I hope you dont mind me asking the following, I am just curious and highly value your opinion. Are you using the stock power cord or aftermarket? I have never seen Benchmark gear, but from what I have gathered, they are my kind of company. Thanks!
Stock cords. If an aftermarket cord is necessary, it should have been the one supplied by the manufacturer.
Some if not all of the first generation DACs had no power switches for standby mode, they were always on when plugged in. It's the raw voltage reserve that makes the difference, puts flesh and fat on the bones. Even the DAC preamps are ridiculously powerful. They're not meant for "audiophiles". These are professional tools and trusted companions that witness the changes in the audio chain around them, year after year.
Just to clarify, I meant the very first Benchmark DAC, "DAC1". I've lost count of how many versions there have been of each, DAC3 has like four already...
This is a Bel Canto Dac 1, first generation. No on/off switch, also no switch to choose bw optical or coax.
If only some of your industry colleagues would have the stones to admit that! Some years ago a famous amp/DAC designer observed one of my colleagues attaching plenty of expensive MIT/Transparent power cords (the ones with the big blocks) to our demo equipment, most of which he had designed. He glowered at my colleague and said, "Do you think I don't know how to design a freaking* power supply?" The fancy cords (which I never used) were quickly removed and the generic black ones which came with the gear were restored. * - this is the family friendly version!
Harking back to the distortion versus power plots shown earlier, if this amp has an 'issue' it is that there is little to no indication of the onset of distortion. So, no soft clipping, etc. The amp could be considered binary: it is either in the ultra low distortion state, or the high distortion state. Provided you can achieve peak volume level while in the low distortion state, you should have nothing to worry about (holds for both stereo and mono use).
I think that’s what the clipping light is for and how it works. If it isn’t clipping it isn’t distorting at all.
I have a complementary story. Many years, I received a power amplifier for review and the manufacturer stated that one could not fully appreciate the amp unless one used a particular power cord. Although I was annoyed, I obtained one and, lo and behold, it made no difference. I still have the power cord and it still works (as do all the others in the storage box for cables).
Expecting delivery today from Mr. Fed Ex. ! Interesting fact is that the AHB2 was introduced in 2014 and sold for $2999. No price increases in 8 years? Unheard of. Hats off to the Benchmark team in good old Syracuse, N.Y.
turn the pre volume all the way up without anything playing and put your ear to the tweeter. Should be super super quiet. Together with my LA4 I can’t hear anything like that coming from the tweeter.
As kewl as power meters are, all one really needs (debatable of course as they are not even really needed) are LEDs that light up at 3 dB below clipping. From what I have gathered, such a feature is rare. Out of numerous amps, I only have 2 with this feature, Kyocera A-710 and A-910.
Thanks and it does indeed appear to be a bit (no pun intended, of course) more complicated than just "3 dB below clipping". Actually Im not even sure about my Kyoceras, but I seem to recall that I read the lights lit up "at 3 dB below clipping" though I have not been able to confirm this info and its possible I never even saw the specs in the first place (owners manuals are rare, Ive never seen one).
I did appreciate the meters of my departed Yamaha providing a decent idea of how much power my speakers were drawing at moderate volume, but yeah, a clip indicator is ultimately more useful.
