BENCHMARK AHB2 vs Burson Timekeeper 3X GT

[boomtheroom]

opinions please!

 

[voodooless]

112 SINAD vs 70 SINAD

 

[MaxBuck]

opinions please!

This is a joke, right?

 

[Blumlein 88]

One is among the highest fidelity power amps you could own. It is a basic power amp.

The other is more of a DAC/integrated amp.

Add a DAC/pre/streamer or whatever you need with the thousand dollars saved and you could have a near SOTA system. The other, I don't know, you'd have something different.

 

[boomtheroom]

This is a joke, right?

whats a joke?
just after opinions on whos tried both

 

[voodooless]

whats a joke?

Joke

something, such as a funny story or trick, that is said or done in order to make people laugh

See https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/joke

 

[Mnyb]

I would ask for facts instead , not opinions

 

[VintageFlanker]

I would ask for facts instead , not opinions

Facts told: Benchmark. The end.

Thread can be closed by now.

 

[IAtaman]

If we go by name, I prefer the Timekeeper 3X GT. Is there a cabriolet version?

 

[boomtheroom]

See https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/joke

 

[boomtheroom]

112 SINAD vs 70 SINAD

bursons only got 70? why have most people who have had the ahb2 swapped to the timekeepers?

 

[MaxBuck]

bursons only got 70? why have most people who have had the ahb2 swapped to the timekeepers?

Is it still April 1?

 

[Rja4000]

Is it still April 1?

I'd call that trolling, instead.

Typical of trolling: stating something obviously provocative, without any factual evidence (of course).

I suggest to close this thread.

 

[boomtheroom]

dont understand the reactive comments?
Sorry Im a newbie

 

[beeface]

dont understand the reactive comments?
Sorry Im a newbie

ignore all the smart asses

I have no doubt that there are people on other forums who have changed from the Benchmark unit to the Burson and called it an improvement

The reality is that subjectivists will sometimes downgrade their gear and call it an upgrade, citing various reasons such as "warmth", "musicality", etc.

None of these people have done a blind comparison of the amps. The reason they prefer the Burson could be as simple as a difference of input gain, and they're confusing louder for better. It could be placebo, who knows.

These are the facts: the AHB2 is a state of the art class AB amp, the Burson definitely is not.

 

[Rja4000]

dont understand the reactive comments?
Sorry Im a newbie

We don't have any measurements of the second, so we may hardly comment.
Provide one for measurement, and we can speak.

The only think we have to judge is a laconic spec
(THD <0.03% @1kHz, without any more details), which translates in <70dB SINAD (since THD is already -70dB), which is very poor in our books.

The flourish littérature and poetic review doesn't add confidence towards a good result.
The rare insights on the build of the amp don't help either.

This looks like a classic way to sale a half-cooked product for a high price.
But, without measurements, we can't be sure.

Your non-factual sentence about "most people swapping" is provocative, non build on any facts or data, and seems, like your laconic introduction question without context, a clue that you want to demonstrate something without being open about your intent.
This is based on facts (your interactions) and experience (trolling behaviour, in general, has been studied and is well documented).

Now, if you want to add more meat on the bone, up to you.

Otherwise, this is not usefull.

EDIT:
The only very basic performance spec we have for the Burson places it in the lower half of the orange category on the below graph.
The Benchmark is 4th from the top (left).
The Red bar is for a (low power) $90 integrated amplifier with tone control.
OK, this graph doesn't tell the full story, for sure.
But it's an easy, simple, way to get a first clue on performance.

 

[boomtheroom]

We don't have any measurements of the second, so we may hardly comment.
Provide one for measurement, and we can speak.

The only think we have to judge is a laconic spec
(THD <0.03% @1kHz, without any more details), which translates in <70dB SINAD (since THD is already -70dB), which is very poor in our books.

The flourish littérature and poetic review doesn't add confidence towards a good result.
The rare insights on the build of the amp don't help either.

This looks like a classic way to sale a half-cooked product for a high price.
But, without measurements, we can't be sure.

Your non-factual sentence about "most people swapping" is provocative, non build on any facts or data, and seems, like your laconic introduction question without context, a clue that you want to demonstrate something without being open about your intent.
This is based on facts (your interactions) and experience (trolling behaviour, in general, has been studied and is well documented).

Now, if you want to add more meat on the bone, up to you.

Otherwise, this is not usefull.

Sorry dont understand trolling definition: 1. the act of leaving an insulting message on the internet in order to annoy someone?
i assure i have no intent on trying to annoy anybody ? dont confuse my lack of knowledge with trolling..
yes the question may be a very general one and the examples i have seen are all from youtube reviewers and comments but i am genuinely interested in peoples opinions
on this forum as from what i have read for the most part are from a more intellectual source of people...
starting to wonder tho...

 

[Rja4000]

i am genuinely interested in peoples opinions
on this forum as from what i have read for the most part are from a more intellectual source of people...

I don't know if anybody here has an "opinion" on the Burson.
About the Benchmark, it is usually considered here as to close to state of the art, since it's measuring superbly.

But that, you probably know already.

In that category, you'll find a few other (cheaper) exceptional amplifiers, with price below (or much below) the Burson's price.

The few real information available regarding the Burson doesn't point towards the same philosophy in building an amp.
We see (long used) marketing keywords like class A. And the only figures we see in specs don't indicate a quest for excellent measurements (!), which we think is important.

Some people think an amplifier should add some "emotion" or "transform" the music.
I've been there myself: I've spent dozen of hours listening to amplifiers, a long time ago.
I ended up buying an amp which (I thought) sounded "different". And which became quickly tiring when I used it in my system. This amp, I discovered later, was not measuring well.
There is no miracle.

We here think that an amp should be a wire with gain, and add (or hide) nothing to the music.
We have enough good candidates, like the Benchmark, not to try the myriad of amps on the market.
The good news is that, if you find here an amp, within your budget and with the required power/functionality, with good enough measurements, this is not needed to seek further.

Now, if somebody brings the Burson to Amir for measurements, I suppose he'll measure it.

 

[caught gesture]

Sorry dont understand trolling definition: 1. the act of leaving an insulting message on the internet in order to annoy someone?
i assure i have no intent on trying to annoy anybody ? dont confuse my lack of knowledge with trolling..
yes the question may be a very general one and the examples i have seen are all from youtube reviewers and comments but i am genuinely interested in peoples opinions
on this forum as from what i have read for the most part are from a more intellectual source of people...
starting to wonder tho...

You said why have most people who have had the ahb2 swapped to the timekeepers?.That is an absurd statement, not backed by any evidence other than some YouTube reviewers you’ve heard (links please). Trolling usually follows such a path. Absurd statements based on some anecdotal ”sources” guaranteed to get a rise out of some people. Now you are saying that it is somehow our intellectual requirement to take your initial statement seriously and, if we don’t, you are justified in wondering about our intellectual abilities!
Plenty of data is available on the Benchmark amplifier, little on the Burson. Generally speaking, modern well-designed/constructed amplifiers will sound the same if level matched and compared in a blind testing. You will pay more for extended warranty, longevity, company reputation in dealing with faults and component failures, features, construction materials and, unfortunately, for snake-oil claims.

 

[Chrispy]

Very confused why there would be a comparison of these pieces. Not even quite the same but for the money the Burson looks pretty silly.