level LEDs

Three

New DSD-

Capable

DACs

Mytek Stereo192-DSD-

DAC, Benchmark DAC2

HGC, and Lynx Hilo

Reference A/D D/A

Converter

Steven Stone

EQUIPMENT REPORT

Summary of content (8 pages)

PAGE 1
EQUIPMENT REPORT Three New DSDCapable DACs Mytek Stereo192-DSDDAC, Benchmark DAC2 HGC, and Lynx Hilo Reference A/D D/A Converter Steven Stone uring the years that J. Gordon Holt and I made recordings together he often complained about the lack of “pro” audio gear being reviewed in consumer audio publications.
PAGE 2
EQUIPMENT REPORT - Three New DSD-Capable DACs below the LCD panel, while the silver version has none. Input and output options on the black and silver 192s are identical. The “Mastering” Stereo192-DSD-DAC has a front panel similar to the black standard version, but instead of an analog passthrough it substitutes a dedicated DSD input for 128x (5.
PAGE 3
EQUIPMENT REPORT - Three New DSD-Capable DACs exclusively for a week or so the logic of Mytek’s nested menu options becomes second nature. The Stereo192-DSD-DAC also supports a remote control, an Apple remote to be exact. Any Apple remote can be coupled to the Stereo192-DSD-DAC, as can an RC-5-style universal remote. Two of the small buttons on the front panel are function buttons.
PAGE 4
EQUIPMENT REPORT - Three New DSD-Capable DACs problem.” His review generated quite a bit of controversy, with some audiophiles agreeing that the DAC1 was utterly transparent, DQG RWKHUV ÀQGLQJ LW WR EH RYHUO\ PDWWHU RI IDFW DQG ODFNLQJ LQ DLU pace, and ambience retrieval. ([FHSW IRU KHDULQJ D '$& EULHÁ\ DW VHYHUDO DXGLR VKRZV , haven’t spent much time listening to the DAC1 so I wouldn’t venture an opinion on its ultimate sonic quality.
PAGE 5
EQUIPMENT REPORT - Three New DSD-Capable DACs analog circuit outperformed the DAC by a wide margin, but in the DAC2 the superior DAC and DSP allows the conversion stage to approach the limits of the analog circuitry. Most of the negative comments I’ve read about the DAC1 revolved around its lack of dimensionality and dynamics, rendering its presentation overly left-brained and emotionally uninvolving. The DAC2 is quite different.
PAGE 6
Three New DSD-Capable DACs - EQUIPMENT the electronics in my playback chain. And anyone who’s doing FRPSDULVRQV EHWZHHQ '6' DQG 3&0 YHUVLRQV RI D ÀOH QHHGV WR give greater consideration to his conversion methodology. If a reviewer doesn’t know or hasn’t bothered to control how a DSD ÀOH ZDV FRQYHUWHG WR 3&0 KLV FRQFOXVLRQV DERXW VRQLF TXDOLW\ and differences between PCM and DSD are highly suspect.
PAGE 7
EQUIPMENT REPORT - Three New DSD-Capable DACs link in the reproduction chain, if indeed they were in the past. For me the bottom line on the Benchmark DAC2 HGC is that is it not only good enough to live with long-term, it’s good enough to use for any mastering or recording projects that might come up. The DAC2 HGC is easy to listen through, highly revealing, and with well-recorded material astonishingly three-dimensional. 64x (2.8MHz) for DSD.
PAGE 8
EQUIPMENT REPORT - Three New DSD-Capable DACs volume controls. Perhaps on subsequent versions Lynx could FKDQJH LWV ODEHOLQJ IURP ´OLQH RXWµ WR ´À[HG OHYHO OLQH RXWµ WR avoid subjecting overeager users to the sonic blast I experienced. If you wish to use the Hilo to directly drive a basic power DPSOLÀHU RU DFWLYH VSHDNHUV WKDW ODFN WKHLU RZQ YROXPH adjustments, you must use the “monitor out” outputs.