HPA4, LA4 - Lab Report - Amirm, Audio Science Review
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."
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 →
Also in Reviews
Benchmark Converters at Abbey Road - Geoff Pesche
"What are the Latest Advancements in Mastering?"
"Geoff Pesche weighs in on how the mastering team at Abbey Road Studios achieve first-class results." - Mix with the Masters
"The biggest sonic improvement in mastering in the last 5 or 6 years is D/A and A/D converters and that's very very important - what you have at the front and the back of the chain."
"We use fairly new Benchmark converters front and back."
"Abbey Road like a uniformity between the rooms so all of the rooms have the same A/D and D/A conversion."
- Geoff Pesche, Mastering Engineer, Abbey Road Studios
DAC3 Review - Alan Sircom, hi-fi+
"A Damn Good, No-Frills Digital Converter"
"Benchmark Media Systems’ no-nonsense approach to all things audio is rare today."
"Uniformly Good"
"This is a DAC that’s uniformly good at everything. It resolves well, has good imaging properties."
"It makes a balanced, honest sound that allows you to sit and listen to music for hours. That is what makes Benchmark’s products consistently popular with audio engineers. You don’t want ‘bright’ if you sit at a mixing desk 10 hours a day. "
"Leave No Trace"
"It also has the latest version of Benchmark’s jitter attenuation system (UltraLock3) and doubles down on the digital demon with its multi-mode asynchronous USB system."
"Benchmark also uses the distortion compensation facilities built into the ESS chip to reduce second and third order distortion."
"The net result is a DAC that delivers lower distortion, lower noise, less passband ripple, faster signal switching and locking onto signals and a more linear frequency response."
"The Benchmark Media Systems DAC3 B is very much in the ‘leave no trace’ school of good audio."
- Alan Sircom, hi-fi+
DAC3 - Award Nominee - Best Digital Audiophile Product of 2024 (Cost No Object)
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."
