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by Benchmark Media Systems June 01, 2016
"Starting with Dakota Staton’s album ‘Round Midnight from the original Capitol release, issued in 1960, I connected the Benchmark to my Quad 57 electrostatics."
"Staton’s vocal delivery was calm, even and smooth without any edginess to her delivery and certainly without any brightness or blooming during crescendos. Her even-handed vocal delivery was very pleasant indeed."
"As for the instruments backing Staton, I was impressed by the tonal accuracy of the introductory strings and the clarinet. Both, backed by the similarly impressive low noise nature of the soundstage, had room to express themselves that enhanced the richness of their performance."
"Everything was in order and everything was in its place. Part of the reason for this was the low noise so, right from the off, the music was much more focused than many other components."
"Bass was never one dimensional but had a layered personality of its own."
- Paul Rigby, The Audiophile Man - audiophileman.com
In his review, Paul Rigby mentions driving Quad ESL-57 electrostatic speakers using the AHB2 in bridged-mono mode. Potentially, this mode will provide too much output to the ESL-57 speaker and this may cause damage. The ESL-57s are rated for a maximum input voltage of 33V. The AHB2 can deliver 40V in stereo mode and 80V in mono mode. Mono mode can severely overdrive the ESL-57 speakers and may cause permanent damage to the electrostatic panels. The AHB2 should be used in stereo mode when driving ESL-57 speakers. Apparently the AHB2 gain switch was configured for a lower gain than Paul's other amplifier. This led him to believe that the AHB2 needed to run in bridged-mono mode when driving his ESL-57 speakers. The correct action would have been to turn up the preamplifier and/or adjust the gain switch on the back of the AHB2.
- Benchmark
by Benchmark Media Systems December 01, 2024
"There was some debate about whether anybody can hear the differences above a good Chi-Fi DAC like the Topping D90. Unless you are missing most of your high-frequency hearing, you can hear where a high-end DAC makes a difference."
The Bricasti M3 is a great example of that performance in a $6,000 DAC."
"The Benchmark DAC3 B is an audiophile DAC, with pro audio roots, that punches way above its weight."
by Benchmark Media Systems November 18, 2024
"Benchmark Media Systems made its reputation in both pro audio and audiophile circles by designing gear with extraordinarily low noise and distortion, and selling it at reasonable prices."
"A high-quality volume control is much of what makes a superior preamp shine, and the Benchmark’s volume control is outstanding. The Benchmark LA4 uses a bank of precision resistors switched by gold-contact relays to set volume in 256 steps of 0.5 decibels each."
"If accurate reproduction is your wish, you won’t find a preamp with meaningfully better objective performance than the Benchmark LA4, especially one made in the United States at anything near the LA4’s price."
"Very few preamps at any price reach the LA4’s level of objective performance."
"On the subjective end of things, the Benchmark LA4 preamp puts the lie to the old audiophile myth that neutrality means clinical, cold, or sterile sound. Instead, here neutrality means musical, involving sound, with precise, stable imaging, a sense of space (if one is on the recording), and exceptionally truthful timbres."
- Mike Prager, FutureAudiophile.com
by Benchmark Media Systems September 23, 2024
"For years, the audio world acknowledged one main contender (at least at sub-five-figure pricing) for the quietest, cleanest, most neutral power amplifier around. That was the Benchmark AHB2, whose specifications are still, for all practical purposes, unsurpassed, even by today’s excellent Class-D amps."
"10 years after its release, the Benchmark Media Systems AHB2 stereo power amp is still a standard-bearer in clean, neutral sound in the audiophile world."
"I greatly enjoyed having a pair of AHB2s in my system – their purity, neutrality, and seemingly unlimited power provided a clear window on the music and a lot of joy."
"I especially appreciated the AHB2’s smooth, well-integrated treble, free of splashiness or grain, and its natural reproduction of the human voice."
- Mike Prager, Future Audiophile