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Benchmark at CAF2016 - Art Dudley, Stereophile
HRA System - "I loved the open, colorful, well-balanced, and immediate sound of this system."
"I was happy to have finally heard the Benchmark AHB2 power amp that Kal Rubinson and so many others have raved about."
"The courage to play banjo music: that's something the lucky showgoer encounters only in those rooms whose sponsors know—really, really know—that their systems won't make a horrid, clattery, barbed-wire-on-glass mess of it. The people representing Benchmark Media Systems electronics and Studio Electric loudspeakers had such confidence, and it was not misplaced: I loved the open, colorful, well-balanced, and immediate sound of this system—and I was happy to have finally heard the Benchmark AHB2 power amp that Kal Rubinson and so many others have raved about. Also in the system was the Benchmark DAC2 HGC DAC/preamp."
"Special mention is due the Studio Two loudspeaker ($7500/pair with stands) from Studio Electric, a company I wasn't familiar with before CAF 2016. This deep-boxed speaker combines an 8" woofer with a 1" compression driver that's loaded with a MacPherson horn. The manufacturer's specs include a 6-ohm impedance and a sensitivity of 93dB. I was very impressed."
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