Reviews
The search for audiophile headphone
"The search for audiophile headphone nirvana ended with my purchase of the HPA4 and DAC3 B. Benchmark products are perfection realized. Sure, you can buy other gear that might test nearly as well and that provide no audible distortion and near perfect sound reproduction without any colorization of the music. Yet, there is the certain satisfaction of knowing that your audio chain is without peer and the best engineered and best built in the world. Whether through my ears, your ears, or based on any test bench, it just does not get any better than this!"
— Todd B. (5/5)
A Subtle but Consistent Improvement in Clarity
"I use the Benchmark HPA4 with an Audeze LCD-5S, fed through the balanced line outputs of my Metric Halo ULN-8 mkIV. It is important to mention that the headphone output of the Metric Halo is already excellent. Moving to the HPA4 therefore does not create a dramatic, night-and-day transformation. The difference is more subtle, but it becomes very consistent and clearly noticeable when listening carefully to recordings I know extremely well. With the HPA4, everything feels better organized and easier to read. The different stages of a sound envelope are more clearly separated: the attack, body, sustain and decay are easier to identify individually. On snares, for example, the initial attack sounds cleaner, the body is more intelligible and the decay is more precisely defined. They may sound slightly more matte than through the Metric Halo headphone output, but they are actually better resolved, less aggressive and surrounded by less halo. The low end is not artificially increased. It simply sounds more sustained, rounder and better defined. Kicks, bass lines and 808s retain more body while remaining clearly separated from the low midrange. It becomes easier to follow the continuity of a bass note, its sustain and its final decay. I also perceive a slight improvement in width and, even more noticeably, in depth. The individual elements of a mix separate more naturally, front-to-back positioning becomes easier to understand and small spatial details are more clearly revealed. The overall impression is similar to removing a very light veil from the sound: nothing is exaggerated, but everything becomes clearer and more intelligible. What I particularly appreciate is that this additional definition does not come with a brighter or more fatiguing top end. On the contrary, the HPA4 sounds cleaner, more precise and less aggressive at the same time. It does not try to make the presentation more spectacular. It simply appears to add as little as possible between the converter and the headphones. For headphone-based production, mixing and mastering, this improved reading of transients, low-end structure, reverberation and depth is extremely valuable. The HPA4 does not transform an already excellent monitoring chain into something completely different. It allows that chain to go further in terms of separation, stability and transparency. Combined with the Metric Halo ULN-8 mkIV and the Audeze LCD-5S, it provides what I consider to be an exceptional headphone monitoring system. Suggested title Greater Definition, Depth and Control Without Added Aggression"
— Choka P. (5/5)
Could not be happier with
"Could not be happier with my Benchmark HPA4. I have been looking for the right magic to unlock the potential of my Audeze LCD-4’s. The amount of information I am picking up is downright transcendent. This is one of those “ In Awe” audio moments that stay with you forever. And a printed owners manual . Be still my beating heart. And yet , still a hand-crafted artisanal feel. Took me back to receiving my first David Hafler components in the way back. Thank you for an all-around wonderful experience."
— Eric E. (5/5)
Industry leading transparency, build quality
"Industry leading transparency, build quality and sound quality. Everything I was looking for and better!"
— Christopher G. (5/5)
Unbelievably quiet. Extremely well built.
"Unbelievably quiet. Extremely well built."
— Jon L. (1/5)
I expected the HPA4 headphone
"I expected the HPA4 headphone preamplifier to be good, but I wasn’t prepared for just how incredible it would be. I honestly went back and forth on buying it because of the price, but it has exceeded my expectations in every possible way. Paired with the AUDEZE LCD-5s, the performance is simply amazing. I wholeheartedly endorse the HPA4!"
— Rodger W. (5/5)
Mixing and mastering in headphones
"Mixing and mastering in headphones has never been better! There is no noise, and the detail, imaging, presence, and clarity have never been better. It is much easier to identify frequencies that need to cut in my mixes, and mastering is becoming a breeze."
— Dan G. (5/5)
Not esoteric. It's real
"I'm a mastering engineer. The HPA4 is my center-piece for my listening environment, as it powers my planar-magnetic headphones, and feeds my class A amplifier, and audiophile speakers. When I say the equipment gets out of the way, it's seriously transparent! The relay-based volume control offers perfect left+right signal at all levels, which is and audible life or death criticality to what I do. Having different source options is also great, since I use a well-revered room calibration solution, but I don't need that for my headphones. I also use this to switch to my turntable to enjoy vinyl cuts. I bought the rack-mount version so it can sit in my mastering desk for easy access. It's very tank-like, and I really can't find a fault in it. Every time I use the HPA4, I never get the feeling there's something else better. There isn't—not with this implementation."
— Brian M. (5/5)
Nice unit, strikingly simple to
"Nice unit, strikingly simple to use, but the preamp sounds "thinner" than I expected. Bass is lacking, as is soundstage depth. I think the HPA4 doesn't work well with my 12- year-old first gen iFi phonostage, which had been sympatico with my ancient Adcom preamp & which not-parenthetically had tone controls. I think the Benchmark has revealed weak links in the chain, so my current phonostage is revealed as thin sounding, and I am now considering purchase of a Mod/Wright 9.0 or a Prima Luna phonostage to replace the iFI and cure the (minor) issue. Yes, I know your unit is promoted as very 'neutral" & surely it is that. So the sound is fine, but reviews had lead me to believe I was buying the holy grail."
— J. P. (5/5)
I had the feeling that
"I had the feeling that my TOTL Marantz Processor wasn’t cutting the mustard with music so I decided to give the HPA4 a risk-free trial, given this and the LA4 have the best home theater integration in the game (which Benchmark doesn’t brag about near enough). Cue up some well-recorded music with a lot going that has a sense of the recording venue’s space. For me, I instantly noticed the improved ability to resolve the recording’s atmosphere, harmonics, and decay with the Benchmark. Going back to the Marantz, which is no slouch it turns out and perfectly passable, that same airy information is rendered with a muddled fuzz, not dissimilar to the difference between a compressed .mp3 and a FLAC. On the Marantz, low frequency information is ever so slightly more muddy and unclear. On the Benchmark, everything lands with a little more impact, separation, and definition of leading edges. It’s subtle, and sometimes hard to detect with quick A/B level matched switching, but the difference is there and adds up to a much more satisfying experience with an improved sense of imaging, dynamics, and rhythm. The cost is completely reasonable given this is a state of the art, end game, tank-like, part lab instrument component made in the USA, whose measurements and headphone section likely can’t be improved upon in the audible range. The convenience features are also top notch: 2x 12V trigger ports that can be input OR output, so your processor can turn on the HPA4, which can then turn on your power amp in one button click. 20db in .5 db increments of input trimming so all your inputs can be perfectly level matched, and unused inputs can be disabled entirely. An ultra-low constant output impedance of 60ohms which can drive anything with authority, including a quirky balanced amp I have from the 80s with a 600 ohm input. A small footprint and light weight. Don’t waste your time with passive preamps; you think you’re getting “transparency” without realizing the volume pot is introducing wild impedance swings which compromise the grip on the power amp and lead to frequency response fluctuations. Not so with the Benchmark, a world class component that I highly recommend. Two suggestions for a future firmware update: Please make the volume level be easier to see from across the room, and allow the option of a default input selection when the unit is turned on by 12V trigger."
— Nick (5/5)
