LA4 - "Class A Recommended Preamplifier" - Stereophile 2020
LA4 - "Class A - Recommended Preamplifier"
The LA4 received Stereophile's top "Class A" rating in the preamplifier category.
"Benchmark's LA4 is the widest-bandwidth, widest-dynamic-range, lowest-noise, lowest-distortion preamplifier I have encountered."
- John Atkinson, Stereophile
"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, Stereophile
"Benchmark's usual approach to design is to out-spec the competition, and so it is here. Like other Benchmark equipment he has tested, the affordable LA4 challenged the resolution of JA's test instruments, with "superb" channel separation, "extremely low noise, and virtually no power-supply-related spuriae."
"In his listening room, KR compared the LA4 to a cable—and couldn't hear any difference."
Read more from Kalman Rubinson's review of the LA4 →
Read more from John Atkinson's test report on the LA4 →
Also in Reviews
CAF 2025 Best of Show - Krix Home Theater - Powered by Benchmark
"The setup used ... ten Benchmark AHB2 amps, and a Storm Audio ISP Elite 24 MK3 surround processor."
"The system delivered serious punch and clarity."
"During the car chase and gunfight sequence from No Time to Die, the Krix setup managed to convey the intensity and scale of a far larger theater—tight, immersive, and controlled. Proof that with the right engineering and setup, even a small room can deliver big-cinema energy."
- Brian Mitchell, ecoustics.com
AHB2 - Stereophile 2025 Recommended Component - Power Amplifiers
AHB2 - Receives Stereophile's Top Rating for Power Amplifiers
"An extraordinary amplifier."
- John Atkinson
"Much more apparent low-level detail in already-familiar recordings"
- Kalman Rubinson
KRIX 11.6.6 Home Theater - Powered by 10 Benchmark AHB2 Amplifiers - CAF 2025
"The final visual and audio results in this room were indeed spectacular."
"Complete and total immersion, with clean, clear sonics that were not fatiguing at all."
- Carlo Lo Raso, SECRETS of Home Theater and High Fidelity