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      SMS1 Review - Brent Butterworth, Sound Stage, RMAF 2014

      by Benchmark Media Systems October 17, 2014 1 min read

      SMS1 Speakers ~ SoundStage!

      SMS1 Review - Brent Butterworth, Sound Stage, RMAF 2014

       

      "Benchmark is known for digital-to-analog converters (DACs), but it's recently been expanding into other products, including the first amplifier to use THX's new high-efficiency, all-analog technology, and the new SMS1 minispeaker. The SMS1 is a rebranded and somewhat improved version of the Studio Electric SE Monitor. As designer David Macpherson, owner of Studio Electric, told me, Benchmark's engineers were able to refine the circuit-board layout and acquire parts with tighter tolerances. I thought the SMS1 pulled off the tough trick of sounding neutral yet very detailed and spacious."

      - Brent Butterworth, Sound Stage

      Read the entire article →



      Also in Reviews

      AHB2 Award - "Legendary Performance Award 2020" - EnjoytheMusic.com
      AHB2 Award - "Legendary Performance Award 2020" - EnjoytheMusic.com

      by Benchmark Media Systems October 15, 2020 1 min read

      AHB2 Awards ~ EnjoytheMusic.com

      "This little unit will change the way you look and listen to amplifiers."

      "My first taste of this remarkable new amplifier came earlier this year in April at Chicago's AXPONA where I discovered it driving a newly redesigned Studio Electric Pasadena loudspeaker, also bearing the Benchmark trademark. Now called the SMS1, the Pasadena's crossover had been reworked by Benchmark, upgraded with very low tolerance components, and the new look, more in line with the look of the rest of the Benchmark product line up, had been adopted."

      "The subsequent sound in this room was one of the most musically engaging I encountered at this year's event, a remarkable result considering its modest overall system price of just over $7000, sans source."

      - Greg Weaver, EnjoythMusic.com

      Read More
      DAC3 - "A+ Recommended Component" - Stereophile 2020
      DAC3 - "A+ Recommended Component" - Stereophile 2020

      by Benchmark Media Systems September 30, 2020 2 min read

      Awards DAC3 ~ Stereophile

      Jim Austin wrote, "The DAC3 was all about depths, in several respects . . . I heard deeper into the music."

      The concise conclusion to John Atkinson's Measurements sidebar: "All I can say is 'Wow!'"

      In a Follow-Up, Jim Austin wrote of using the Benchmark processor with the same company's AHB2 power amp—a combination of high source output voltage and modest amplifier gain that he describes as "optimal for minimizing noise and distortion"—and reported hearing "richer and more interesting" reproduction of very subtle details.

      - Stereophile Magazine

      "Class A+" is Stereophile's highest award for Digital Processors

      Read More
      LA4 - "Class A Recommended Preamplifier" - Stereophile 2020
      LA4 - "Class A Recommended Preamplifier" - Stereophile 2020

      by Benchmark Media Systems September 30, 2020 1 min read

      Awards LA4 ~ Stereophile

      "Benchmark's LA4 is the widest-bandwidth, widest-dynamic-range, lowest-noise, lowest-distortion preamplifier I have encountered."

      - John Atkinson, Stereophile

      "The LA4 is probably the most transparent and revealing audio component I've ever used. It does not seem to leave any fingerprints on the sound."

      - Kalman Rubinson, Stereophile

      "Class A" is Stereophile's highest award for preamplifiers.

      Read More
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