Reviews

"The AHB2 bridgeable stereo amplifier ... was the topic of a recent discussion between American electrostatic panel speaker manufacturer Sound Lab’s president, Dr. Roger West, and me."

"In our discussion, he related his highly positive experience in driving even his largest, $55k Majestic 945 panels with the $7,000 pair of Benchmark Media AHB2 monoblocks, along with the $3,050 LA4 Preamplifier and factory XLR cables."

"Dr. West described the AHB2 as a class AB design using “feed-forward distortion reduction [thus removing] any possibility of pushing the margin of safety of a standard feedback loop, used in most amplifiers, into an unstable oscillatory mode.”"

"He further shared with me that “this is of most concern on powerful musical transients. The distortion of the amplifier in the balanced mode is astonishingly low even at just below the clipping level of 380 watts.”"

"The prospect of the AHB2’s specified distortion level of 0.00015% or lower when at full volume is comical at first glance, but upon actual audition the impact of the achievement is very audible from medium-high listening levels and upward."

"It was unlike any other sub-$20,000 amplifier I have auditioned."

"My audition of the Benchmark Media AHB2 amplifiers underscores the reason Dr. West is so taken by it, and confirms the design is best described as a watershed moment in the high-end audio industry."

- Constantine Soo, Dagogo

DAC3 DX and AHB2 - "Shine Brightest When Used Together"

"In this age of ultra-refinement in the production and playback of music, Benchmark Media shows that it is to be recognized as a paragon of musical integrity at an affordable price point."

"I suspect that especially younger ears, and the ears of those who spend much time with headphones, will appreciate the Benchmark sound. I appreciate them as I have experienced many less accurate systems, and I revel in high purity playback."

"The only listener who will need to consider carefully prior to commitment to Benchmark is the lover of warm, perceptually “softer” or “laid back” sound."

"Those who are seeking a highly revealing sound, perhaps considered “honest” or “truthful”, and invigorating, would find great satisfaction with these components."

- Doug Schroeder, dagogo.com

AHB2 - "These are the Amplifiers that You are Looking For"

Benchmark's Jedi, Rory Rall

Benchmark's Jedi, Rory Rall shows a storm trooper the AHB2 power amplifier at the NAMM Show.

Rory then waved his hand and was heard to say; "These are the amplifiers that you are looking for." The storm trooper immediately walked away with a stack of AHB2 power amplifiers.

Dagogo Show Report

"There’s a new actor in the high end audio amplification field – THX. The company is a technology spin-off from Lucasfilm, which originated the Star Wars movie series."

 "THX has patented a novel amplifier design, THX AAA Technology(TM) and Benchmark Media Systems has turned it into a new power amplifier – AHB2. The design is called Achromatic Audio Amplifier. Achromatic may mean colorless or neutral or without modulation."

"So is there a sound signature to the AHB2? Since THX calls it Achromatic we can assume that they were not aiming for a warm and sweet tubey sound – and this is not what it delivers. The sound is indeed neutral and exact without being sterile or clinical. Colorless? Not really. The amp will send through the sound palette of the source component and disc/file without stripping any color away."

"The AHB2 is so good it will immediately expose weaknesses in your system. It requires a very good pre-amp ... which should output a balanced signal."

"Medals to everyone and a rebel princess to the AAA Technology inventor!"

- Toby Tingskog, dagogo.com

DAC1 - "A clean, lean digitizing machine"

"The DAC1 was created with three target users in mind: the professional studio, home use by audio professionals, and audiophiles. Indeed, the DAC1 has been well received by studios and has made inroads into the audiophile community. It is feature-laden and smartly laid out."

"It’s more than a DAC, it’s a pretty doggone good preamp too!"

"It presents hyper-nuanced, super clean sound."

"The Benchmark is a clean, lean digitizing machine. It does set the standard at its price point for pure, unadulterated digital signals coming to your nearest amp(s)."

"If you’re after the most measurably perfect CD sound and endless detail, put it on your own test bench – your audio rack."

- Doug Schroeder, dagogo