Reviews

HRA System - "Beautiful Midrange and Well-Defined Extremes"

"The big news in the familiar-looking Benchmark room was ..."

"The AHB2 high-resolution power amp has been further refined."

"The crossover of the SMS-1 The Benchmark loudspeaker has been changed."

"The DAC2 DX adds pro connectors and dual output busses to familiar and well-regarded electronics."

"The sound was especially impressive from such a small loudspeaker. Keb Mo sounded great, with a beautiful midrange and well-defined extremes."

- Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile

AHB2 - "Dynamic, open, with quick, taut bass - yet with the silky ease of the best tube amp"

"Like the Benchmark D/As and A/D, the company believes that great measurements correlate to great sound. In the case of the AHB2 I totally agree."

"The AHB2’s sonic character is dynamic, open, with quick, taut bass - yet with the silky ease of the best tube amp. But tube amps don’t have the energy and speed in the transients, nor bass, that the Benchmark possesses."

"I can’t wait to get two more for a full-high-end home cinema amp test in my big A/V room. For now, based on mostly stereo listening, it receives, with certainty, an Everything Audio Network Stellar Sound Award."

- John Gatski, Everything Audio Network

AHB2 - "Lowest Noise and Distortion Power Amp I Have Measured"

"The new Benchmark AHB2 is the result of considerable research and patents on its resultant circuitry. The intent was to make it an ultra low distortion design. I would have to say they succeeded as it is the lowest noise and distortion power amp I have measured and I have measured a LOT of power amps in my career."

"The S/N ratio was about 131.6 dB. Pretty impressive, and this is the lowest output noise level I have seen in any power amplifier I have measured! (Editor's note: Benchmark measured 3 dB better when input was terminated with 60 Ohm impedance input.)"

"When connected in bridge mode, power was close to 400W into an 8 ohm load."

- Bascom H. King, BHK Labs

HRA SYSTEM - "The Whole System was Under $10,000 and Just Killed"

"I've enjoyed the Benchmark Media Systems rooms over the past few shows when they've shared their room with Studio Electric using their excellent sounding speakers."

"This time around, Benchmark were showing not just their excellent DAC2 L, but also their new AHB2 100 wpc amp and SMS1 speakers. With the exception of real deep bass (though certainly more than you would expect from speakers this size) this system the sound was smooth, expressive, dynamic and rich."

"The whole system was under $10,000 and just killed."

- Steve Lefkowicz, Positive-Feedback.com

AHB2 - "Revealed a whole new layer of chorused vocals, reverb trails and swirling ambient space"

"Playing the new Beck LP, the AHB2 revealed a whole new layer of chorused vocals, reverb trails and swirling ambient space. Pretty impressive."

"One of the highlights for me was hearing the Benchmark amp in my own system ... paired with my DAC2 HGC. I was pretty stunned by what I heard. I expected quiet, resolution & transparency. What I didn't expect was the way the system relaxed and allowed the music to just flow." 

- Russtafarian, audiocircle.com

AHB2 - "Amazing Clarity, But No Over The Top Edginess"

"The Benchmark brings out nuances of reverb, quick percussive guitar attack with amazing clarity, but no over the top edginess..."

"The -130 dB noise/dynamic range  just gets us that much closer to the live music signature that we yearn to hear from our beloved electronics."

- John Gatski, Everything Audio Network