I never get tired of the LA4 AHB2 combo. it just sounds ‘ right’. Timbre is totally spot on to me. people may think that the amp is sterile or whatever being so technically well made. But it is whatever the music says. just glorious
The playback is whatever the music says, minus the music that is removed by the excessive feed-forward feedback corrections.
I've heard the upper end of the Benchmark designed THX-AAA headphone amps that are using the same feed-forward amplifier design as the AHB2. And I'd never buy one of those amps. They sound clean to a fault. Clean to the point of lacking depth. I don't want any sort of amp based on that excessive feed-forward error correction design. I want an amp that can capture the soul of the music, not strip that soul away.
Looks like you have not heard the AHB2 and you feel it will lack depth and life. I don’t find that with the AHB2 in my set up. Used it with a simple Oppo HA-1 to a Cary Audio SLP-05 and it’s not lacking depth or lifeless. Hmmmm …
How many of the Benchmark designed AAA style amps do I need to hear before I can decide that they style of sound they do is dimensionally flat and lacking soul. Their feed-forward correction is clean sound to a fault. Schiit has also demonstrated this distinction with their Magni Heresy headphone amp vs. their Magni 3+ headphone amp. The Heresy amp is multiple op-amps in a feedforward design to eliminate distortion. Great for measurements. The Magni 3+ is a discrete amp design with current-feedback. The Magni 3+ sounds better to my ears. Benchmark isn't the only audio company that knows how to do excessive feed-forward designs. There is a reason why Schiit's other amps don't use that all op-amp feed-forward design.
@Ham Sandwich … you said you listened to the headphone amps, safe to assume it’s with headphones. But the discussion here is the AHB2 with speakers. It’s almost akin to me, after owning the Freya+ for a very short period, then say all of Schiit’s power amps, that I’ve not heard before, sound kinda dull. We need apples to apples. If you did and don’t like the AHB2 at all, it’s a fair call. At least you heard it.
How many Benchmark designed AAA amps do I need to hear before deciding that their feed-forward AAA is never going to work for me no matter how well it is supposedly done. It is the sound of clean to a fault. And I find that fault very faulting. I don't want an amp that sounds like that. That sort of sound has nothing to offer me. There are people using the AHB2 as a headphone amp to drive hard to drive headphones like the $6000 HiFiMan Susvara (you connect the headphones directly to the speaker taps). Eventually I'll get to hear that setup at a meet or get-together. But I'd much rather get to listen to the $6K Susvara with some other amp. Something with imaging depth and soul.
Being that the only amps Benchmark has designed are the AHB2 and HPA4, you technically haven’t heard them. THX-AAA is a licensed tech. It wasn’t created by Benchmark. If the system’s volume control is not up to snuff, you’re not going to really hear what THX-AAA can do, similar to if you mate an AHB2 to any preamp other than the likes of an LA4/Topping Pre90/Bel Canto PRe5. Same for the circuit board layout. If it’s not done right the potential advantage is negated. Headphone listening “depth” is a joke compared to that of well placed, high performance loudspeakers.
Anyone feel they need to have two amps bridged? How is the bass and dynamics with just one amp? Currently using 90db speakers with a min. of 4.5 ohms impedance. If I need two I would prefer to buy them at once and get a better deal. Thanks.
They move my proacs which are 4ohms no problem. others can chime in for more demanding speakers. dynamics are amazing. Bass is tight and detailed and not lean.
A single AHB2 has good drive and can handle low impedances but it doesn’t sound anymore powerful than you would expect from 100WPC. Only a couple times did I ever clip my AHB2, once with my Maggies at high volume and once with my Stirlings at high volume. Both speakers are relatively low sensitivity and sound considerably better with the additional headroom afforded by the Parasound A21. I think a single AHB2 would drive your speakers just fine in most situations but I also think there would be audible benefit from running two.
@avanti1960, I have used the AHB2 with five or six different speakers and have yet to see the clipping indicator lights flicker. Still feeling like it's the last amp I'll buy as long as I'm using passive speakers. FWIW, I have never gotten satisfactory sound from bridging amps. @Ham Sandwich, nothing personal, but your comments in this thread are about as useless as tits on a boar hog.
is there a predecessor to the LA4 that can be had used that is almost as good? I need a great preamp that is transparent.
I have a Topping Pre90 in house at the moment. It is equally transparent. I hate to admit it but it’s every bit the equal in SQ to the LA4. The remote control is nearly useless though.
we'll see, i have one ordered. measurements show that my pass amp starts a vertical slope of distortion at about 65 watts at 8 ohms and a singe Benchmark is almost double that so it should be fine for now.
Congrats! I really like mine. I was originally interested in getting another one for bridging, but I decided it wasn’t necessary for my office setup. @Slippers-on - who won the bet?
Although I’ve never heard one personally the Benchmark AHB2 it seems from the surface to be a very well designed amp and a genuine bargain at the asking price and worth a shot if looking in the price range.