I have two of these units, for two sets of speakers. I switched over from McIntosh tubes to these, and will never go back. These things are crisp without being harsh, and are incredibly responsive even at very low volumes. I set up the amps side by side, rather than stacked, just to make sure nothing got overheated.
Hey man, I watch you channel too! I'm honored to see you around. I'm actually waiting for your Sony A95K and X95K reviews to drop soon, so I can finally upgrade to a better set. Keep up the good work!
I bought one for shits and giggles for my headphones. Quite a frivolous purchase but now that I've had it for around half a year, i love the versatility it provided to my setup. It can run anything from headphones to speakers
Great review, in fact your reference application of this amp in your other reviews has now left me wanting it (badly). Really interesting how the correction circuit works. Best scenario for class A/B 🙏🏼
I love my AHB2's too. I have 5 for my home theater system - one on each speaker (all 5 are full range). Also for fun one day I brought them to my local kef dealer and we quad amped (2x2) a pair of blade metas just for fun :)
Hey there! Great review. I also saw your video praising the HPA4 as a headphone amp. I saw a video where someone used the Susvara on the HPA4 and AHB2 and concluded that the AHB2 was the better option. Have you tried the AHB2 as a headphone amp, and if so, is it comparable to the HPA4? Very interested in getting one of the two and would love your feedback. Thank you for your time and have a great one.
I have an AHB2 with a Parasound P6 pre driving a pair of Usher BE 10's, no fancy cabling - just balanced short runs from an Oppo 95 and the Parasound, it's so revealing and the sound stage is perfect, I don't feel it needs a second amp, one does the job as I have a smallish room.
Hi there, thank you for yet another great review! I saw a Naim Uniti Atom in your video, did you try the Benchmark with the Atom as a Pre ? I love everything about the Atom and I am considering getting the HE version and pair it with a proper power amp, this amp seem a good candidate unless I should go for the new NAP 250 from Naim. I would love to hear your views on this matter. I intend to drive a set of Sonus faber Electa Amator II with it. All the best from snowy Norway! BR Nicolay
Thank you for your great review! I don’t know if is better to buy 2 AHB2’s amps or the new Naim 250 amp for my Naim NSC 222 preamp. What is your recommendation? Thanks for your support.
@@Soundnews thank you very much, a bit disturbing for me but it is what it is. I had a small hope for some of them being more organic than kinki as by reviews of their INTEGRATED many says that it is not warm generaly, but I am going to give him personal listen. My intention is to add tube preamplifier, and some r2r dac. I am not detail hunter but quality is not only about details I belive, and those 3 do have quality. Have seen on youtube adding schiit freya to benchmark ahb without major issues, so this one should be even easier. I say it because those 3 poweramps will expose any hum, noise comeing from not very highend products. If you would have any further advise for me I will be only happy. Wish you nice day.
Great review. I am upgrading my Burson Soloist 3xp to GT, in part based on your excellent review. Also planning to use the GT as a preamp in my stereo and buying some monoblocks. This review has pushed the AHB2 to the top of my list but also very intrigued by the new Burson Timekeeper GT monoblocks. Not a lot of reviews on the Burson monoblocks though so wondering if you would be willing and able to review. They use a very unique approach to power but not sure how they would compare Thanks!
Hi Michael, congrats on switching to GT, the jump in SQ should be felt immediately. Unfortunately, I can't borrow the newest Timekeeper monoblocks, but I will be borrowing the newest Conductor 3X GT for another review
@@Soundnews thank you! Do you feel the Soloist GT would be a good choice as preamp? I am really into detail, transparency and sound stage. I also prefer as natural tone as possible. I find tubes too soft, slow. I currently use a Macintosh 200 x 2 watt integrated but feel it's a bit slow and would like more transparency. Appreciate your opinion on this. Thanks
@@mimofi For a fuller bodied tone, get the Super Charger 5A for your Soloist GT, it does exactly that. It works great as a preamp, it has a high quality volume control, plus a dedicated preamp stage. I think GT would bring exactly what you're searching in your setup.
Interesting review, have you ever heard the Japanese Class A Amps like Luxman ? If so how would these compare. I really like my L=590AII but am considering moving up to separates without breaking the bank. So I am considering these or the Burson timekeeper 3x gt. I would appreciate your thoughts on this.
Hello, thanks for the review. Can someone explain how can i set in mono bridge to achieve 280watts? Mono means the whole amp into just one speaker? Thanks in advance.
Hi, I am not sure if this has been asked but if you compare a single stereo Benchmark unit to a single Keces s300 unit, are the dynamics, sound stage, depth/width/height comparable and how so? Also, it's not clear to me but it sounds like the Keces can also be run as mono blocks? Or is bridging something different? Would you do a video on 2 mono blocked Benchmarks against two bridged Keces?
Here is an excerpt from his review of the Keces in which he answers a reader's comment regarding the differences. "Problem is you never mentioned your loudspeakers. I have both amps and AHB2 is a better power amp, but ONLY IF your loudspeakers aren't that difficult to drive. In case of my KEF Reference 3, a single AHB2 cannot properly drive them, it clips quite often, but a single S300 has no issues with them at all, hence buying an additional AHB2 for that matter. If your loudspeakers are quite sensitive, then get the AHB2 - there isn't a speedier amplifier right now." Keces for power, Benchmark for speed. If I were to buy a power amp, the three I would consider are the Keces S300, Benchmark AHB2 and the Jeff Roland Model 125. How's that for design variation?
Very informative review, only info missing is what preamp or preamps you are using for mono use? i see the benchmark LA4 only has 1 xlr mono output, does that mean one would need 2 (LA4) one for each AHB2 ? 💰💰😕
Hi Stanislav. It really depends on your setup, if you feel that you have enough warmth and substance, then their LA4 or HPA4 would make an outstanding setup. If you need a little bit more midrange presence and more soul, then I would go with a tube preamp and if you need a tighter bass control then I would go with an active solid-state preamp that uses an all-discrete Class-A output stage...Again, it depends in your needs and preference.
@@misterdog597 … have you heard it? Or just by seeing some graphs? They Topping D90 does not sound as good as something like say the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge even. I know as I owned both and more. Until you have heard it, don’t assume based on what you see from graphs.
It happened once with a low-voltage source, otherwise one unit is more than enough for Suzy. Please check my Susvara review, you'll find more info in there.
@@Soundnews Hi Sandu, Would you take this amp single unit only or the ferrum oor with the hypsos if your only headphone was the Susvara? And does the benchmark ahb2 speaker amplifier also improve the sound of the hifiman arya v3 compare to headphone amps? I heard alot of people say the Arya is more power hungry than most arya owners think. Thanks in advanced!.
I’ve tried this with a marantz sr8300 as preamp but it doesn’t sound as good just using my marantz to drive my magnepan 1.7i speakers. Is this because the rca level output of my marantz is not sufficient to drive the ahb2 well? I found the sound more engaging, warm and detailed with acoustic guitar and cymbals on just my marantz without ahb2. It has been suggested to me to use mytek Brooklyn bridge as streamer, dac and preamp and not use my marantz. Will this resolve the sound enjoyment issue?
i think sometimes these amps get so so overblown with "how good they are" because they measure on a computer the best. Only your ears can determine if they are good sounding, not a computer graph. I have never heard these and am welcome to audition them, but I sure am not going to order these at their absurd price point because they are "popular". If they come down $500 sure
@@djfirestormx in the end my wife and I decided to replace the marantz sr8300 with a Mytek Brooklyn bridge. Lol power supply in Mytek let’s down the sound quality so I also bought a ferrum hypsos. Now I’m happy. One benefit of the combo is smaller footprint width and depth
@@_kardus can you elaborate on the design flaw? First time I'm hearing about anything like this and to my ears (obviously they aren't measurement devices) it sound great with the Hypsos and every review I read about the combo always mentioned how great they work with the Susvara and generally a very good amp. I do recall some goldensound measurements about it but it still measured well for headphones (maybe not as good for iems but I don't use any). I upgraded to the Oor from the gs-x mini and also a few other sub $1000 and non of them bested the Oor/Hypsos to me, not with the Susvara at least. The GS-X mini sounds amazing with the LCD-5.
@@_kardus thanks I can appreciate the honest answer. I'm not looking to upgrade the Oor and Hypsos at the moment. I think they sound amazing and they drive my headphones with ease. Noise or no noise, to my ears they're really great. I rather spend the money on other parts of the chain like a new turntable or a tube preamp/amp..
Here is an excerpt from his review of the Keces in which he answers a reader's comment regarding the differences. "Problem is you never mentioned your loudspeakers. I have both amps and AHB2 is a better power amp, but ONLY IF your loudspeakers aren't that difficult to drive. In case of my KEF Reference 3, a single AHB2 cannot properly drive them, it clips quite often, but a single S300 has no issues with them at all, hence buying an additional AHB2 for that matter. If your loudspeakers are quite sensitive, then get the AHB2 - there isn't a speedier amplifier right now." Keces for power, Benchmark for speed. If I were to buy a power amp, the three I would consider are the Keces S300, Benchmark AHB2 and the Jeff Roland Model 125. How's that for design variation?
Quote close but very distinctly different. All of audio is diminishing returns. Its all about it the specific returns you are getting are worth the cost to you specifically
@@henriksrensen3220 Fair enough. I'm in the market for a new amp and not knowing Gryphon, I checked them out. Prices are waaaay out of my league. Bummer.
I have two of these units, for two sets of speakers. I switched over from McIntosh tubes to these, and will never go back. These things are crisp without being harsh, and are incredibly responsive even at very low volumes. I set up the amps side by side, rather than stacked, just to make sure nothing got overheated.
It's a pro level machine for pro needs - that's what it's designed to do, and it does it. I love mine too!
Hey man, I watch you channel too! I'm honored to see you around. I'm actually waiting for your Sony A95K and X95K reviews to drop soon, so I can finally upgrade to a better set. Keep up the good work!
I bought one for shits and giggles for my headphones. Quite a frivolous purchase but now that I've had it for around half a year, i love the versatility it provided to my setup. It can run anything from headphones to speakers
Great review, in fact your reference application of this amp in your other reviews has now left me wanting it (badly). Really interesting how the correction circuit works. Best scenario for class A/B 🙏🏼
I love my AHB2's too. I have 5 for my home theater system - one on each speaker (all 5 are full range). Also for fun one day I brought them to my local kef dealer and we quad amped (2x2) a pair of blade metas just for fun :)
Why would anyone need two power Benchmark amps? To drive the Hifiman Susvara headphones, obviously 😃😃 Great job, Sandu!👍
Haha...yeah...there's a dude that does exactly that
This will be my next amp... thanks for the review.
For three years I was hesitant in trying the AHB2. I don't regret my purchase
Hey there! Great review. I also saw your video praising the HPA4 as a headphone amp. I saw a video where someone used the Susvara on the HPA4 and AHB2 and concluded that the AHB2 was the better option. Have you tried the AHB2 as a headphone amp, and if so, is it comparable to the HPA4? Very interested in getting one of the two and would love your feedback. Thank you for your time and have a great one.
i was literally looking for a review from you about this for the past few days
I have an AHB2 with a Parasound P6 pre driving a pair of Usher BE 10's, no fancy cabling - just balanced short runs from an Oppo 95 and the Parasound, it's so revealing and the sound stage is perfect, I don't feel it needs a second amp, one does the job as I have a smallish room.
Would you say the Kinki M7 offers better 3D Soundstage, width and depth than the Benchmark? Also, which is more dynamic and transparent? Thanks!
Thanks for the video SoundNews.
My pleasure, as always
Nice, thanks for the review!
My pleasure!
Hi there, thank you for yet another great review! I saw a Naim Uniti Atom in your video, did you try the Benchmark with the Atom as a Pre ? I love everything about the Atom and I am considering getting the HE version and pair it with a proper power amp, this amp seem a good candidate unless I should go for the new NAP 250 from Naim. I would love to hear your views on this matter. I intend to drive a set of Sonus faber Electa Amator II with it. All the best from snowy Norway! BR Nicolay
I love that Benchmark. I definitely want to have 2 as monblocks but may only need one for my Focus's. Very great review sir!
May I ask how did you bridge them?
I order LA4 preamp and 2 AHB2
Thank you for your great review! I don’t know if is better to buy 2 AHB2’s amps or the new Naim 250 amp for my Naim NSC 222 preamp. What is your recommendation? Thanks for your support.
I immediately saw the btaccoustics panels in the background.
hello, between benchmark, keces and kinki, which one of the would you say is warmer sounding? if that question still does make sence with those amps.
Hi, Kinki is definitely "warmer" and more organic sounding, followed by Keces and then by the neutral Benchmark AHB2
@@Soundnews thank you very much, a bit disturbing for me but it is what it is. I had a small hope for some of them being more organic than kinki as by reviews of their INTEGRATED many says that it is not warm generaly, but I am going to give him personal listen. My intention is to add tube preamplifier, and some r2r dac. I am not detail hunter but quality is not only about details I belive, and those 3 do have quality. Have seen on youtube adding schiit freya to benchmark ahb without major issues, so this one should be even easier. I say it because those 3 poweramps will expose any hum, noise comeing from not very highend products. If you would have any further advise for me I will be only happy. Wish you nice day.
Super Review !!
Great review. I am upgrading my Burson Soloist 3xp to GT, in part based on your excellent review. Also planning to use the GT as a preamp in my stereo and buying some monoblocks. This review has pushed the AHB2 to the top of my list but also very intrigued by the new Burson Timekeeper GT monoblocks. Not a lot of reviews on the Burson monoblocks though so wondering if you would be willing and able to review. They use a very unique approach to power but not sure how they would compare
Thanks!
Hi Michael, congrats on switching to GT, the jump in SQ should be felt immediately. Unfortunately, I can't borrow the newest Timekeeper monoblocks, but I will be borrowing the newest Conductor 3X GT for another review
@@Soundnews thank you! Do you feel the Soloist GT would be a good choice as preamp? I am really into detail, transparency and sound stage. I also prefer as natural tone as possible. I find tubes too soft, slow. I currently use a Macintosh 200 x 2 watt integrated but feel it's a bit slow and would like more transparency. Appreciate your opinion on this. Thanks
@@mimofi For a fuller bodied tone, get the Super Charger 5A for your Soloist GT, it does exactly that. It works great as a preamp, it has a high quality volume control, plus a dedicated preamp stage. I think GT would bring exactly what you're searching in your setup.
Interesting review, have you ever heard the Japanese Class A Amps like Luxman ? If so how would these compare. I really like my L=590AII but am considering moving up to separates without breaking the bank. So I am considering these or the Burson timekeeper 3x gt. I would appreciate your thoughts on this.
Hello, thanks for the review. Can someone explain how can i set in mono bridge to achieve 280watts? Mono means the whole amp into just one speaker? Thanks in advance.
I own the Parasound HCA 1500A amp. I wonder if I will be able to tell the difference with the Benchmark.
Hi, I am not sure if this has been asked but if you compare a single stereo Benchmark unit to a single Keces s300 unit, are the dynamics, sound stage, depth/width/height comparable and how so? Also, it's not clear to me but it sounds like the Keces can also be run as mono blocks? Or is bridging something different? Would you do a video on 2 mono blocked Benchmarks against two bridged Keces?
Here is an excerpt from his review of the Keces in which he answers a reader's comment regarding the differences.
"Problem is you never mentioned your loudspeakers. I have both amps and AHB2 is a better power amp, but ONLY IF your loudspeakers aren't that difficult to drive. In case of my KEF Reference 3, a single AHB2 cannot properly drive them, it clips quite often, but a single S300 has no issues with them at all, hence buying an additional AHB2 for that matter. If your loudspeakers are quite sensitive, then get the AHB2 - there isn't a speedier amplifier right now."
Keces for power, Benchmark for speed. If I were to buy a power amp, the three I would consider are the Keces S300, Benchmark AHB2 and the Jeff Roland Model 125. How's that for design variation?
Very informative review, only info missing is what preamp or preamps you are using for mono use? i see the benchmark LA4 only has 1 xlr mono output, does that mean one would need 2 (LA4) one for each AHB2 ? 💰💰😕
feed one amp from LA4 left channel, and one amp from LA4 right channel = Stereo!
Got one, :-) but my speakers are 92db sensitivity and one is more than enough..
You lucky one ;)
Dear Sandu, Which preamps do you recommend with the AHB2 amplifier. Thank you for your ansver
Hi Stanislav. It really depends on your setup, if you feel that you have enough warmth and substance, then their LA4 or HPA4 would make an outstanding setup. If you need a little bit more midrange presence and more soul, then I would go with a tube preamp and if you need a tighter bass control then I would go with an active solid-state preamp that uses an all-discrete Class-A output stage...Again, it depends in your needs and preference.
@@Soundnews thank you !!!
Topping Pre90, it is as transparent as the AHB2, see ASR for review.
@@misterdog597 no
@@misterdog597 … have you heard it? Or just by seeing some graphs?
They Topping D90 does not sound as good as something like say the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge even. I know as I owned both and more.
Until you have heard it, don’t assume based on what you see from graphs.
Did single one indicate clipping also with Susvara?
It happened once with a low-voltage source, otherwise one unit is more than enough for Suzy. Please check my Susvara review, you'll find more info in there.
@@Soundnews Hi Sandu, Would you take this amp single unit only or the ferrum oor with the hypsos if your only headphone was the Susvara? And does the benchmark ahb2 speaker amplifier also improve the sound of the hifiman arya v3 compare to headphone amps? I heard alot of people say the Arya is more power hungry than most arya owners think. Thanks in advanced!.
Fantastic amps!
Thanks !
No mention of ahb2 on susvara?
I already did that in my Susvara review.
I’ve tried this with a marantz sr8300 as preamp but it doesn’t sound as good just using my marantz to drive my magnepan 1.7i speakers. Is this because the rca level output of my marantz is not sufficient to drive the ahb2 well? I found the sound more engaging, warm and detailed with acoustic guitar and cymbals on just my marantz without ahb2. It has been suggested to me to use mytek Brooklyn bridge as streamer, dac and preamp and not use my marantz. Will this resolve the sound enjoyment issue?
i think sometimes these amps get so so overblown with "how good they are" because they measure on a computer the best. Only your ears can determine if they are good sounding, not a computer graph. I have never heard these and am welcome to audition them, but I sure am not going to order these at their absurd price point because they are "popular". If they come down $500 sure
@@djfirestormx in the end my wife and I decided to replace the marantz sr8300 with a Mytek Brooklyn bridge. Lol power supply in Mytek let’s down the sound quality so I also bought a ferrum hypsos. Now I’m happy. One benefit of the combo is smaller footprint width and depth
You can do the same with electrostatic headphones ?
if they are so good why did you moved to Chord amp?
4 ohm bridged?
Wonderful amplifiers, looks are unfussy and built very well, bomb proof really, thanks for the information and review..
My pleasure!
No word on driving the Susvara with both?
Of course, check my Susvara review
I run my Susvara off this amp. It's a game changer. Best upgrade I've ever done. and thats coming from a not too shabby HPA4 headphone amp.
@@xeniavader nice to know, I currently have the ferrum oor and hypsos and I'm very happy with them
@@_kardus can you elaborate on the design flaw? First time I'm hearing about anything like this and to my ears (obviously they aren't measurement devices) it sound great with the Hypsos and every review I read about the combo always mentioned how great they work with the Susvara and generally a very good amp. I do recall some goldensound measurements about it but it still measured well for headphones (maybe not as good for iems but I don't use any). I upgraded to the Oor from the gs-x mini and also a few other sub $1000 and non of them bested the Oor/Hypsos to me, not with the Susvara at least. The GS-X mini sounds amazing with the LCD-5.
@@_kardus thanks I can appreciate the honest answer. I'm not looking to upgrade the Oor and Hypsos at the moment. I think they sound amazing and they drive my headphones with ease. Noise or no noise, to my ears they're really great. I rather spend the money on other parts of the chain like a new turntable or a tube preamp/amp..
Are you using the HPA4 as a preamp?
When DS-10 Plus is replaced with a different DAC (for review purposes), then HPA4 is being used as a preamp.
Hello. How do you compare it to Keces S300?
Here is an excerpt from his review of the Keces in which he answers a reader's comment regarding the differences.
"Problem is you never mentioned your loudspeakers. I have both amps and AHB2 is a better power amp, but ONLY IF your loudspeakers aren't that difficult to drive. In case of my KEF Reference 3, a single AHB2 cannot properly drive them, it clips quite often, but a single S300 has no issues with them at all, hence buying an additional AHB2 for that matter. If your loudspeakers are quite sensitive, then get the AHB2 - there isn't a speedier amplifier right now."
Keces for power, Benchmark for speed. If I were to buy a power amp, the three I would consider are the Keces S300, Benchmark AHB2 and the Jeff Roland Model 125. How's that for design variation?
Did you test the AHB2 with the HPA4? 😉
mate, you didn't watch the video. HPA4 is everywhere in the b-rolls :) Simple answer would be: yes!
Hint us without 3K budget, how distant is Topping's contender of this?
Quote close but very distinctly different. All of audio is diminishing returns. Its all about it the specific returns you are getting are worth the cost to you specifically
You're about the PA5? I should receive one soon and a review will probably follow in several weeks
@@Soundnews I meant what will come after PA5, to truly rival AHB2 in all aspects. Like A90 compared to HPA4.
does it keep the soul... the heart,,,of recording
I love how shitty these look.
fast...
So this is basically an over priced version of a Crown XLS 1002
I'm a Crown/JBL fan. I think you mean XLi800. Always worth it.
exactly! in much the same way as a Mercedes AMG is an overpriced version of a honda fit. Exactly the same.
That amplifier was not my cup of tea.
Huh, do you even drink tea?
@@TheTrympeten no i drink Coke.
It's too thin sounding in the midrange. My Gryphon amplifier sounds like real music
@@henriksrensen3220 Fair enough. I'm in the market for a new amp and not knowing Gryphon, I checked them out. Prices are waaaay out of my league. Bummer.
@@TheTrympeten With the right speakers the AHB2 is a great amp
@@henriksrensen3220 Some troll you are. Really? Comparing a Gryphon to this amp?