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."
"With the release of the DAC1, they also grabbed the attention of the Audiophile world and things have never been the same."
"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."
HiFiMan HE6se
"I started my listening tests using the HiFiMan HE6se headphones. These headphones are a bit of tough load for many headphone amps. The HPA4 had no trouble driving them and only required a slight increase in gain that was easily available through the touchscreen."
Meize 109 Pro
"I followed up with …the Meize 109 Pro. 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 109 Pro's sounded excellent being driven by the HPA4 and revealed all the sonic details of this track."
Conclusions
"I give the HPA4 my highest recommendation. Using the common Audiophile cliché - this is an end game component. Of course, that is until Benchmark Audio one ups itself with a new improved version which they have a remarkable habit of doing."
- Chris, Forum Administrator - DC Hi-Fi Group
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."
