It is easy to get used to the volume indicator on the source. When comparing, even when not using A/B, it is best to level match. The louder source generally is perceived as having greater detail. I'd start there.
- Rich
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Review and Measurements of Benchmark AHB2 Amp
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
- Rich
Solid State Amplifer design has been a solved problem for 4 decades or more. I believe where you disappointment entered was expecting the AHB2 to sound different than the Peachtree. The AHB2 is a SOTA amplifier and offers probably the best measurements available today. But when compared under tightly bias controlled conditions to other modern designs, any differences will be extremely subtle if they exist at all.
If you read Amir's review of the Peachtree you will see that the amplifier section offered very good performance.
Peachtree Nova 300 Review (Dac & Amplifier)
This is a review and detailed measurements of the Peachtree Nova 300 integrated amplifier with DAC and phono stage. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $2,199. The Nova 300 fits in the same chassis Peachtree has successfully used for last 15 years: It is quite beefy and heavy...
www.audiosciencereview.com
Get yourself a Benchmark LA4 to replace the PrimaLuna and you will have world class SOTA playback.
BTW, you may not like this answer, but expensive power cords are worthless.
I was using the Nova in power mode only and bypassing the pre and the Nova DAC … thanks for the thoughtful reply and I appreciate itSolid State Amplifer design has been a solved problem for 4 decades or more. I believe where you disappointment entered was expecting the AHB2 to sound different than the Peachtree. The AHB2 is a SOTA amplifier and offers probably the best measurements available today. But when compared under tightly bias controlled conditions to other modern designs, any differences will be extremely subtle if they exist at all.
If you read Amir's review of the Peachtree you will see that the amplifier section offered very good performance.
If your interest is hearing exactly what comes from the source, you might have been better off just listening to the Peachtree alone, though it's DAC section is a bit off. Many Tube preamps are known to alter the sound of the source, maybe you like the way it's alters the sound and that's fine. But as I mentioned, if you want to hear exactly what's on the source, a Solid State preamp would likely offer more accurate reproduction.Peachtree Nova 300 Review (Dac & Amplifier)
This is a review and detailed measurements of the Peachtree Nova 300 integrated amplifier with DAC and phono stage. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $2,199. The Nova 300 fits in the same chassis Peachtree has successfully used for last 15 years: It is quite beefy and heavy...
Get yourself a Benchmark LA4 to replace the PrimaLuna and you will have world class SOTA playback.
BTW, you may not like this answer, but expensive power cords are worthless.
Despite what you may think, the bridged Benchmarks were just fine with the Dynaudio Confidence 30s.
Dynaudio Confidence 30 loudspeaker
www.stereophile.com
NAD C 298 power amplifier
Power amplifiers should be boring. They have a single, well-defined function: Make the input signal large enough to run a loudspeaker so that it makes sound at levels suitable for listening to music. Generally, controls and features are few or none. Peter Walker of Quad famously defined the...
www.stereophile.com
misterdog
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That said, anyone who thinks that the Benchmark is a *perfect* amp because of its steady state measurements will learn that that doesn't yet exist.
I've owned an AHB2 for several years now, and it's the cleanest amplifier I've ever heard. I was listening to it last night and I can only describe the sound as ravishing. Like silk. Or like Class A without the absurd size, weight, and heat. (If you've ever heard crossover notch distortion you know why Class A amps sound better than A/B ones, it's incredibly audible and annoying in small amounts.) And the low weight, tiny form factor, and efficiency of the AHB are really welcome. It's a save-the-planet kind of amplifier, without the sonic compromises of Class D.
But perfect amplifier? No. It excels in steady state measurements, but it isn't as dynamic sounding as other good amplifiers with which I've compared it. Again, this isn't a question of steady state measurements or amplifier power -- I'm not clipping it. But listen to a piano on the Benchmark and another good amp and you'll hear what I mean: it rounds off the attack.
Amplifiers actually differ surprisingly in the degree to which they do that. My Parasound A21, for example, is a less refined amplifier than the Benchmark, but it happens to be one of the best amps I've heard in this particular regard. There are those who say that the Benchmark robs music of excitement, and after several years of listening experience, I tend to agree. It's strength is in beauty of sound. The highs in particular are to die for, like gossamer.
Another issue is, paradoxically, lack of distortion masking. Lower order harmonic distortion is known to render higher order harmonic distortion euphonic. This is because of the mechanism by which we detect the timbre of sounds. And higher order distortion is unfortunately quite common on poorly made recordings and badly-designed equipment. What this means in practice is that the AHB2 will sound great on clean recordings, but will pass the harshness through on more distorted ones, while some more colored amplifiers with lower order harmonics will tend to mask that harshness.
So the Benchmark isn't a perfect amplifier, but anyone who has never heard a really good amplifier or thinks that all amps sound the same is going to be blown away by the sound. It's a bargain, too, by the standards of high end amplifiers, and with its sophisticated protection circuitry, quite bulletproof!
From a poster earlier in this thread.
I've highlighted one particular part, though there are some who will argue that class A/AB and D must all sound the same if they measure the same.
I've owned an AHB2 for several years now, and it's the cleanest amplifier I've ever heard. I was listening to it last night and I can only describe the sound as ravishing. Like silk. Or like Class A without the absurd size, weight, and heat. (If you've ever heard crossover notch distortion you know why Class A amps sound better than A/B ones, it's incredibly audible and annoying in small amounts.) And the low weight, tiny form factor, and efficiency of the AHB are really welcome. It's a save-the-planet kind of amplifier, without the sonic compromises of Class D.
But perfect amplifier? No. It excels in steady state measurements, but it isn't as dynamic sounding as other good amplifiers with which I've compared it. Again, this isn't a question of steady state measurements or amplifier power -- I'm not clipping it. But listen to a piano on the Benchmark and another good amp and you'll hear what I mean: it rounds off the attack.
Amplifiers actually differ surprisingly in the degree to which they do that. My Parasound A21, for example, is a less refined amplifier than the Benchmark, but it happens to be one of the best amps I've heard in this particular regard. There are those who say that the Benchmark robs music of excitement, and after several years of listening experience, I tend to agree. It's strength is in beauty of sound. The highs in particular are to die for, like gossamer.
Another issue is, paradoxically, lack of distortion masking. Lower order harmonic distortion is known to render higher order harmonic distortion euphonic. This is because of the mechanism by which we detect the timbre of sounds. And higher order distortion is unfortunately quite common on poorly made recordings and badly-designed equipment. What this means in practice is that the AHB2 will sound great on clean recordings, but will pass the harshness through on more distorted ones, while some more colored amplifiers with lower order harmonics will tend to mask that harshness.
So the Benchmark isn't a perfect amplifier, but anyone who has never heard a really good amplifier or thinks that all amps sound the same is going to be blown away by the sound. It's a bargain, too, by the standards of high end amplifiers, and with its sophisticated protection circuitry, quite bulletproof!
From a poster earlier in this thread.
I've highlighted one particular part, though there are some who will argue that class A/AB and D must all sound the same if they measure the same.
pogo
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Maybe the post #2907 is helpful for you.
I would challenge you to identify these amps from each other in a bias controlled DBT.
They all have their "special" sound when you have your eye's open.
Any recommendations for a great amp that can deliver those dynamic piano transients? As a Benchmark AHB2 owner myself I'm always interested in learning more.
Close to pulling the trigger on AHB2 x 2 and Holo Serene to pair with Holo May and Dynaudio's.. I already own the May and Dynaudio's, so not looking for thoughts on replacing those. Thank you. I get 30 day trial with the Benchmark's and will compare it to a NAD c298 that I can borrow. These would replace a Krell Integrated Amp.
Interesting...
Your characterisation of the AHB2, is similar to my own long term feelings about the Quad 606 & 707 current dumping amps
Both the AHB2 and the Quads share the base design of current dumping / Feed Forward, I wonder whether the sonic similarity is due to that.
The Crown XLS2500 that I have in the system now, handles the speakers better as they are a bit of a difficult load - this is totally subjective - but it feels as though it has better dynamics (perhaps a response more to the spec sheet than the sound?) - I probably should redo my long term comparison with the Quads now that I have Dirac EQ in the system.... some years back I recall thinking the Quads sounded "sweet", with more microdetail in the mix.... where the Class D crowns focused more on clarity and dynamics. (could I tell them apart "blind" - probably not - but there are still observations of how I felt about the sound after a couple of months of one or the other.... - I will plan for a swap over sometime later this year)
I put my order in for two AHB2's today. I am still in need of a preamp. Has anyone compared to Topping Pre90 to Holo Serene with the AHB2? While the Serene would look nice with the Holo May, not seeing a reason for the extra dollars over the Pre90.
No hands on myself, but to quote from Amir's review,
"It is an instrument grade, more transparent than transparent, preamplifier. Other than Benchmark HPA4, I don't think it has an equal no matter how much money you spend."
What more can be said unless some non-performance based feature is important to you.
Topping Pre90 Review (preamplifier)
This is a review and detailed measurements of the Topping Pre90 balanced and unbalanced preamplifier. It was kindly sent to me by the company. The base preamplifier with ability to switch between RCA and XLR inputs costs US $599. There is an extension that gives you four (4) more inputs...
www.audiosciencereview.com
I’m using 4 AHB2s, all bridged in an active biamp. No preamp, just a Meitner MA3 DAC and a Pass XVR crossover. It sounds fabulous, detailed, huge dynamic range, no distortion what so ever. This replaced much more expensive Constellation Centaur monos. For me these were an improvement and the best of a long series of much more expensive amps, including Spectral, Pass, Cello, Levinson and MSB.
I have compared the AHB2 to my Sunfire Cinema and also to the ATI AT525NC using and A/B speaker switch for instant switching.
I used a MiniDSP SHD USB that with the main channels duplicated and level matched to .1 dB using DSPs. The levels were matched using a Fluke 87V voltmeter playing 0 DBFS 1kHz sine waves.
In both cases, the AHB2 had a cleaner upper end, symbols and sibilants were better resolved.
Initially, I did not have the Sunfire balanced, perhaps it was cold when matched, but it was running a .2 dB louder. The result was the Sunfire was perceived to have better bass. Once properly matched that disappeared.
For personal listening tests, proper level matching is a must. It is easy for users to compare using known preamp levels. The AHB2 has lower gain than most amps, even in high gain mode. This will likely be perceived as less dynamic since the loud sounds are simply not as loud until matched.
- Rich
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Cymbals and sibilants are exquisite on on AHB2. I’ve only used mine in bridged mode, that said, I’ve also never felt dynamics were limited. Bass slam and control is also exceptional. Mine are driving TAD R1s, that have a nominal impedance of 4 ohms. The AHB2s have no problems at all driving these large speakers with beryllium midrange and tweeters that are very sensitive to bright electronics.
I decided to pair the AHB2's with an LA4. I like the small form factor and figure it will work well with the AHB2. Mistakenly put my order in for silver when I meant black. Hopefully they can correct it before it gets shipped. Regardless, thank you for thoughts on Topping Pre90.
Good choice. I would have gone with the LA4, too, but for my need for 3-4 of them.
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