Reviews

HPA4 - "At the Top of Your Must-Audition List"

"If you are looking for a preamplifier/headphone amplifier that you can live with happily for a long time, you should consider the Benchmark HPA4 at the top of your must-audition list."

"The HPA4 combined with the Benchmark AHB2 power amplifier ranks as the quietest rig I've heard (or not heard)."

"Even with the gain up to full with no signal, there is no hiss, hum, or buzz, even when I placed my ears within a in inch of the drivers on 89 dB sensitive loudspeakers."

"As a headphone amplifier, the HPA4 was first rate. Whether it was my most power-hungry headphones, which currently are the new Abyss Diana Phi, or my most sensitive IERs, such as the Empire Ears Phantoms, there was no added noise or lack of adequate gain."

"The Benchmark HPA4 exhibits virtually no noise, whether employed as a stereo preamp or headphone amplifier, and his highly transparent, with no audible colorations."

- Steven Stone, HomeTheaterReview.com

AHB2 - "Best Stereo Amplifier of 2017"

"Masterfully detailed and transparent with spot-on tonality and some serious punch." 

"The AHB2, which is rated at 100 watts per channel into eight ohms, uses THX's patented AAA feed-forward error correction technology designed to virtually eliminate the distortion that's normally produced by the output stage."

- Ben Shyman, Home Theater Review

AHB2 - "A Technologically Advanced and Remarkable Amplifier"

"It improved my listening pleasure for a song that I have probably heard 500 times."

"As with a Class A amplifier, I could detect the muscle of the AHB2 and hear it in the sheer weight of presentation in the lower octaves."

"The AHB2 can drive virtually any speaker load with significant power--especially in monaural mode--yet it never lacked finesse on delicate passages."

- Ben Shyman, Home Theater Review

DAC3 - "Its Sound is Among the Best at Any Price"

"The DAC3 soundstage is highly accurate, and its sound is among the best at any price."

"Benchmark Media began in the mid-1980s providing audio equipment to television broadcast facilities. Today it is recognized amongst recording professionals and high-end audio enthusiasts for producing high-end, sonically transparent components. This philosophy is inherent in all of Benchmark's products--digital-to-analog converters, analog-to-digital converters, preamps, and amplifiers--and it plays right into the sweet spot of high-resolution audio."

"After Benchmark announced the release of the DAC3 HGC, I was quick to contact the company and request a review sample. I was excited after reading about Benchmark's enthusiastic endorsement of the new ESS PRO SABRE chips and had a hunch that the new DAC3 could be a significant step forward in Benchmark's DAC lineage."

"The DAC3 also possesses an uncanny ability to resolve hidden details that typically get lost in a mix. With more resolved detail, the tonality of instruments sounds more real."

- Ben Shyman, Home Theater Review

DAC1 HDR - "A landmark piece"

"Fit and finish of this component is top notch. My unit came in the black finish and it was physically perfect."

"The Benchmark DAC makes for a smooth and pleasant presentation of music, even on older material like Jimi Hendrix's Blues album (MCA). On "Hear My Train A Comin'" the guitar was lively and clear, while bass of the drums was well portrayed. "Catfish Blues" had a depth and energy that made the piece so powerful to listen to, and the emotion continued through "Voodoo Chile Blues" keeping plenty of air around the instruments making for a very open presentation."

"The Benchmark DAC1 HDR is a landmark piece. Its small size and inclusion of not only a great DAC but remote controlled preamp with analog input as well as a flexible headphone amplifier make this a great piece for a top notch system at a reasonable price."

- Dr. Ken Taraszka, Home Theater Review.com