DAC3 Review - Jerry Del Colliano
"For those who are looking for the next level of resolution and for those who want to get, specifically, as close to the master recording as possible, they look to companies like Benchmark Media."
"Benchmark is a stalwart brand in pro audio, but has carved out a very respectable niche in the audiophile world with their diminutive but powerful components."
"The audiophile who is interested in the Benchmark Media DAC3 B is looking to get as close to the master recording as possible. He or she is looking to use the same type of gear that so many professionals use in the studio. This is the audio analogy of driving a Lamborghini around town. You are going to feel every crack in the road, as well as every speed bump."
"When your recordings are beautiful, they will sound really great on the Benchmark Media DAC3 B. When they are less than gorgeous, you will hear the flaws ..."
"The audiophile world sometimes looks to the professional audio world for enlightenment, especially on the digital side of things, and Benchmark Media is one of the companies that we put high on a pedestal. They are hardcore digital engineers freezing their asses off in upstate New York as they come up with some pretty innovative ways to get your varied digital sources sounding as much like the master tape as possible. Thank you for your service, gentlemen."
"If you are looking for kind of cushy sound that is the audiophile equivalent of a Crown Victoria (non-police cruiser version, of course), this isn’t your DAC. In that case, one might want a DAC with a tube in the analog stage, and yes, that is actually a thing. If you are like me, and you aim to get that in-the-studio, immediate, visceral, detailed, three-dimensional sound that so few audiophile systems can accomplish, then a little under $2,000 might be needed to get invested for you to hear the Benchmark DAC3 B."
"If you really want to hear what your music sounds like in today’s streaming-driven world, this might just be the DAC that you need to test out."
- Jerry Del Colliano, Future Audiophile
Also in Reviews
AHB2 Review - Constantine Soo, Dagogo
"The AHB2 bridgeable stereo amplifier ... was the topic of a recent discussion between American electrostatic panel speaker manufacturer Sound Lab’s president, Dr. Roger West, and me."
"In our discussion, he related his highly positive experience in driving even his largest, $55k Majestic 945 panels with the $7,000 pair of Benchmark Media AHB2 monoblocks, along with the $3,050 LA4 Preamplifier and factory XLR cables."
"Dr. West described the AHB2 as a class AB design using “feed-forward distortion reduction [thus removing] any possibility of pushing the margin of safety of a standard feedback loop, used in most amplifiers, into an unstable oscillatory mode.”"
"He further shared with me that “this is of most concern on powerful musical transients. The distortion of the amplifier in the balanced mode is astonishingly low even at just below the clipping level of 380 watts.”"
"The prospect of the AHB2’s specified distortion level of 0.00015% or lower when at full volume is comical at first glance, but upon actual audition the impact of the achievement is very audible from medium-high listening levels and upward."
"It was unlike any other sub-$20,000 amplifier I have auditioned."
"My audition of the Benchmark Media AHB2 amplifiers underscores the reason Dr. West is so taken by it, and confirms the design is best described as a watershed moment in the high-end audio industry."
- Constantine Soo, Dagogo
DAC3 & AHB2 - System Review, Trevor Butler, The-Ear.net
"I began with the DAC3 HGC and AHB2 powering the glorious Morel Avyra 633 three-way floorstanders."
"This pairing created a full-bodied sound which brought the recording to life."
"Notable from the off was the bass from the DAC3 HGC and AHB2."
"Wow! It was deep, tight and conveyed a real feeling that the electronics were in charge of the transducers."
"Involuntary foot-tapping confirmed the timing ability and the overall presentation was spot-on, the Benchmark electronics created a fluent sound across a vivid soundstage; performers evident both tonally and spatially in an easy-to-believe presentation that brought the performance close."
"The Benchmark’s ability to retrieve deep-down detail and display it so well across the soundstage, with accurate positioning and convincing layering, made for a glorious re-creation of the recordings."
"To my mind the AHB2 is an amplifier with no obvious characteristics of its own: the level of transparency is sublime."
"Above all, the improved transient response performance stood out in a presentation that was not only lively but incredibly fast and revealing. The attack and decay displayed was awesome and not something I expect at this price point."
"The Benchmark DAC3 HGC and AHB2 are cracking products, sonically superior to a lot that’s available and well priced."
"They are superbly designed and built to an extremely high standard."
- Trevor Butler, the-ear.net
HPA4 Review - Chris, DC Hi-Fi Group
"The Sound of Silence"
"Benchmark Audio is an engineering focused company with a deep heritage in the recording studio world."
"The HPA4 is a Headphone Amplifier and Preamp that incorporates the THX-888(AAA) achromatic audio amplifier circuit that was first introduced to the world in the Benchmark AHB2 amplifier."
"To this day the AHB2 remains the lowest distortion and highest SNR amplifier on the market."
"The Direct Opposite of Typical Tube-Based Technology"
"From a listening stance it is the cleanest and most accurate delivery of sound you are likely to get with any Hi-Fi component."
"This is the direct opposite of the typical sound of tube-based technology that is awash in second harmonic distortion and noise."
Power
"The HPA4 …offers 6 watts into 16 ohm and a whopping 11.5 Vrms into 300 Ohm headphones."
"You will not be running out of power with this device."
Listening
I used the track "Slink" from the brand-new Artemis album on Blue Note."
"It is a very dynamic driving track and the Artemis ensemble makes the most of it. The HPA4 and revealed all the sonic details of this track."
"I give the HPA4 my highest recommendation."
- Chris, Forum Administrator - DC Hi-Fi Group