HPA4 Review - Sander van der Heide, Mastering Engineer
HPA4 - "There is No Going Back"
After an extensive listening test, mastering engineer Sander van der Heide selected the Benchmark HPA4 the primary volume control in his mastering chain.
"As a headphone amplifier, the HPA4 was already a clear winner in a comparison test. More transparent, tighter, faster, quieter or less present than the HPA4 is in my opinion not possible."
"When I added a volume control and preamplifier in my mastering setup I almost forgot about it. But after I still noticed distortion on every other device, listening to the HPA4 was just a relief."
"There was no going back. The HPA4 is the only option for my mastering setup."
- Sander van der Heide, Mastering Engineer
Also in Reviews
DAC3 - Stereophile 2025 Recommended Component - Digital Processors
DAC3 - Receives Stereophile's Highest "Class A+" Rating
"The DAC3 was all about depths, in several respects...I heard deeper into the music."
"All I can say is Wow!"
- John Atkinson
LA4 - Stereophile 2025 Recommended Component - Preamplifiers
LA4 - Receives Stereophile's Top Rating for Preamplifiers
"Benchmark's LA4 is the widest-bandwidth, widest-dynamic-range, lowest-noise, lowest-distortion preamplifier I have encountered."
- John Atkinson
"The LA4 is probably the most transparent and revealing audio component I've ever used. It does not seem to leave any fingerprints on the sound."
- Kalman Rubinson
HPA4 - Stereophile 2025 Recommended Component - Headphone Amplifiers
HPA4 - Receives Stereophile's Top Rating for Headphone Amplifiers
"The LA4 preamplifier was the widest-bandwidth, widest-dynamic-range, lowest-noise, lowest-distortion preamplifier I had encountered at that time. . . . To those virtues, the HPA4 adds equally superb balanced and single-ended headphone outputs."
- John Atkinson