As audiophiles, we use the term to mean a standard by which we judge everything else.
For example, one of my benchmarks is the DirectStream DAC. It's a benchmark not so much for DACs but for preamplifiers. For years I went from DirectStream straight into the power amplifiers. The shortest signal path possible. That was my benchmark.
Then along came first the Aesthetix Calypso preamplifier and later the BHK preamp that moved my benchmark.
It's good to have benchmarks.
It's how we can judge new arrivals.
Benchmark
by Paul McGowan
The term benchmark, or bench mark, originates from the chiseled horizontal marks that surveyors made in stone structures, into which an angle-iron could be placed to form a "bench" for a leveling rod, thus ensuring that a leveling rod could be accurately repositioned in the same place in the future. These marks were usually indicated with a chiseled arrow below the horizontal line.
As audiophiles, we use the term to mean a standard by which we judge everything else.
For example, one of my benchmarks is the DirectStream DAC. It's a benchmark not so much for DACs but for preamplifiers. For years I went from DirectStream straight into the power amplifiers. The shortest signal path possible. That was my benchmark.
Then along came first the Aesthetix Calypso preamplifier and later the BHK preamp that moved my benchmark.
It's good to have benchmarks.
It's how we can judge new arrivals.
As audiophiles, we use the term to mean a standard by which we judge everything else.
For example, one of my benchmarks is the DirectStream DAC. It's a benchmark not so much for DACs but for preamplifiers. For years I went from DirectStream straight into the power amplifiers. The shortest signal path possible. That was my benchmark.
Then along came first the Aesthetix Calypso preamplifier and later the BHK preamp that moved my benchmark.
It's good to have benchmarks.
It's how we can judge new arrivals.
Paul McGowan
Founder & CEO
Never miss a post
SubscribeRelated Posts
-
The new
Paul McGowan -
A little to the left
Paul McGowan -
The second base run
Paul McGowan -
A simple solution
Paul McGowan
Keep reading
View all-
Table of Contents – Issue 213
Happy holidays from all of us at Copper! There are countless holiday and end-of-year releases, but topmost on my wish list is Talking Heads: 77 Super Deluxe Edition, which features...
-
How to Post Comments on Copper
We get queries on how to post comments at the end of Copper articles. Here's how to get set up to leave comments: To comment at the end of an article, you...
- Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
- Opens in a new window.