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AHB2 & Marting Logan ESL 11A - Axpona 2019 - The Audio Beatnik
197 Rooms - Benchmark Room makes a "Top 3" List
"The 10th annual AXPONA was the largest yet with an expansive array of speakers, amplifiers and turntables on display across a staggering 197 listening rooms."
"Certain rooms featured systems most enthusiasts could probably afford at some point in their lives, and other rooms catered to the small well-heeled handful who are willing to spend extravagantly to obtain the best possible sound. That’s why I divided my top rooms into two categories: the best three “reality” rooms where the systems were more reasonably priced and the best three “dream” rooms where cost was no object."
"Reality Room" #2
"Benchmark teamed up with Martin Logan to drive a pair of their Impression ESL 11A electrostatic speakers with their AHB2 power amplifiers in a bridged-monoblock configuration. The source was an Aurender A10 streamer fed through their own DAC3 B and an LA4 preamp."
"The overall sonic signature of this room had a remarkable sense of ease and purity. Minute details such as a breathy initial saxophone note or a solo vocalist parting her lips and taking a breath before singing were easily discernible. At the same time, they presented all of the musical energy and rhythm contained within the source material."
"The effortless and free-flowing nature of the Martin Logans paired up nicely with the transparent AHB2 amplifiers."
"The tonality and realism of the instruments were spectacular. An alto saxophone sounded as if it was in the room with me, and the pitch and timbre of both male and female vocals were absolutely spot-on. It was clear that nothing in this system was getting in the way of the music."
"Their room had a remarkable degree of transparency that made every listener feel closer to the music."
- Drew Gagliano, TheAudioBeatnik.com
Also in Reviews
Why do you own Benchmark products? - AudioScienceReview.com
Why Did You Buy Benchmark Gear?
"I'm asking because clearly Benchmark is a highly regarded company here, and plenty of ASR members own Benchmark amplification/DACs. We know they are top of the heap in terms of measured performance, outdoing plenty of the competition in terms of typical distortion measurements."
- @MattHooper, AudioScienceReview.com
AHB2, LA4, DAC3
- Subtle aesthetics? Check.
- Unobtrusive size? Check.
- Solid build? Check.
- Made in America? Check.
- Transparent? Check.
- Best in class? Check.
- Superior performance proven by Amir? Check.
- Superior customer service? Check (and not just in audio world; best customer service I have experienced from any company, anywhere, ever).
- Expensive? For me, yes. Limit of my budget, but buy once cry once.
- Worth it? Yes.
- Would I do it all again? Absolutely.
- @KellenVancouver, AudioScienceReview.com
AXPONA Review - Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity
"The afternoon before the start of the show I ran into John Siau of Benchmark Media Systems. He says to me quietly, “make sure you stop in our room, we have a surprise!” With curiosity suitably piqued, Co-Editor Jim Clements and I paid a visit ..."
"The results were pretty astonishing. A stable, enveloping stereo image that was devoid of any distortion whatsoever."
- Carlo Lo Raso, Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity
AXPONA Show Report - Stereophile Magazine
"Sound was extremely well-integrated and controlled, and the bass memorable."
"The Note received signal through the introductory version of the company's Liquid Cables. Each cable contains 27,000 wires. The company's introductory Elephant memory player joined Benchmark Media's AHB2 power amps, DAC3 B D/A processor, and interconnects."
"With the aid of a forthcoming DEQX HDP4 processor that's due in the fall, the system sounded super on a 16/44.1 file of the famed rendition of Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, recorded by Eiji Oue and the Minnesota Orchestra for Reference Recordings."
- Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile Magazine