Review and Measurements of Benchmark AHB2 Amp

[invaderzim]

It falls apart in the Plankton?????

But anyway some random person's subjective musings are not really relevant here.

I thought that was a joke, but I guess it is serious or as serious as that review can be with pretty much every buzzword ever seen in an audio review.

All I can say is Plankton doesn't look happy about it

Why can't people enjoy the music? That's the only thing you should be getting emotional about.

There is a good argument for the live and let live attitude but at the same time it is subjective, over the top, reviews like that which drive sales of sub-par products. That being said, I always find a well worded and backed argument to be much better than a dismissive tone. But this could easily devolve into a tirade on how people's attitudes on the internet are carrying over to real life and causing all sorts of issues.

 

[anmpr1]

You guys are making yourselves and to an extent, the whole ASR community look bad when you make posts like this. Yes, SBAF also mocks people here and they are guilty of the same thing. It doesn't mean you have to stoop to the same level. I post here much more often then I post there because this site feels like far less of an echo chamber circle jerk. But when people get emotional and start devolving into immature name calling and bashing of other people I feel bad for wanting to be a part of the community. Same goes for them, too.

Why can't people enjoy the music? That's the only thing you should be getting emotional about.

Idiocy that libels the work of important, ground breaking engineering, such as we see with THX/Benchmark deserves to be mocked. And mocked resoundingly. This 'reviewer' is making stuff up that he didn't hear. He imagined all of it. That's the bottom line. The idea that a Schiit amplifier is in any way superior to a Benchmark is the height of irresponsibility. He should be embarrassed and ashamed of himself.

And why should you 'feel bad' about exposing nonsense? There is no reason to be that meek and/or submissive. Rather, I suggest you laugh at what this guy wrote. It will make you 'feel' better once you get the hang of it.

 

[BDWoody]

Idiocy that libels the work of important, ground breaking engineering, such as we see with THX/Benchmark deserves to be mocked. And mocked resoundingly. This 'reviewer' is making stuff up that he didn't hear. He imagined all of it. That's the bottom line. The idea that a Schiit amplifier is in any way superior to a Benchmark is the height of irresponsibility. He should be embarrassed and ashamed of himself.

And why should you 'feel bad' about exposing nonsense? There is no reason to be that meek and/or submissive. Rather, I suggest you laugh at what this guy wrote. It will make you 'feel' better once you get the hang of it.

I'm waiting for one of them to relate how even the neighbor across the street called to ask why the music suddenly sounded so covered in plankton...

These people are walking talking snake oil selling arrogance in action, and when I'm not shaking my head at the lunacy of it, I have occasional glimpses of my past self where I might have thought most of that meant something...

Glad I'm not there anymore, sorry for those who are.

I appreciate those who showed (show) me patience as I learned (learn), especially on this site. I try to do the same with sincere newcomers, but the ones who start by knowing everything are tough to be anything but dismissive of...

The Charlatans and outright crooks deserve scorn in my opinion.

 

[invaderzim]

Idiocy that libels the work of important, ground breaking engineering, such as we see with THX/Benchmark deserves to be mocked. And mocked resoundingly. This 'reviewer' is making stuff up that he didn't hear. He imagined all of it. That's the bottom line. The idea that a Schiit amplifier is in any way superior to a Benchmark is the height of irresponsibility. He should be embarrassed and ashamed of himself.

I'm fine with people listening to whatever they like. If they feel that fancy cables improved the sound of their system then by all means they should enjoy it. If he had just said "I prefer the Vidar to the Benchmark amp" then more power to him. But what he did was resoundingly endorsed and encouraged others to buy the Vidar instead. Someone or some people are likely going to buy the Vidar after reading that review and be happy with themselves because it is "better" than the highly regarded Benchmark Amp.

And that is what so many people do. They don't just buy a doorstop, put it on their DAC and go "hey, that sounds better to me" they go out and tell thousands and thousands of people that they should also buy a doorstop. And they throw a bunch of nonsense talk into it to make it sound even more convincing.

A lot of junk is thriving with the loss of the audio store. Back when there were audio stores the equipment had to perform because you listened to it before buying it. The sales people could always try to guide the customer in a direction and talk up one product over another but in the end you switched back and forth between two amps and bought the one you liked.
Now customers read flowery descriptions with buzzwords online and think "I wish my system sounded like that" and when they get the product they are thinking "Now my system will sound like that" so when they fire it up their system does 'sound' like that; at least to them.

The amount of audio crap that people buy in mass quantities because this youtube reviewer or that poster on a forum or this other reviewer raved about it has got to be huge. And people buying all that junk just encourages them to build more junk rather than rewarding those that build quality so that we get more quality.

 

[RichB]

We are definitely spending too much time on this poster.

I am all in favor of in-home comparison but at the very least, gain match with a voltmeter.
The next level up is to perform some SBTs (for amps). Personally, I cannot comprehend the decision to pair the AHB2 with a tube preamp.

Audio poetry and tropes are tiresome, but I stand in awe of this posters ability to reference small floating ocean life, architecture, and break free from the constraints imposed by vocabulary.

Here is another post from purr1N:

Not really heaing any major improvement. The Freya preamp active tubes does help with soundstage. The Saga preamp only has a light touch, hence the stage of the AHB2 was located just in front of the speakers. Now with the Freya, the stage is now pushed a few feet back at the windowsill. Still, the AHB2 soundstage lacks depth, layering, separation, and a certain kind textural / spacial resolution that only speakers can seem to manage (the best headphones can still do pure plankton better). Don't get me wrong, the AHB2 does not sound clausterphonic or closed-in at all. It actually has a nice very open airy sense. It's just lacks the depth, layering, and separation of better gear. Well not just that. It's also kind of flat and not the most exciting. I might pull out the Crest CA2 for a direct comparison to another amp.

It is a great relief that the AHB2 does not sound "clausterphonic".

- Rich

 

[anmpr1]

I'm fine with people listening to whatever they like. If they feel that fancy cables improved the sound of their system then by all means they should enjoy it. If he had just said "I prefer the Vidar to the Benchmark amp" then more power to him. But what he did was resoundingly endorsed and encouraged others to buy the Vidar instead.

There are times I prefer to look and listen to my Dyna tubes. Why not? And there are reasons for that. But I'm not going to come on a forum and go on and on about how an almost 60 year old tube amp is superior to an AHB2. It's the same with gear like Schiit. I mean, do people not have any shame?

There are only 2 reasons that could justify what this guy is saying. Actually, 3. But the 3rd is highly unlikely:

1) He just made it all up after conducting an undisciplined 'test', without matching levels and hiding the brands. This is the most likely explanation.

2) The Schiit amp is dumping objectionable distortion into his speaker terminals, and that is responsible for his subjective impressions. Perhaps the guy is so used to listening to audible distortion that an encounter with truly vanishing levels of distortion is causing him perceptual interpretation problems. That is possible, given how Schiit products are designed and built, and how Benchmark products are designed and built. So I can't totally discount that.

3) The Benchmark was defective. That is the most unlikely scenario, however.

 

[laidick]

Given the way that a lot of Schiit gear is designed and built, and measures, I cannot out of hand discount the fact that the Schiit amp was dumping enough distortion into the signal to make it sound different than the exceptionally clean Benchmark. But my guess is that the 'reviewer' was just fooling himself, and wanted to write something idiotic as he thought that would make him look like a maven in the eyes of his Super Best Audio friends. Good grief!

Yes agree, I do have some friends acting this way, make himself as an expert in audio by using those non scientific wordings ...

 

[nemesisrobot]

Hi all, I received a notification today that my AHB2 has shipped! I’ll finally get my hands on this bad boy.

In all, it was a ~6.5 week wait time for me, so expect a bit of a wait if you’re placing an order.

 

[levimax]

There are times I prefer to look and listen to my Dyna tubes. Why not? And there are reasons for that. But I'm not going to come on a forum and go on and on about how an almost 60 year old tube amp is superior to an AHB2. It's the same with gear like Schiit. I mean, do people not have any shame?

There are only 2 reasons that could justify what this guy is saying. Actually, 3. But the 3rd is highly unlikely:

1) He just made it all up after conducting an undisciplined 'test', without matching levels and hiding the brands. This is the most likely explanation.

2) The Schiit amp is dumping objectionable distortion into his speaker terminals, and that is responsible for his subjective impressions. Perhaps the guy is so used to listening to audible distortion that an encounter with truly vanishing levels of distortion is causing him perceptual interpretation problems. That is possible, given how Schiit products are designed and built, and how Benchmark products are designed and built. So I can't totally discount that.

3) The Benchmark was defective. That is the most unlikely scenario, however.

4. Corruption?

 

[Laserjock]

Hi all, I received a notification today that my AHB2 has shipped! I’ll finally get my hands on this bad boy.

In all, it was a ~6.5 week wait time for me, so expect a bit of a wait if you’re placing an order.

Congrats!
What’s it replacing?

 

[nemesisrobot]

Not replacing anything. It will be used for my RAAL SR1a

 

[Laserjock]

Not replacing anything. It will be used for my RAAL SR1a

Interesting combo.

 

[anmpr1]

4. Corruption?

I don't think these people are necessarily corrupt. Maybe some of them. At the top, folks who actually make money 'reviewing' stuff. They are dependent upon making sure the income (advertising) and gear (long term loaners) keep coming. I always go in to those 'reviews' thinking about the spread. That was Gordon Holt's original raison d'être, if we recall.

On the other hand, a guy writing for a place called Super Best Hi Fi Pals, or whatever it's called, is probably just a true believer. Someone who really believes the 'plankton' theory of low level audio 'micro-details. And who believes he has a hearing acuity that allows him to discern fine distinctions, and make subsequent value judgements. My guess is that these types are sincere, but obviously deluded.

On a lark I checked out his 'review' again. He somewhere claims that the amp he uses as a reference is a 40+ year old Pioneer. He calls that the 'bee's knees' of amplifiers. Of course no one has one of those around to even make a valid comparison, anymore. So you have to take the guy's word on it. On a lark I pulled a review of this amp from the then 'subjectivist' Peter Aczel. At least Pete didn't bring up microscopic aquatic insects in his description. But the point is, when reviews are so subjective and, frankly, downright weird, what good are they? Who you gonna believe? Flip a coin? And strange that these folks' fine discernment evaporates once you match levels and hide the brands. But then, plankton differences have to be small, almost invisible, from the get-go. Right?

Pioneer Series 20 M-22 Class A amplifier. $790.00, on loan from manufacturer: The sound of the M-22 is pleasant and nonfatiguiing but not as transparent and detailed as that of other class A amplifiers we've tested. We hear a dull, veiled, almost opaque quality that in our judgement keeps this beautifully made product out of the top category, even on a value per dollar basis. The 30/30 power rating at 8 ohms reflects the penalites of class A operation but is quite conservative; at 40 watts it's good-bye Charlie. Our routine series of measurements revealed no satisfactory reason for the dull sound of the M-22.

To keep it in perspective, Aczel wrote that the best amps he'd tested at the time were Julius Futterman's mostly class A biased H3aa; Mark Levinson ML-2 (bridged for more power); Andy Rappaport's class A thing. The way it turned out, I'm sure Peter would have appreciated Benchmark's creation. Not so much a Schiit Vidar. May he RIP.

 

[PaulD]

I don't think these people are necessarily corrupt. Maybe some of them. At the top, folks who actually make money 'reviewing' stuff. They are dependent upon making sure the income (advertising) and gear (long term loaners) keep coming. I always go in to those 'reviews' thinking about the spread. That was Gordon Holt's original raison d'être, if we recall.
(rest elided).

Yes indeed, that's why subjectivists are so dangerous, they really do believe in the BS they are spreading. They FULLY believe it, I don't think it's a con... They experienced it with their own biased senses. The lack of cognitive ability to understand the basics of human bias and testing, let along Dunning-Kruger, means they create rubbish "reviews" that are not worth time reading. However, humans are terribly susceptible things and mere suggestion is enough to create illusion for many of them...

 

[laidick]

I just think 2) is most likely the reason...
They just get used to listen to distortion / color created by those equipment. Anything else is not as "good" as it.

 

[anmpr1]

Hi all, I received a notification today that my AHB2 has shipped! I’ll finally get my hands on this bad boy.

In all, it was a ~6.5 week wait time for me, so expect a bit of a wait if you’re placing an order.

Be prepared for a shock when you see it's form factor. I remember looking at it in the box and saying to myself, "You've got to be kidding?" It looked bigger in the pictures! Like those Hollywood stars look so much taller on the big screen than in person.

 

[jpelg]

Been running my AHB2, on lowest-gain, for the better part of a year now. It's being fed by the full-on output of my DAC2-HDR, which seems to be the ideal configuration as God (or at least Benchmark) designed for best intended performance. I'd think that any deviation would result in a corresponding dip in absolute performance, nevermind randomly mixing-and-matching with other unknown components in the chain that would interact differently.

I'm not saying that the accurate, detailed Benchmark sound-signature is for everyone, or is ideal with all speakers. But there's alot to be said for planned design synergies. The resulting waves coming out of my Magnepan 1.7i's sound glorious with some recordings, and not-so-much with others. That's the "high-fidelity" game. I know that going in, especially with the eclectic music library I own.

My system is nowhere-near perfect. My room even less so. And I don't think for a minute that there's not something that could sound better for (significantly) more money. But I certainly trust my ears enough, even without gear comparisons & churning, to be pretty darn satisfied so far, and not expect different gear to change a sow's-ear of a mastering job into a silk purse.

As always, YMMV. Cheers all.

 

[DonH56]

If I had $100k for new stereo stuff I'm pretty sure I would spend $85k building a new addition (listening room) for our house and the last $15k on a set of AHB2's to drive my current speakers.

 

[RichB]

Been running my AHB2, on lowest-gain, for the better part of a year now. It's being fed by the full-on output of my DAC2-HDR, which seems to be the ideal configuration as God (or at least Benchmark) designed for best intended performance. I'd think that any deviation would result in a corresponding dip in absolute performance, nevermind randomly mixing-and-matching with other unknown components in the chain that would interact differently.

In my main system, the FL/FR AHB2's in low gain driven by the LA4. One input of the LA4 is the XMC-1 for HT and the other from the Oppo UDP-205. The Salon2's and Voice2 are bi-amped by 3 AHB2s. The Studio2 rears are driven by a single AHB2. It sounds wonderful.

My game room Revel M20's are driven by an AHB2 connected directly to the Oppo UPD-205 XLR outs. The 205 had no problem with the AHB2 mid and high gain settings. The speakers and room are limiting but the M20's never sound is improved and the compact size is appreciated since the components are wall mounted.

I have two friends with AHB2 systems, one is using the Oppo UPD-205 analog out with Benchmark XLR to RCA cables. The Revel Salon2s and Voice are driven by bridged AHB2's and the Gem2 (rear) by an AHB2 in stereo mode. He is thrilled but the room is really live and definitely needs work. I am trying to convince him to get a rug for gods sake

The other is using a Marantz AV8805 with 3 AHB2's for front Salon2's/Voice and two AHB2s for the rear and surround Salons2s.
This system is totally overkill. I love it.

In stereo mode, the AHB2 gain is about 6 dB below typical but still works with a processor clean 2 volts (RCA) and 4 volts (XLR) output. The AHB2 plays well with other quality components.

- Rich

 

[Frank Dernie]

If I had $100k for new stereo stuff I'm pretty sure I would spend $85k building a new addition (listening room) for our house and the last $15k on a set of AHB2's to drive my current speakers.

I didn't spend nearly as much as that on the room, but I did build one, then spend time with a specialist getting the speaker location (and listening areas) such that the room modes intruded least.
We often have several people listening so a single sweet spot is right out.
I already owned the kit I put in it.