Reviews

DAC2 HGC - "Sound Quality - Hey... Wow!"

"A high grade, high resolution, highly neutral DAC is an essential foundation point for any music system. If you are a serious music lover (you do not have to be a professional, or call yourself an audiophile), who wants to get the very most out of your playback system, I think you owe it to yourself to check out the Benchmark Media Systems DAC2 HGC."

"If you are interested in assembling an audio system to playback high resolution audio, the DAC2 is an essential starting point. You will need the exceptionally low noise, high linearity and exceptional clarity that this DAC has to offer before you can enjoy everything that high resolution digital audio has to offer."

- Rob Stewart, JustMastering.com

ADC1 and DAC1 - "8 hours a day, five days a week, monitoring and mastering"

"I rely on the DAC1 for monitoring in audio restoration and mastering. I am lost without it. I have used it, along with the ADC1, 8 hours a day, five days a week since 2005."

"I used the DAC1 and Samplitude in the “OLD-TIME SMOKY MOUNTAIN MUSIC” CD which was nominated in 2013 for a Grammy in historic recording."

John T. Fleenor, Archives Of Appalachia, East Tennessee State University

AHB2 - "Redefines the Word Transparency"

"The AHB2 redefines the word 'transparency' and will make many competing amplifiers sound veiled and foggy by comparison."

"Benchmark and THX have clearly set out to produce the most accurate amplifier possible, free of the colorations - euphonic or otherwise - that we've come to expect from most amplifiers."

"The difficulty in creating an "accurate" amplifier, as opposed to a "euphonic" one, is that an accurate amplifier's designer must make absolutely certain the amplifier doesn't add any unpleasant character of its own. In this regard, the AHB2 is a resounding success."

"The most immediately striking characteristic of the amplifier is the jaw-dropping level of detail and resolution."

"The speed of this amplifier gives percussion instruments a crisp, well-defined quality."

"This amplifier's performance in the bass is nothing short of phenomenal - easily the best I've ever heard"

"The AHB2 delivers the entire envelope of sound with incredible precision and realism."

- Gary Galo, audioXpress

AHB2 - "I Was Struck by Just How Much Focus and Clarity Was on Offer"

"This is an amplifier with very serious slam, and – even better for those with less sensitive speakers, big rooms or just a hankering for ‘just in front of the PA stack’ listening levels – it keeps it all together however loud you decide to play things."

"If that doesn't make you smile every time you listen, I don't know what will."

- Andrew Everard, Hi-Fi News

"... the widest A-wtd S/N ratio of any amplifier I've measured in some 30 years."

- Paul Miller, Hi-Fi News

AHB2 - "The Perfect Amplifier?"

"I believe it is the purest sounding and lowest noise amplifier in my experience."

"Is the AHB2 the “perfect amplifier?” The truth is that it could be when paired synergistically with certain components and speakers."

"What is perhaps most impressive about the AHB2 is its very natural presentation of brass horns, piano and percussion in general."

"The Benchmark AHB2 is a powerful and efficient amplifier with prodigious low levels of noise and distortion. The fact that it is also very musical and non-fatiguing, courtesy of THX’s patented AAA™ technology, is the icing on the cake. Benchmark Media and THX have a lot to be proud of for the development and implementation of the new technology the AHB2 represents."

"The AHB2 provides deep, impactful, and articulate bass, a very musical and transparent midrange, and ultra-clean high frequency reproduction."

- Frank Alles, Stereo Times

AHB2 - "A Solid and Convincing Image"

"From the get-go, the amp lives up to its design specs by providing a very clean presentation. The Benchmark does a good job of layering vocals and instruments in all dimensions, with each element supported by a solid and convincing image."

"As desired in a studio setting, the sonics from the AHB2 are neutral, and in my home setup, there is no observable emphasis in any particular frequency range."

"Regardless of music type, bass through the Benchmark offers a taught presentation with the snap and punch one expects from percussion. Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” is engaging through the AHB2, with all the subtle synthesized sounds popping into position in the soundstage."

-Rob Johnson, Tone Audio, December 2014, pages 122 - 129

"In the end, the Benchmark AHB2 can become a great anchor to your system, offering high performance in a compact box. With an extremely neutral tonal balance, you can use it straight, or warm it up with a tube preamplifier, should that be your preference."

"The AHB2 is a stellar performer from a company known for excellence."

- Jeff Dorgay, Tone Audio, December 2014, pages 130 - 131

SMS1 - "An Excellent Pro-Caliber Passive Monitor"

"The SMS1 is an excellent pro-caliber passive monitor. It’s what I expect from a Benchmark product."

"The compact Benchmark SMS1 is an impressive, two-way crossover speaker with Benchmark’s typical attention to quality. Its compact size makes it easy to place, and it is suitable for many kinds of listening environments. Standout characteristics include vocal clarity and imaging."

"The Benchmark SMS1 is a first rate speaker. It goes on my list of recommended small speakers and recipient of the Everything Audio Network Stellar Sound Award."

- John Gatski, Everything Audio Network

AHB2 - "EAN 2014 Product of the Year"

"The Benchmark AHB2 gets the award because its design pushes the spec envelope of power amplifiers."

"It is no longer enough to have 100 dB S/N ratio (or worse) spec’d amplifiers when you have the Benchmark measuring in excess of 130 dB! That is better than the majority of DACs can perform. It is digital performance from an analog amp."

"And the amp sounds great as well — a very neutral analog sound with tight bass and gracious stereo image."

"Throw in the reasonable price tag, and its award status is a no-brainer."

- John Gatski, Everything Audio Network

AHB2 - "Unfaltering and Thrilling Performance"

"The AHB2 and the ML10Bs came through with unfaltering and thrilling performance every time."

"Immediately I heard that the AHB2 reproduced the recordings ambient space captured (or added artificially) as open and wide with reverb tails hearable down to the recording's noise floor."

"There was a pristine and smooth quality to the high and middle frequencies ..."

"With the AHB2 there was an overall vibrancy and transparency not a hyped, bright sound."

"As compared to my powered monitors, working on mixes in Pro Tools HD 11 through this system sounds more real, detailed and clear. In addition, this is a dead quiet--noiseless system. With no music playing, I could crank the DAC2 Ls volume control wide-open and hear nothing--even with my ear right on the speaker cone!"

"There is only one word for the new Benchmark Media Systems AHB2 power amplifier: impressive. I highly recommend it!"

- Barry Rudolph, Mix, December 2014

SMS1 - "Just Really Good Sound"

"After just a couple of minutes of Thrasher Dream Trio, a jazz album featuring drummer Gerry Gibbs, pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Ron Carter, I realized, "I'm really enjoying this!" I didn't hear any of the kinds of flaws that would normally distract or discourage me when first "meeting" a speaker. No obvious "cupped hands" coloration from the woofer. No boom in the bass. No major frequency response anomalies. No edge, grit, glare or grain. Just really good sound."

"If you're looking for a high-end bookshelf speaker -- or even just for a good speaker, period -- you should give this one a listen. I think you'll realize, as I did, that after the first couple of tunes, you're blown away not by how spectacular the sound is, but how good it is."

- Brent Butterworth, Stereos.About.com

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

DAC2 HGC - "A Clean, Precise Presentation"

"This Benchmark is a fine performer. The first quality that grabs our attention is its tonal balance. It’s as even as we’ve heard from a DAC at this price, giving each part of the frequency spectrum just the right amount of emphasis."

"Rarely do we hear a recording laid bare this way; subtle instrumental strands are easy to follow and aren't lost when the music gets complicated."

"It’s a clean, precise presentation but avoids the clinical edge that often goes along with such an outlook."

- WhatHiFi.com

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

SMS1 - "Neutral Yet Very Detailed and Spacious"

"I thought the SMS1 pulled off the tough trick of sounding neutral yet very detailed and spacious."

"Benchmark is known for digital-to-analog converters (DACs), but it's recently been expanding into other products, including the first amplifier to use THX's new high-efficiency, all-analog technology, and the new SMS1 minispeaker."

"The SMS1 is a rebranded and somewhat improved version of the Studio Electric SE Monitor. As designer David Macpherson, owner of Studio Electric, told me, Benchmark's engineers were able to refine the circuit-board layout and acquire parts with tighter tolerances."

- Brent Butterworth, Sound Stage

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

DAC2 HGC - "Competes and Wins Against Anything at Any Price"

"Several readers have asked me how the OPPO HA-1 stacks up against my Benchmark DAC2 HGC. I can say that I love both but…"

"The Benchmark DAC2 HGC is a reference quality converter and functions as well as a preamplifier. It competes...and wins...against anything at any price ..."

- Mark Waldrep, realhd-audio.com, aixrecords.com

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

DAC2 HGC - "The One to Beat"

"The Benchmark Media DAC2 HGC is one of those components that not only raises the bar, it forces the entire industry to step up their game and move forward."

"While one can expect a fantastic digital to analog converter from the same creators of the classic Benchmark DAC 1, it’s hard to believe this company would also turn out one of the better sounding analog preamps I’ve heard. Combine the fact that you also have a reference class headphone section, and you now have a piece of equipment that is the one to beat."

"Easy recommendation from New Record Day!"

- NewRecordDay.com