Reviews

AHB2 - "Legendary Performance Award 2020"

"My first taste of this remarkable new amplifier came earlier this year in April at Chicago's AXPONA where I discovered it driving a newly redesigned Studio Electric Pasadena loudspeaker, also bearing the Benchmark trademark. Now called the SMS1, the Pasadena's crossover had been reworked by Benchmark, upgraded with very low tolerance components, and the new look, more in line with the look of the rest of the Benchmark product line up, had been adopted."

"The subsequent sound in this room was one of the most musically engaging I encountered at this year's event, a remarkable result considering its modest overall system price of just over $7000, sans source."

- Greg Weaver, EnjoythMusic.com

Benchmark - "The Reference Sound"

"Speaking of reference gear, few names in high-end audio are so closely attached to the reference sound as Benchmark."

HPA4 - "Found at Booths Throughout the Show"

"Their fantastic HPA4 reference amplifier could be found at booths throughout the show."

DAC3 B - Introduced at RMAF 2018

"This year, Benchmark was introducing its new DAC3 B."

"I spent some time playing around with the Benchmark pieces, and they really have a high quality pro-audio-like build to them. They're the polar opposite of some of these more DIY-feeling boutique amps and DACs out there – Benchmark has a very professional level of finish on it."

"Dana Cables, Benchmark, and Aurum Cantus joined forces at AXPONA 2018 to deliver a memorable sound."

AHB2 (Mono Mode) - Driving Cantus v80F Towers

"Fast, precise, and nice harmonics is what my notes say."

- Steven R. Rochlin, Enjoy the Music.com

DAC3 HGC - "I was Immediately Impressed by the Sound"

"The separation of sounds, that see-through quality, and the air around individual instruments and voices is what distinguishes the difference between simply good high-end digital components and excellent sounding high-end digital components."

"It is this sense of space that I more often than not notice first. And I noticed this trait immediately with the Benchmark Media DAC3 HGC."

"The Benchmark Media DAC3 HGC is a fantastic digital-to-analog converter that comes with a fantastic headphone amplifier with two outputs, and can also double as a fantastic preamplifier. Its asking price is more than reasonable for such a versatile component, with a sound quality that can be compared to units costing much more."

DAC3, AHB2, ESL 11A - "Something a Little Different, and Highly Enchanting"

"The folks from Benchmark and Martin-Logan teamed up to do something just a little different, and entirely enchanting, in the Jackson Room!"

"Multi-channel bliss with the Martin-Logan ESLs driven by an all Benchmark system."

Benchmark and Martin-Logan System at Capital Audiofest, 2017

• 3 Benchmark DAC3 Converters (5.1)
• 5 Benchmark AHB2 Power Amplifiers (Bridged Mono)
• 5 Martin-Logan ESL 11A Electrostatic Speakers
• 2 Martin-Logan Balanced Force 210 Subs

"The resultant sound was extremely clean and fast, surprisingly dynamic, and the space, as you'd expect with good multi-channel, was get-up-and-walk-around through. Well done!"

- Greg Weaver, enjoythemusic.com

DAC3 HGC - "Outstanding - Amongst the Best"

"A versatile and well thought-out unit that's a good all-rounder when it comes to sound quality, the DAC3 HGC is unlikely to disgrace itself even if partnered with the finest ancillary equipment."

"Headphone listening was also a most enjoyable experience, and builds on the unit's strengths as a DAC."

"The DAC HGC presentation can be remarkably detailed - without being overly analytical."

- Martin Pipe, Hi-Fi World

Benchmark HRA System - "Best Sound Under $10,000"

"The best 'budget' system at the show ... my favorite true sub $10,000 system was a great offering from Benchmark Media Systems, at just $7,500 dollars for a very capable system cables and all, this system takes the cake."

- Rick LaFaver, Enjoy the Music.com

AHB2 - "Racking Up Award After Award"

"Special 20/20 Award, High-End Amplification"

"Racking up award after award is the Benchmark Media AHB2 solid-state stereo power amplifier."

"Using some super tweak circuitry and other modern bits, this tiny 11.04" wide by 3.88" tall and 9.34" deep amp weighs in at only 12.5 pounds!"

"While I don't really need another amplifier, I'm going to find a way to both placate my wife and work with the fine folks at Benchmark to give this little giant slayer a new home here in the Midwest."

AHB2 - "A Non-Traditional Design"

"The Benchmark Media AHB2, while assuredly a non-traditional design, is a true linear (not a Class-D) amplifier, built on technology developed and patented by THX Limited."

"Measuring just 11.04" wide by 3.88" tall and 9.34" deep and weighing in at only 12.5 pounds, this amp is slightly less than one quarter of one cubic foot!"

"Instruments and vocalists occupy an uncannily realistic sense of size and locale, and are presented in an incredibly lifelike soundstage."

DAC1 HDR - "Top 20 Most Notable Digital Products from the Past 20 Years"

Enjoy the Music.com takes a look back at the 20 most significant digital audio products from the past 20 years.

"It is widely known within the high-end audio industry that Enjoy the Music.com gives out very few awards. With the nearly constant barrage with 'best of' and 'top picks' featuring hundreds of products elsewhere, there is little doubt Enjoy the Music.com is perhaps the most conservative of magazines when it comes to giving out special accolades. With our annual Blue Note awards possibly being the most sought-after within the audiophile industry, as only a very small handful of products get special recognition each year, we want to highlight our 20th anniversary by using our 20/20 vision as it were and look back to some of the best gear."

"As Editor and Creative Director for Enjoy the Music.com, it is my honor to look back at the many thousands of reviews and choose the top 20 per category. This month my choices are for the very best digital gear over the past 20 years."

AHB2 - "The Sonic Results are Nothing Short of Extraordinary!"

"The sonic results of all the time and effort spent refining this circuit and developing this design are nothing short of extraordinary!"

"Instruments and vocalists occupy an uncannily realistic sense of size and locale. I was left speechless more often than I cared to count by this engaging and enchanting ability."

"Benchmark's AHB2 amplifier is a truly breakthrough, innovative design."

 - Greg Weaver, Enjoy the Music.com

ADC1 USB - "I've never used or heard a better analog-to-digital converter"

"The resulting sound of the files that ended up on my computer when using the Benchmark ADC1 USB had everything that Benchmark promises in their literature and more."

"The most noticeable quality of the Benchmark, even in my first casual listen off-axis to one of the first files that I recorded from LP was the separation of instruments in a huge soundstage. The inner detail of the music, that enabled me to hear instruments, sounds, and voices I thought once impossible to recover, and were made evident when making recordings of LPs of even the most complex orchestral and choral music."

"The take-away is that I've never used or heard a better analog-to-digital converter."

- Tom Lyle, Enjoy the Music.com

DAC1 HDR - "The studio heritage of this Benchmark preamp is quite obvious"

"The studio heritage of this Benchmark preamp is quite obvious. I'd like to say the sound was lean but not thin. I expect this however is an artifact of my sonic memory, having listened to far too many tubby tubed pre-amps in my past. In fact, I believe it is merely neutral. And unlike all but the best solid state preamps or integrateds I have listened to, there was none of that solid state hash or haze heard through lesser designs. Detail was neither absent nor did it draw undue attention to itself. Highs were not rolled off, nor were they shrill. Bass was as it should be."

- Jeff Rabin, Enjoy the Music.com