Both are desktop DAC/amps, $2399 against $3500. This page puts them side by side on the only three things a maker can be held to — power, output impedance and noise — and then asks the question that actually matters: which headphones do they treat differently?
The Benchmark DAC3 HGC reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here, the Marantz SACD 30n on 552.
| Specification | Benchmark DAC3 HGC | Marantz SACD 30n |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 1.2 W | 50 mW |
| Power into 150Ω | 250 mW | 11 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 125 mW | 5.3 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 62 mW | 2.7 mW |
| Output impedance | 0.11 Ω | not published |
| Output noise | not published | not published |
| Price | $2399 | $3500 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 567 | 552 |
A figure marked not published is missing from the maker’s own material, which is not the same as being good or bad. Where one of these two publishes a number and the other does not, the comparison on that axis cannot be made at all — and saying so is more useful than guessing.
| Load | Benchmark DAC3 HGC | Marantz SACD 30n |
|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | Derived | Published |
| 150 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 300 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 600 Ω | Derived | Derived |
Only one of these two columns starts from a power rating. Marantz SACD 30n publishes one at 32 Ω; Benchmark DAC3 HGC publishes none at any of these four loads, so its column is worked out from power it published at other loads. Both are arithmetic on a maker’s own figures rather than guesses, and the method used for the Benchmark DAC3 HGC understates rather than flatters — but at 32 Ω is the only load here at which its maker can be held to a figure.
What each of these labels means, and why a derived figure is still worth printing, is set out in how this data was built.
15 headphones reach 100 dB on the Benchmark DAC3 HGC but not on the Marantz SACD 30n — HiFiMAN HE-6se V2, HiFiMAN HE6 Remastered, HiFiMAN Susvara, 12 more.
552 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both. That is a power count and nothing more; whether either source suits a given headphone also depends on the two lines above.
The counts above say how many models the two treat differently. This says by how much. The same 8 headphones appear on every page of this kind, ordered from the easiest to drive to the hardest, so a row can be read across pages as well as across columns. Headroom is at a 100 dB SPL peak.
The widest gap on the list is the HiFiMAN HE400se: Benchmark DAC3 HGC has +21 dB of headroom there against +7 dB. 14 dB is about 27 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.
The hiss columns are empty for Benchmark DAC3 HGC and Marantz SACD 30n because neither maker publishes no output noise figure. That is a gap in the specification, not a quiet amplifier, and it is left blank here rather than filled with a plausible number.
| Headphone | Impedance | Needs | Benchmark DAC3 HGC headroom | Marantz SACD 30n headroom | Benchmark DAC3 HGC hiss | Marantz SACD 30n hiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 0.04 mW | +40 dB | +25 dB | not published | not published |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 4.0 mW | +20 dB | +5 dB | not published | not published |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 0.79 mW | +28 dB | +15 dB | not published | not published |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 0.63 mW | +24 dB | +10 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 7.9 mW | +21 dB | +7 dB | not published | not published |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 1.6 mW | +17 dB | +3 dB | not published | not published |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 6.6 mW | +13 dB | -1 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 50 mW | +11 dB | -3 dB | not published | not published |
The Marantz SACD 30n costs $1101 more than the Benchmark DAC3 HGC, and on these three axes the money buys nothing: among the 567 models here there is not one that the Marantz SACD 30n handles and the Benchmark DAC3 HGC does not — not on power, not on the one-eighth rule, not on hiss. The traffic runs the other way: the cheaper Benchmark DAC3 HGC drives 15 models to 100 dB that the Marantz SACD 30n does not.
Everything in this paragraph counts only figures the two makers published. An advantage on an axis one of them leaves blank cannot be counted, and is not counted — how often that happens is its own page.
Each has a page of its own with every power figure traced to what the maker published and a full headphone list: Benchmark DAC3 HGC and Marantz SACD 30n. Or put either against your own headphones in the source comparison tool.