Save 10% on up to 2 cables for each component ordered. Free shipping on USA orders over $700.

0

Your Cart is Empty

HPA4, LA4 - Lab Report - Amirm, Audio Science Review

HPA4, LA4 - Lab Report - Amirm, Audio Science Review

Benchmark HPA4 Preamplifier and Headphone Amp Audio Review.jpg

Benchmark HPA4 Headphone Amplifier

HPA4 - "No Stone Has Been Left Unturned"

"It brings such a high performance to the table that leaves no doubt whatsoever about its transparency."

"No stone has been left unturned to optimize audio performance of this device. Even obscure measurements like ultrasonic interchannel phase shift is nailed."

"This is a review and detailed measurements of the Benchmark HPA4 headphone amplifier and preamplifier. The company was kind enough to loan me one for testing. It is a collaboration between Benchmark and THX to implement the "888" standard."

Benchmark HPA4 Audio Precision Measurements - Ch1 3.996 Vrms, Ch2 3.993 Vrms (Frequncy 1 kHz), Ch1 0.000095 and Ch2 0.000097 THD+N Ratio, SINAD Ch1 120.427 and Ch2 120.304 dB

Preamp Output

"Are your socks blown off as mine are? Second harmonic distortion is at an incredible -140 dB. That is insanely good. THD meter is running out of zeros to describe it as a percent!"

"Once we get to 1 volt, the IMD measurement floors at the same level as my analyzer. We cannot measure how good it is!"

"Crosstalk performance is beyond imagination: Worst case crosstalk is -123 dB at 20 kHz!!!"

"Perfect frequency response to 200 kHz!!! - It doesn't get more perfect than this."

"Perfect phase match to 200 kHz!!!"

Headphone Output

"Using the 1/4 inch headphone jack ... distortion is ever so slightly above pre-amp mode but it is still exceptionally low at -138 to -140 dB. This is by far class leading as the THX AAA 789 could "only" muster -130 dB."

"The full dynamic range, 133 dB, is absolutely superb and bests the THX AAA 789's measurements by whopping 10 dB."

300-Ohm Headphone Load

"Lower THD+N than THX 789 at all power levels. 445 milliwatts of power (exceptional). Distortion at max power = -113 dB!! Most important thing is the power level. The HPA4 sails past the THX AAA 789, providing almost half a watt of output or three times more."

33-Ohm Headphone Load

"Lower THD+N than Massdrop THX. Max power = 3.5 watts (superb). Distortion = -112 dB at full power."

Stepped Volume Control

"Across incredible range of 110 dB of attenuation, you have perfect channel matching. There is a balance control anyway if you did need to adjust anything."

Conclusions

"Going into this test, based on measuring previous Benchmark products, I expected excellent performance. The Benchmark HPA4 shattered even that high bar. It brings such a high performance to the table that leaves no doubt whatsoever about its transparency. No stone has been left unturned to optimize audio performance of this device. Even obscure measurements like ultrasonic interchannel phase shift is nailed."

"And then we have tons of power without messing with balanced cables and such. Plug in any headphone and you are in heaven."

"The preamp performance is even higher still, breaking and shattering any expectation one would have in a lab instrument let alone a consumer hi-fi."

"It goes without saying that the Benchmark HPA4 garners my strongest recommendation for a headphone amplifier and preamplifier. It doesn't get better than this folks."

- Amir Majidimehr (@Amirm), Audio Science Review

Read the entire review at AudioScienceReview.com →

 

Benchmark HPA4 Front View

Benchmark LA4 Front View

Rear Panel of Benchmark HPA4 and LA4


Also in Reviews

DAC3 - Award Nominee - Best Digital Audiophile Product of 2024 (Cost No Object)

DAC3 - Award Nominee - Best Digital Audiophile Product of 2024 (Cost No Object)

by Benchmark Media Systems December 01, 2024

2024 Nominees

  • Benchmark Media DAC3 B DAC, $1895
  • Bricasti M3 DAC, $6000
  • Bricasti M19 CD-SACD Player, $10,000
  • T+A DAC 200, $7620
  • Weiss Engineering Helios DAC, $21,995

"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."

Benchmark DAC3 B with Silver Faceplate

 

Read Full Post
Future Audiophile Logo

LA4 Review - Mike Prager, FutureAudiophile.com

by Benchmark Media Systems November 18, 2024

Benchmark LA4 Line Amplifier - front view

"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."

"What Makes the Benchmark LA4 Preamp So Special?"

"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

Read Full Post
Future Audiophile Logo

AHB2 Review - Mike Prager, Future Audiophile

by Benchmark Media Systems September 23, 2024

AHB2 Power Amplifier with Silver Faceplate

"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

Read Full Post