Review and Measurements of Benchmark AHB2 Amp

[JustJones]

Crazy looking wiring, I assume no permits or inspections?

 

[Martyn980]

Crazy looking wiring, I assume no permits or inspections?

Everything has been agreed with the electricity supply company.

 

[JustJones]

Sorry I assumed you were in the US. My mistake.

 

[Svend P]

Everything has been agreed with the electricity supply company.

There is no way this is allowed, It has to be at least IP2x.

 

[JustJones]

There is no way this is allowed, It has to be at least IP2x.

View attachment 425341

There's no way anything like that would be allowed. Something like that would need to be fully enclosed. The wiring running though those overhead races aren't allowed. Open transformers sitting on a floor not allowed. Must be pretty lenient regulations there.

 

[Martyn980]

My home, my fortress. I do what I want.

We got off the subject. Please do not comment on anything else without a specific answer.

 

[Sal1950]

Benchmark uses Canare StarQuad L-4E6S for their balanced interconnects with Neutrik XLR connectors. Outstanding performance that doesn't break the bank.

I always admired Benchmarks products, very high quality without the crazy luxury goods high end pricing.
Just out of curiosity I compared the cost of Benchmarks XLR balanced star quad cables against the ordering the exact same build from Blue Jeans Cable.
No big change to write home about unless your buying 10 or more at a time.
But still $12.25 is about 4 gallons of gas today.
Single 1meter cable from Benchmark $44.00
Single 1meter cable from BJC $31.75

I don't understand those people who don't have an answer to a question and instead start suggesting something. A specific question was asked, if I was interested in anything else, I would definitely ask. I didn't mean to offend anyone, let's treat each other with respect).

My home, my fortress. I do what I want.

Sorry my friend, no one means any disrespect. It's just that folks here believe in the science of audio and can't see where expending this kind of money and the work involved will net any improvement in the sound of your system when listened to under bias controlled DBT conditions. We look to help folks here, not hurt them.

I was so happy to read in the January "The Absolute Sound" that the $34,000 6' power cord from Crystal Cable was awarded a 2024 Product Of The Year nod. It supposedly adds a full paragraph worth of glorious sound improvements

 

[Martyn980]

I always admired Benchmarks products, very high quality without the crazy luxury goods high end pricing.
Just out of curiosity I compared the cost of Benchmarks XLR balanced star quad cables against the ordering the exact same build from Blue Jeans Cable.
No big change to write home about unless your buying 10 or more at a time.
But still $12.25 is about 4 gallons of gas today.
Single 1meter cable from Benchmark $44.00
Single 1meter cable from BJC $31.75




Sorry my friend, no one means any disrespect. It's just that folks here believe in the science of audio and can't see where expending this kind of money and the work involved will net any improvement in the sound of your system when listened to under bias controlled DBT conditions. We look to help folks here, not hurt them.

I was so happy to read in the January "The Absolute Sound" that the $34,000 6' power cord from Crystal Cable was awarded a 2024 Product Of The Year nod. It supposedly adds a full paragraph worth of glorious sound improvements

The thing is, I also don't use expensive cables (that's been a thing of the past for a long time). I use Fujikura industrial power cables, and all the switching is done on Canare and Belden. Upon arrival home, I will also change Belden to Canare. Transformers are not expensive either, but they improve the sound quality many times over.

 

[gfinlays]

Just out of curiosity I compared the cost of Benchmarks XLR balanced star quad cables against the ordering the exact same build from Blue Jeans Cable.
No big change to write home about unless your buying 10 or more at a time.
But still $12.25 is about 4 gallons of gas today.
Single 1meter cable from Benchmark $44.00
Single 1meter cable from BJC $31.75

Probably a couple of bucks in the custom printed heatshrink sleeving on both ends of the Benchmark cables by the time they're fitted and I would guess BJC makes and sells an awful lot of XLR cables, so their unit production cost is probably lower.

I bought all my Canare 4S11 speaker cable from BJC and I live in the UK. Very reasonable cost and lightning fast shipping!

 

[Speedskater]

My home, my fortress. I do what I want.

What you do in your home, is your business.
What you post on this forum, is our business.
We don't want unskilled readers, copying dangerous practices.

 

[Roland68]

I always admired Benchmarks products, very high quality without the crazy luxury goods high end pricing.
Just out of curiosity I compared the cost of Benchmarks XLR balanced star quad cables against the ordering the exact same build from Blue Jeans Cable.
No big change to write home about unless your buying 10 or more at a time.
But still $12.25 is about 4 gallons of gas today.
Single 1meter cable from Benchmark $44.00
Single 1meter cable from BJC $31.75

Or buy a soldering station for €/$ 45-60 and learn a bit of soldering. It's really easy for cables and there are enough instructions and videos.
Then you only pay around €/$ 12 for a 1 meter long XLR cable made of the same materials, and around €/$ 6-7 for a high-quality RCA cable.
So that's currently the equivalent of 4 or 2 gallons of gas.

I was so happy to read in the January "The Absolute Sound" that the $34,000 6' power cord from Crystal Cable was awarded a 2024 Product Of The Year nod. It supposedly adds a full paragraph worth of glorious sound improvements

This raises the question of what is worse, the award or the cable. Apart from the cable, such awards are worthless anyway.
I have experience with this in various areas, consumer and industrial, and these awards always have to be paid for, but of course not directly, but rather through ads/advertising, paid articles/contributions, etc. I have known this for over 35 years.

 

[Martyn980]

What you do in your home, is your business.
What you post on this forum, is our business.
We don't want unskilled readers, copying dangerous practices.

This happens to me at the experimental stage, when the goal is finally achieved, it will be possible to bring everything into human form.
Nothing can save you from insanity, no one can stop you from plugging nails into an outlet))).
The manufacturers of the same Benchmark, they did not immediately put it into production, so they also worked with open elements under voltage.

 

[Sal1950]

Or buy a soldering station for €/$ 45-60 and learn a bit of soldering. It's really easy for cables and there are enough instructions and videos.
Then you only pay around €/$ 12 for a 1 meter long XLR cable made of the same materials, and around €/$ 6-7 for a high-quality RCA cable.
So that's currently the equivalent of 4 or 2 gallons of gas.


This raises the question of what is worse, the award or the cable. Apart from the cable, such awards are worthless anyway.
I have experience with this in various areas, consumer and industrial, and these awards always have to be paid for, but of course not directly, but rather through ads/advertising, paid articles/contributions, etc. I have known this for over 35 years.

LOL.. Oh I can solder and have a couple nice irons.
But at those prices I just don't find it worth the effort.
Probably due to my age, at one time I found that fun, at 75 it's just a PITA

I find it very humorous to read some of those reviews of the very expensive, worthless crap!
For the VERY wealthy, MHO is if you're that dumb to drop $35,000 large on a power cord you deserve to be cheated.
OTOH I am proud to have been part of the objective Hi Fi community for many years and believe we do a great service for the many that don't understand how badly the snake-oil predators attempt to mis-inform them and cheat them out of their hard earned money. Some interpretations of the law might even have seen this as extortion? Can you believe some of these monkeys have wanted to sue us for truthful objective reviews of poor performing gear?
Alla nostra salute,
Sal

 

[gfinlays]

LOL.. Oh I can solder and have a couple nice irons.
But at those prices I just don't find it worth the effort.
Probably due to my age, at one time I found that fun, at 75 it's just a PITA

I find it very humorous to read some of those reviews of the very expensive, worthless crap!
For the VERY wealthy, MHO is if you're that dumb to drop $35,000 large on a power cord you deserve to be cheated.
OTOH I am proud to have been part of the objective Hi Fi community for many years and believe we do a great service for the many that don't understand how badly the snake-oil predators attempt to mis-inform them and cheat them out of their hard earned money. Some interpretations of the law might even have seen this as extortion? Can you believe some of these monkeys have wanted to sue us for truthful objective reviews of poor performing gear?
Alla nostra salute,
Sal

I'm sure this has been posted before somewhere, but the Chord Company was held to account by the ASA here in the UK a while back for its unsubstantiated cable claims:

https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/the-chord-company-ltd-a14-274211.html#.VLaZ1UyCOrU

I think most manufacturers of "snake-oil" products are very careful about their wording nowadays.

An example I encountered recently was a declaration regarding the English Electric 8Switch that their high precision 0.1ppm TCXO clock reduces network jitter by 90%.

This is most likely true, however what they don't state is that ethernet clock spec is 100 ppm and going better makes no difference. They just leave it for the uninitiated to join the dots with their inevitable assumptions.

With digital, as we all know, it either works or it doesn't.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Or buy a soldering station for €/$ 45-60 and learn a bit of soldering. It's really easy for cables and there are enough instructions and videos.
Then you only pay around €/$ 12 for a 1 meter long XLR cable made of the same materials, and around €/$ 6-7 for a high-quality RCA cable.

I have the skills and the tools but I only solder cables when there is no time to order/deliver a commercial product. I like to conserve my time for other things.

So that's currently the equivalent of 4 or 2 gallons of gas.

That's no matter as I no longer drive a car.

 

[Martyn980]

Yes, what a different mentality we have, I thought I found like-minded people, it turned out to be complete amateurs, you can continue to listen to your observations and in any quantity, I'm not your assistant.I'll contact Benchmark directly, I'm sure there are smart people there who will understand what I want.

 

[JustJones]

Yes, what a different mentality we have, I thought I found like-minded people, it turned out to be complete amateurs, you can continue to listen to your observations and in any quantity, I'm not your assistant.I'll contact Benchmark directly, I'm sure there are smart people there who will understand what I want.

May the force be with you.

 

[holbob]

May the force be with you.

He's got plenty of that!

 

[gfinlays]

Yes, what a different mentality we have, I thought I found like-minded people, it turned out to be complete amateurs, you can continue to listen to your observations and in any quantity, I'm not your assistant.I'll contact Benchmark directly, I'm sure there are smart people there who will understand what I want.

Benchmark built the AHB2 with the most sophisticated feed-forward distortion control circuitry ever employed in an audio power amplifier. They also fitted a supply voltage auto-sensing/adjusting SMPS. If there was a sonic benefit to running the AHB2 on 100/120 V rather than 220/230/240 V they would have measured it and would have told us about it. They're probably one of, if not the most, science and engineering driven, anti-snake-oil manufacturers on the planet.

I'm not sure what your thoughts were regarding like-minded people. There needs to be some solid science based (i.e. measurable) reason for any change in sound. More often than not, perceived changes are due to cognitive biases, which when properly controlled remove the perceived change. Hence some of the push-back from members here.

Your wiring arrangement is positively dangerous, with exposed live parts which contravene the generally accepted IP2X standard for indoor electrical installations in most developed countries.

Your home/your fortress? All well and good until someone dies from electrocution or your house burns down and takes the surrounding dwellings with it.

Here in the UK, we have BS7671, aka the IET wiring regulations. Except they're not really regulations. In law, they actually comprise an ACOP and guidance. No one will prosecute you for not complying with them, until something goes wrong, then they'll use them to crucify you in court.

 

[Ground Noise Industries]

I guess I missed the post about fuses blowing. From what I've read, this is most likely a wetware issue.

Sorry, I posted info about the fuses to give a good idea of max current draw the power supplies will request before the need of protection.