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 can be passed through to the D4 connector. This even includes special signals such as DoP, DTS, Dolby Digital, even when these signals cannot be decoded by the DAC3.
Polarity Control
Each digital input can be inverted, to correct polarity problems. Some listeners report that polarity is incorrect on some recordings, and that they enjoy an improved listening experience when this is corrected. To toggle, use the POLARITY button on the front panel or press and hold the ON button on the remote.
HT Mode
The HT mode sets the volume control to a calibrated level that is near its maximum setting. In HT mode the analog gain is set to 0 dB (unity gain). Likewise the digital attenuation is set to 0 dB (maximum output). The HT light is illuminated when the HT mode is active.
The HT mode is similar to the CALIBRATED switch setting on the DAC1 except that it is programmable per input. This flexibility allows seamless integration into home theater systems where the DAC3 handles the main left and right channels.
Bi-directional 12V Trigger
The 12 Volt trigger can be connected to other audio components so that an entire audio system can turn on and off in a sequenced fashion. The DAC3 trigger I/O can be connected to a preamplifier, power amplifier, or both. The DAC3 will pull the trigger I/O to 12 volts DC while the DAC3 is on. If the DAC3 is off and an external device pulls the trigger I/O to 12 volts, the DAC3 will turn on.
DAC3 vs. DAC2
The DAC3 builds upon Benchmark’s highly successful DAC2 product family. The DAC3 maintains the familiar DAC2 form factor, but adds the higher performance available from the new ES9028PRO D/A converter. The DAC3 offers the following improvements over the DAC2:
Active 2nd Harmonic Compensation Active 3rd Harmonic Compensation Lower THD Lower passband ripple Improved frequency response Increased Dynamic Range Faster PLL lock times Faster switching between inputs
Features
HGC™ (Hybrid Gain Control) – combines motor-driven active analog potentiometers, 32-bit digital attenuators, and passive analog attenuators, to achieve state-of-the-art performance Low-Impedance Passive Output Pads – 0, 10, and 20 dB – optimize output level to power amplifiers and other downstream devices to maximize system SNR (Page 27)
SABRE PRO - 32-bit PCM D/A conversion system, four 32-bit D/A converters per channel
SABRE PRO – Native DSD D/A conversion system, four 1-bit DSD D/A converters per channel Benchmark UltraLock3™ Jitter Attenuation System – eliminates jitter-induced distortion
High Headroom DSP - provides 3.5 dB of analog and digital headroom above 0 dBFS to completely eliminate the clipping of intersample peaks
Multi-Mode Asynchronous USB Audio 2.0 – 24 bit/192 kHz, DSD (DoP 1.1)
Driverless Asynchronous USB Audio 1.1 – 24-bit/96 kHz Sample Rate Display – displays the measured sample rate, and format (PCM or DSD)
Word Length Display – displays the measured word length
HPA2™ reference-grade "0-Ohm" headphone power amplifier with dual high-current outputs (DAC3 HGC only)
HPA2™ gain jumpers for customizing headphone output gain for headphone sensitivities (DAC3 HGC only) (Page 27)
2 Headphone Output Jacks – one jack automatically mutes the main outputs (DAC3 HGC only), mute feature can be disabled (Page 27)
2 Coaxial Digital Inputs – 24-bit/192 kHz PCM, DSD (DoP 1.1) 2 Optical Digital Inputs – 24-bit/96 kHz PCM 1 Coaxial Digital Output – digital pass through from USB, Coax, and optical inputs when function is enabled (Page 29)
2 Stereo Analog Inputs – 2 pairs unbalanced (RCA) 3 Stereo Analog Outputs – 1 pair balanced (XLR), plus 2 pairs unbalanced (RCA) IR Remote with metal housing provides control of all functions (optional on some models) HT Bypass – places analog inputs in a unity-gain pass-through mode, sets digital inputs to a calibrated output level - all inputs can be individually programmed (Page 17)
Polarity Switch – inverts the polarity of selected digital inputs Mute – accessible from remote or front panel Dim – Reduces output level by 20 dB, accessible from remote or front panel Automatic De-Emphasis – automatically responds to consumer pre-emphasis bit (44.1, 48 kHz) 12V Trigger I/O – bi-directional 12V trigger can act as input, output, or both (Page 15)
AUTO-ON Function - can be programmed to turn on when AC is applied (Page 14) Power Switch – very low standby power , <0.5 W at 120 VAC High-Efficiency Low-Noise Power Supplies – only 12-15 W, 88-264 VAC, 50-60 Hz Meets FCC Class B and CE emissions requirements Tested for immunity to radiated and conducted RF interference
copy and pasted from manual for info only