$135-$165.Having said that I can't imagine the relay volume control being cheap to implement so I doubt Benchmark have huge margin on these products anyway.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32840083176.html
$135-$165.Having said that I can't imagine the relay volume control being cheap to implement so I doubt Benchmark have huge margin on these products anyway.
BTW the whole purpose of the DAC3B is to pair them with the HPA4/LA4. I’m not sure what purpose a stripped down HPA4 would have in their current lineup.
True but it is, obviously, more than just a headphone amp. In fact, I see useful savings in eliminating the headphone amp portion.
If you don’t need the other features of the HPA4 then you can consider the soon to be released SMSL SP200 which is the most affordable THX amp afaik at $290, and measures superbly as well.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...d-measurements-of-smsl-sp200-thx-hp-amp.9242/
The amp is priced as it is because it's Benchmark...
Expensive? YesBenchmark never seemed to me to be an opportunistic company in their pricing. In fact, I'm surprised they haven't raised their prices on products. Especially their power amplifier. I mean, it's so far gone compared to what anyone else is doing...
Their headphone/preamp is not cheap. By a long shot. But compared to the high-end headphone market, is it expensive? It knocks the socks off of competing products by any measure, so you can't say that it is overpriced, or snake-oil. If you can afford it and want/need something like it, you probably can't do better. You could do worse for more. You could get close for less.
Where's the snake oil? What part of it is bogus nonsense?Expensive? Yes
Overpriced? A bit
Snake oil? A bit
Technically impressive? Yes
It's not black or white. Benchmark had their reputation so pricing was part of the competency. And in many ways tho objectively better, doesn't have real benefits. It certainly serves as snake oil for some people as they cum over the specs. Good engineering does worth the price. It's just depends on the people.
What why I said 'a bit'.Where's the snake oil? What part of it is bogus nonsense?
You might think it is overpriced, but it's the best out there. So until someone comes out with something better for less, how is it 'overpriced'?
Why the weird sexual analogies? What is that about?
I didn't know decent engineering equates even to a 'bit' of snake oil. Look, I'm not saying anyone can hear a difference in specs between this engine and something less rigorous. I'm just sayin' it's out there, if anyone needs it. Or thinks they need it.What why I said 'a bit'.
How much audible improvements from such product over say atom? True that many features and highest performance is lacking but how much?
Like I explained in the first post. The snake oil thing isn't intended from benchmark side. It's from the consumer side. Theoretically, there is no need to have such good performance for audio products. But in practice there is the need hence why there's benchmark along with other sota manufacturers. For them, it doesn't necessarily sound better but feels better about having a great performance. To some extent, that's snake oil. Not that it's a bad thing. It's not full of snake oil. It's supported by better objective performance so nothing wrong with it.I didn't know decent engineering equates even to a 'bit' of snake oil. Look, I'm not saying anyone can hear a difference in specs between this engine and something less rigorous. I'm just sayin' it's out there, if anyone needs it. Or thinks they need it.
When I think of snake oil I'm thinking of plogiston-free green- kryptonite directional ethernet cables, and such. Things that have no real basis in solid engineering.
I agree, the 'problem' with a company like Benchmark, is that eventually someone will come out with something equivalent, or better, at a lower price point. Once that happens... Until that happens...
What is it that you believe to hear in differences between these two excellent measuring units?The increased performance between my benchmark hpa4 amp and rme is very noticeable. I've even had randos blind test it.
Oh i read it as unnoticeable......What is it that you believe to hear in differences between these two excellent measuring units?
I say that because I own them, have blind tested it and have blind tested it with non audiophiles.
You can't use a dB meter to volume match... You need to measure the actual output voltage of both amps and make sure they are the same (or as close as you can get them). If you do that then I'm sure any "obvious" differences would disappear.Used a db meter to level the volume of the headphones and would have people test the amp section's "blind." I would then ask which sounds better.
It sounds so much better it's easy to distinguish even for non audiophiles. The dac sounds better with the amplification handled by the hpa4 and the measurements back it up.
This throws up a huge red flag that something is amiss with the testing procedures. Yes the two amps measure slightly different but the differences should hardly be considered to be audible, specially not "easy to distinguish even for non audiophiles". If they were at all audible they would be subtle in the extreme and take an expert listener to deduce.It sounds so much better it's easy to distinguish even for non audiophiles. The dac sounds better with the amplification handled by the hpa4 and the measurements back it up.
Also worth noting is that the measured difference will disappear if the HPA4 is measured while driven by the ADI-2 DAC instead of the APx555 since the DAC is the limiting factor for both amps.This throws up a huge red flag that something is amiss with the testing procedures. Yes the two amps measure slightly different but the differences should hardly be considered to be audible, specially not "easy to distinguish even for non audiophiles". If they were at all audible they would be subtle in the extreme and take an expert listener to deduce.