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Is Benchmark AHB2 power a good buy for me?

dan_uk

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Hi,

I'm looking to drive a pair of 'large' bookshelves - Monitor Audio PL100 Platinums (https://www.monitoraudio.com/en/support/past-products/platinum/pl100/)

I have a Matrix Audio X Sabre Pro MQA DAC into a Meridian pre-amp, streaming music from Roon... I believe I could plug the Sabre straight into power amp, however I do use the meridian for my REL sub output too....

I'm thinking the Benchmark AHB2 power amp will be a great addition, just wondering what others think?

Are there other power amp's I should consider?

Thanks
 

fpitas

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You can't go wrong, really. It's a really nice class AB amp. Personally I'd go for one of the class D amps with Hypex or Purifi modules, but that's mainly because I think they're cool.
 
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dan_uk

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You can't go wrong, really. It's a really nice class AB amp. Personally I'd go for one of the class D amps with Hypex or Purifi modules, but that's mainly because I think they're cool.
Yes ok thank you. Having spent a few hours researching Class D, I'm now torn lol I also live in the UK so the BenchMark was going to be hand luggage at Christmas lol

I'm liking the look of both the boXem and AudioPhonics, particularly as they are EU based too.
 

voodooless

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The DAC has both XLR and RCA. Just hook the Rel up via RCA, and you should be good. I don’t know if the Meridian has a high pass for the speakers? If so, you’ll miss that.
 

F1308

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Are there other power amp's I should consider?

Thanks
But of course...

Topping LA90, Audiophonics-hpa-s400et and Topping PA5.






Time to choose among the top five rated, as the Audiophonics gets different ratings, third or fifth, based on the gain (low or high) you set it to.
 
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chips666

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Are there other power amp's I should consider?



Enjoy...
 
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anphex

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This is overkill for those small speakers IMO. I'd recommend you a Purifi monoblock if you want to be happy ever after, but looking at those small speakers I am sure a Topping PA5 will be perfect. I had it run my main speakers for a while but with a bass boost it went into protection a few times with very low end LFE effects on my 85dB/1W speakers. I remember just one movie anyway where it happened but I didn't want to risk it again.

So with your 88dB/1W speakers and a sub for the low end it will be perfectly fine.

No need to burn money :)
 

Matias

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I used to power them with Hypex NCore NC502MP for a near field office setup, and liked very much. Then I moved, bought the center channel from the Platinum 1 line and sold the stereo amp only to buy a multichannel amo based on NCore 2 x NC502MP + NC252MP again. So yes, pick a vendor you like and can't go wrong with them.
 

Mtbf

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The Benchmark AHB2 is a good buy for anybody. Recommended amplifier requirement for your speakers is 50 - 120 W, but even if you were to upgrade some time in the future it’s powerful enough to drive almost anything. So it’s also future-proof. I have never seen it clipping. And I don’t consider buying an AHB2 money burning, buying cars is. You get what you pay for.
 

sngreen

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The Benchmark AHB2 is a good buy for anybody. Recommended amplifier requirement for your speakers is 50 - 120 W, but even if you were to upgrade some time in the future it’s powerful enough to drive almost anything. So it’s also future-proof. I have never seen it clipping. And I don’t consider buying an AHB2 money burning, buying cars is. You get what you pay for.
Do you own it? Someone reviewed it, with the message that when it clips it starts blinking and then shuts off. The reviewer liked it nevertheless, so he bough two (one for each channel). Now it's Ok.
 
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dan_uk

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Do you own it? Someone reviewed it, with the message that when it clips it starts blinking and then shuts off. The reviewer liked it nevertheless, so he bough two (one for each channel). Now it's Ok.
Think I saw that video video. The guy had KEF Ref3 so quite big speakers and he liked it loud.
 

fpitas

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Buy it, you'll like it. You'll never look at it and wonder "Why did I buy that thing?"
 
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I highly recommend AHB2. Enough power to drive the Perlisten S7t to scary levels. Very clean sound and built like a tank (though it is lightweight for an amp). And it is MUSA.
 

restorer-john

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Someone reviewed it, with the message that when it clips it starts blinking and then shuts off.

He must have driven it way too far into clipping and pulled too much current, for it to shut off.

An amplifier shouldn't shut-off if it occasionally clips, that's just a stupid protection feature if it's true. Benchmark are a pro-sound operation, gear has to be bulletproof and virtually never shutdown.

The AHB-2 is no-doubt a great amplifier for most people. But you need two for a decent system, running in BTL, one per channel. Otherwise it's just a 100wpc@8R amplifier with excellent specs.
 

sngreen

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So does anyone have AHB2, can you give some brief summary on what its strong and weak points are? Can not be everything that's good, can it? How does it compare against other similar amplifiers in the same price bracket - anyone?
 

Kal Rubinson

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So does anyone have AHB2, can you give some brief summary on what its strong and weak points are? Can not be everything that's good, can it? How does it compare against other similar amplifiers in the same price bracket - anyone?
I have AHB2s and I have compared them against every amp I have reviewed since I got the AHB2s.
 

sngreen

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I have AHB2s and I have compared them against every amp I have reviewed since I got the AHB2s.
As I said in my previous post, it can't be everything that is so good about this amp. As it can't be everything that is good about any amplifier. So how did AHB2 compare? If you do not mind, perhaps you have a link or two to your comparison posts. thanks in advance.
 
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