![]() Principally the lower octaves are missing. I would love to buy a slew of his transcriptions but I can’t find them. Let us start with unblemished pleasure, having installed the Benchmark I started with Mussorgsky’s Picture at an Exhibition transcribed for the organ and played by Jonathan Scott. I never had this impression with the Benchmark AHB2, but that is not to say that it is a completely positive experience. I could see all the parts but the musical joy and engagement was diminished. A number of years ago I listened to a Schitt Yggdrasil in my system, this was incredibly detailed but to me, over time, I felt as though I was present at a musical autopsy. Is great detail a good thing? It is certainly impressive and will have the listener in raptures as they hear the previously unheard. The AHB2 was even-handed across the frequency spectrum with a balanced mid-range presence. The control of the bass was such that I almost felt the speakers were working downwards by an extra octave. The Benchmark controlled my Sound Artist LS3/5a in a vice-like way. I can understand why this amplifier is valued by professionals, it is superbly informative. My immediate impression was of the sheer detail being presented. The amp took about twenty minutes to come fully on song before which it could be shrill and the bass less than controlled. After a few seconds, the lights went out and ….silence still reigned. Turning on the AHB2 resulted in SILENCE as the FPGA controlled routines checked that all is correct, with two red lights illuminated on the front. This moved from using the Hugo TT RCA outputs to the balanced XLRs. I warmed up my ears by listening through the review playlist a number of times before slotting in the Benchmark AHB2. ![]() How problem tracks and LPs were presented.Comparison of older and modern tracks, with their different mastering priorities.The presentation of vinyl played via my turntable.The presentation of uncompressed LP rips served digitally.Comparison of standard and remastered versions of the same track.Comparison of local and Qobuz sourced versions of the same tracks.The ultimate question is whether these stellar measurements are reflected in what is heard? Above I quoted the power output of the Benchmark AHB2 into 8ohms, Benchmark provides a series of measurements at different loads in their specifications, it is refreshing to see the complexities of such specifications acknowledged. HiFi specifications are an interesting subset of lies, damned lies and statistics. This trades off some of the gains for other performance benefits.įeed-forward allows the identification and removal of any introduced noise and errors. Many amplifier designs use negative feedback. The Benchmark explanation of the feedforward technology can be found HERE. It briefly covers a number of areas including different amplifier topologies, before going through feedback and feedforward and moving on to the Benchmark AHB2 use of these techniques. The video interviews Laurie Fincham, a man with an impressive CV. The development of THX AAA is discussed HERE. The feedforward is a technology called THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier (THX AAA), achromatic indicating it is colourless. The Benchmark AHB2 uses both feedback and feedforward error correction. When the AHB2 was released it was the first time I had seen THX associated with a HiFi amp. THX was sold by Lucas to Razor Inc in 2016. If like me, you have an interest in Audio Visual (AV) then the Tomlinson Holman eXperience (THX) will be very familiar, something developed for George Lucas and first used for ‘The Last Jedi’, back when Star Wars films were worth watching. My intention was to listen to the amp through my Nearfield system before putting it up against my main system’s Naim 300DR. ![]() This power amp is a reassuringly heavy be-finned black box, I love the industrial business-like styling. The double boxed Benchmark AHB2 took a few weeks to arrive due to the supply issues that are bedevilling the world at the moment, it had to return from another reviewer. An excellent bit of kit and not greatly bettered by the Naim DAC that replaced it, but the extra nDAC inputs were very handy at the time and the added PSU improved the Naim further. The only Benchmark gear I have owned was a DAC1, which I used for two years. Later a friend who was using Pass amps was very keen to listen to the Benchmark based on the superb specs, but life intruded and so it never happened, but my peaked curiosity remained. When the Benchmark AHB2 came out I remember reading a couple of the reviews thinking what a neat little thing it was Stockholm syndrome, I had been conditioned by Naim shoe boxes.
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