Review and Measurements of Benchmark AHB2 Amp

[Milt]

I'll sell him mine.

I'll pm you in April 2022ish, Kal

 

[Milt]

What if something cheaper and better comes along?

I'm not a dum-dum
I reassess all the time.

 

[anmpr1]

What if something cheaper and better comes along?

That is always the 'problem' with being numero uno. Once cheaper and better arrives, then their had better be an AHB3 on the assembly line.

 

[avanti1960]

I've started typing down listening impressions after I got the amp and deleted/didn't send them multiple times. It just doesn't make any sense to me to post this. Especially here. I'm sure there's lots of other forums and reviews where you can get subjective listening impressions.

Besides. If you don't like the "sound" of this amp, it's not the amp. I'd rather fix the rest of my setup than go switching amps. For what it's worth I'm feeding it from a Topping D50, but I wish I'd gotten something with XLR outs.

I've started typing down listening impressions after I got the amp and deleted/didn't send them multiple times. It just doesn't make any sense to me to post this. Especially here. I'm sure there's lots of other forums and reviews where you can get subjective listening impressions.

Besides. If you don't like the "sound" of this amp, it's not the amp. I'd rather fix the rest of my setup than go switching amps. For what it's worth I'm feeding it from a Topping D50, but I wish I'd gotten something with XLR outs.

thank you.
subjective impressions are valuable to me, a simple "like it", "love it" of "list it" will be fine!

 

[avanti1960]

All of things you mention are subjective. This amplifier just amplifies what it is fed. If you don't like the result, change your speakers.

Tubes are not forbidden if you are more into MyFi.

"just amplifies" sounds like you are not very passionate or excited about what this particular one does for you.

 

[avanti1960]

I have no way to conduct any sort of A-B or ABX comparisons. However, with my fairly sensitive speakers (Klipsch LaScala II) I hear no hiss at all. Even with the preamp/amp turned up (Benchmark DAC3 HGC and AHB). To me the sound is very clean, but I don't know what I can say about it that is meaningful. I do think the Benchmark sounded better than a set of Dyna Mk IV amps I built (Ed Laurent-David Hafler tube design from the late '50s). But that sort of comparison is likely meaningless to anyone interested in an AHB amplifier in today's modern era.

Another upside is its small form-factor. It is positively tiny, in comparison with most amps.

The downside is that it is rather 'industrial' in appearance. It is not an Accuphase or McIntosh. That said, the 'fit and finish' are first rate.

For the dollar, there is nothing that even approaches it. In fact, for any dollar amount, you will not find anything better. Unless you require tons of raw power. Then, you have to go bridged. And perhaps that might not even be enough.

thank you! BTW i just heard some lascala speakers and they sounded really nice, you are lucky!
i just sold my tube integrated amplifier (rogue audio cronus magnum ii) because I wanted more power in the low end at moderate volume. tests show that it delivers about 80 watts / channel even at 4-ohms.
however i loved the "midrange bloom" and transparency that amplifier delivered.
my new solid state power amplifier has the power i wanted but is not as transparent sounding as my previous tube integrated.
I believe the AHB2 will have all the power I need for my speakers and room.
The measurements say that it is revolutionary, that it is actually better than the capabilities of current measuring and testing equipment. This is exciting to me.
Does this translate into revolutionary state of the art sound quality?
Is transparency and openness a strength of the AHB2?
I have read some critiques that it can sound dull with respect to dynamics. I can live with this as long as the sound is superbly clear and open.
I heard them at AXPONA in Chicago last April and they sounded spell binding- but I wonder how much of that was because of the Martin Logan panel speakers.
Thanks again for any additional comments.

 

[VintageFlanker]

Welcome aboard!

that it is actually better than the capabilities of current measuring and testing equipment.

It's not. Maybe some AHB3 may reach the limit of the AP in the future.

What source and preamplifiers work well?

Every good preamp or source with the same level of transparency, to not down the performance of the AHB2.

What kind of speakers is the sound signature and electrical capabilities best suited for?
Impressions of the sound- lean, neutral, warm, transparent, dynamic, harsh, sweet, analytical, bass heavy?

I think you guessed ASR was not about that. The AHB2 is a (highly) transparent amp due to SOTA technical performance. So it has no sound to speak of, it reproduces the signal as it is, without any coloration, distortion, noise, etc. That's what High-Fidelity is supposed to mean.

I have read some critiques that it can sound dull with respect to dynamics.

You can read anything anywhere. Just about any opinion from one guy... and the exact opposite from another. What you get here is objective performance and all the data to know how it will perform. Once you have this kind of gear on hands, all improvements to be expected are from speakers, room treatments etc. Enjoy.

Happy New year to all ASR folks!!!

 

[Frank Dernie]

Does this translate into revolutionary state of the art sound quality?

It means what you hear will be closer to what the record company released. Whether you like it is another thing.
My personal objective with hifi is basically "high-fidelity" ie as close as I can get to the recording I have bought. I have tried coloured amps but the euphony is non adjustable and doesn't suit all music IME so I don't bother even trying coloured components now (except speakers, none are available with below audible levels of colouration). I find the speaker position in the room makes more difference than any electronics anyway, so one might as well just buy the most accurate amp, since they exist, and get the colour one desires from the speaker and room, since it is unavoidable.

 

[avanti1960]

There are other sites for this, if you want such observations.
The latter.

thanks for the comments. if you could, i just re-read your thoughtful review of the AHB2 and i love your comments-
more pronounced low level detail, "diaphanous" (delicate, light, translucent) and that you grew to love the sound.
the one area that is concerning is "loss of richness" in singer's voices and recordings compared to other amps.
was it unacceptable with the monitor audios yet OK with the B&W speakers- implying that we need to take care matching speakers to it?
if so, is there any way to predict this in advance if you know the speaker's impedance and phase vs. frequency plots (for example)?

 

[Kal Rubinson]

the one area that is concerning is "loss of richness" in singer's voices and recordings compared to other amps.
was it unacceptable with the monitor audios yet OK with the B&W speakers- implying that we need to take care matching speakers to it?

I think it was simply revealing what the speakers are doing. Since the time of that observation, it has led to my replacement of the B&Ws with Revels that have less "richness" but which I find more honest and satisfying.

if so, is there any way to predict this in advance if you know the speaker's impedance and phase vs. frequency plots (for example)?

No. Speakers, in general, are less honest and consistent than amplifiers and are subject to setup and room influences. Although I dote on my AHB2s, there are many power amps that I could live with happily. OTOH, speakers range widely (and wildly) in how they sound and interact with room acoustics and I find most unacceptably colored.

 

[Laserjock]

Does it make you want to replace the Monitor Audio speakers ?
@Kal Rubinson

 

[Koeitje]

"just amplifies" sounds like you are not very passionate or excited about what this particular one does for you.

No, its the ultimate compliment for an amplifier. To amplify the incoming signal without adding anything to it.

thank you! BTW i just heard some lascala speakers and they sounded really nice, you are lucky!
i just sold my tube integrated amplifier (rogue audio cronus magnum ii) because I wanted more power in the low end at moderate volume. tests show that it delivers about 80 watts / channel even at 4-ohms.
however i loved the "midrange bloom" and transparency that amplifier delivered.
my new solid state power amplifier has the power i wanted but is not as transparent sounding as my previous tube integrated.
I believe the AHB2 will have all the power I need for my speakers and room.
The measurements say that it is revolutionary, that it is actually better than the capabilities of current measuring and testing equipment. This is exciting to me.
Does this translate into revolutionary state of the art sound quality?
Is transparency and openness a strength of the AHB2?
I have read some critiques that it can sound dull with respect to dynamics. I can live with this as long as the sound is superbly clear and open.
I heard them at AXPONA in Chicago last April and they sounded spell binding- but I wonder how much of that was because of the Martin Logan panel speakers.
Thanks again for any additional comments.

The AHB2 will sound nothing like the pile of distortion (0.1%!!!!!) you are listening to right now, so you might not like it.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Does it make you want to replace the Monitor Audio speakers ?
@Kal Rubinson

I don't use it with the MA speakers. They are in a different house.

 

[FrantzM]

Totally inconsequential post, but if my retirement plan comes to fruition in 2022 & after I relocate, 3 AHB2s will be on my buy list.
Driving 3 Studio2s.

BTW, Happy New Year!

CONSEQUENTIAL Post.. to me

 

[Milt]

CONSEQUENTIAL Post.. to me

Well, thank you!
So Kal, what are you using for a MCH pre-amp?
The choices are few and far between.
I just discovered that Parasound has discontinued the P7 in the last year.
Bummer, ya snooze ya lose I guess

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Well, thank you!
So Kal, what are you using for a MCH pre-amp?
The choices are few and far between.
I just discovered that Parasound has discontinued the P7 in the last year.
Bummer, ya snooze ya lose I guess

I have several (AR MP1, Parasound P7, Coleman SR5.1) but I am in the process of building my own..........................of necessity.

 

[Milt]

Happy New Year, Kal.
Building your own pre-amp?
Sounds like an intriguing article to me.

 

[Laserjock]

I don't use it with the MA speakers. They are in a different house.

Yes, I understood that. Just wondering if it was enough to push a change at the secondary location.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Happy New Year, Kal.
Building your own pre-amp?
Sounds like an intriguing article to me.

Unlikely.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Yes, I understood that. Just wondering if it was enough to push a change at the secondary location.

Nope. I am OK with the MAs and the Bryston. The system is actually way beyond what I had planned for it and I am unlikely to make major changes at this time.