Thanks. I guess we are getting into the realms of diminishing returns aren't we. My Benchmark has served me well, but I fancy a change - being able to actually see what the word length and sampling frequency I am listening to would be nice, as would DSD.
Some years back I "upgraded" to a Benchmark DAC2, but ended up selling it because (a) I didn't feel it was as well "polished" as the DAC1 - there were horrible clicks and pops on signal input changes, and (b) it didn't sound sufficiently better. I could tell the difference, but it just wasn't worth it.
If I felt the DAC3 would be £2k well spent, I'd buy one, but I have a sneaking feeling that too may not be worth it. Maybe the ADI at less than half that price, makes the investment a bit more sensible.