Instruction Manual for DAC3 HGC and DAC3 L with 2.X Firmware Page 20
does not have a mute switch. The audio output
on both jacks is wired in parallel and is driven
by Benchmark's HPA2™ headphone power
amplifier.
The HPA2™ is one of the most transparent
headphone amplifiers available. It also is able
to deliver high current and/or high signal
levels making it well suited for a wide variety
of headphones. The near 0-Ohm output
impedance provides outstanding damping of
headphone drivers. This damping reduces
distortion while maintaining precise control of
the frequency response at the output of the
amplifier.
The HPA2™ has a set of 3-position gain-
range jumpers that can be used to increase or
decrease the gain by 10 dB relative to the
factory calibrated setting.
The jumpers change the gain of the HPA2™
headphone amplifier without changing the
output impedance. This keeps the output
impedance of the HPA2™ constant and very
near 0 Ohms. External attenuators should
never be inserted after a headphone amplifier
as this would change the output impedance
and alter the frequency response of the
headphones.
Proper gain settings are important for
maximizing the SNR of the headphone
monitoring system. With proper settings, the
full performance of the DAC3 can be
delivered to the headphones for critical
monitoring tasks and for maximum musical
enjoyment.
Tip: When the headphone gain jumpers are
set properly, a normal listening level will be
achieved at a VOLUME control setting above
the 11 o'clock position.
Tip: If a normal listening level is achieved
below an 11 o’clock VOLUME setting, the
headphone gain is too high, and the gain
should be decreased.
Tip: If the level is too low at the maximum
VOLUME setting, the headphone gain is too
low, and the gain should be increased.
Digital Pass-Through
The second coaxial input (D4) can be
reconfigured as a digital output. When
operating as an output, any selected digital
input is passed through to D4 without any
processing.
Optical, coaxial, and USB inputs (U, D1, D2
and D3) can be passed through to the D4
connector. The signals are buffered but are
not processed in any way. For this reason,
any data format can be passed through to the
D4 connector, even when these formats
cannot be decoded by the DAC3. Surround
formats, such as DTS, Dolby Digital, cannot
be decoded by the DAC3, but they can be
passed to a surround system using the digital
pass-through function.
The digital pass-through can also be used to
provide the following digital signal
conversions:
• Optical to Coaxial
• USB to Coaxial
• Coaxial to Coaxial (buffering)
DoP encapsulated DSD can also be passed
through D4. DSD files on a computer can be
sent in DoP to the USB input on the DAC3.
The USB input can be routed to coaxial
output D4. This output can be recorded by
any 24-bit, 176.4 kHz digital recorder with a
coaxial input. The PCM digital recorder can
then be used to play the DSD recordings.
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