Both amps are grade A It's great to have choices USAM Pass XA25 $3600 why did I look into this!? Nooooooo
This amp would work well with a passive preamp. As I'm down to only one source, Lumin D2 with SSD attached, I no longer use my preamp. I've been running the balanced output from the Lumin into the AHB2 using the the lowest gain setting for a couple months now without complaint. If the XA25 had balanced inputs, I would've tried one already. I also looked at the XA30.8/30.5, and would try one if they didn't weigh 88 lbs. Not lugging anything weighing more than 50 lbs down my basement stairs anymore.
i use neutrik FE XLR to male RCA adaptors at the input of my amp. my preamp balanced out circuitry passes through an additional active tube stage and sounds much more spacious than the single ended outputs. the neutriks at the end of the XLR cables are all it takes. and yes, i am tired of lugging sub 100lb amps too, unless they stay for the durstion.
Like I said. If your current pre is a total mismatch then that is weird. you should try out the LA4 to properly assess the AHB2’s. or whatever. Your call. Just seems silly to not try. pardon. I’m bored today. Lol
The comment where Nobody99 illustrates how he measured his 509x guarantees a 99.99% probability that "ingenieur" has indeed clawed back in. The dude even appears to scowl on different threads in a very similar fashion... Going once...Going twice...it is "Ingenieur"
You seem to be good at these back-of-the-envelope calculations. Could you do me a favor and work out the average and peak W draws in my situation? Max 80 dB at listening position 2m from speakers, 84dB efficiency. Thanks!
Interestingly enough from that video they mention that the AHB2 uses discrete parts. THX also doesn’t make anything they just do R&D. Pretty wild this day and age. Also two actual engineers on the panel and not snake oil salesmen. couple that with a team of engineers working on the project. impressive. too bad there isn’t more of that in audio.
I assume the 80 dB is A wtd average With peaks + 25 dBZ Average 0.4 W Peak 125 W at 105 dBZ 80 dBA SPL is a pretty loud average level And 84 dB low efficiency
Benchmark is smart to offer a 30-day trial. Me, not so much for taking them up on it. The HPA4 will not be removed from my system nor can I seem to remove my butt from the chair when listening to music through this thing.
that’s actually how I bought mine. i got the AHB2 to try I connected it to my then Rega Elex Rs preamp out. That blew away my rega of course. So I’m like “ hmmm maybe I should try the LA4 to pair with it since the AHB2 is so good . But what difference can a preamp make?” I got the LA4 with the 30 day return as soon as I hooked it up I was like “ uh oh” That’s another $2500 There is NO WAY I’m giving this back. lol
Yep. Went into it expecting it would likely go back - “no way I’m going to spend $3,000 when my 20 year old Musical Fidelity Pre sounds so good.” Wrong. Helped that my wife encouraged me to keep it. She actually listened to music in the sweet spot for over two hours on Saturday and she thinks it’s “cute”.
Lmao ! totals man. I was like ok , how much of a difference can a preamp make? Whoooops! A huge diff. There goes $2500.( Well it was that much when I bought it. ) it was so good that I just couldn’t return it.
I read in the benchmark manual that the preamp/amp settings should be so that the preamp is at or close to max volume level at amp clipping...I'm using balanced connections and speakon connectors, my preamp is a denon pra 2000RG, speakers are dynaudio special 40's. LOVE my setup, but itching to try the Benchamark Pre and Dac.
I was talking to Noel of 'Skylan Stands' a few nights ago. He said he borrowed an AHB2 from a friend and he was absolutely raving about it, said he had to get one. I've had mine for six years. It's my last power amp. Ever.
You seriously need to try the pre with the AHB2 I love my AHB2 LA4 combo . Insane resolution and natural timbre. i couldn’t believe how much of a diff it made. the DAC3 I didn’t like too much unfortunately.
Letting you all know about the system performance calculators Benchmark just posted in their most recent Application Note. Turns out that in order to produce 110dB peaks at the listening position with my low-sensitivity speakers, running the AHB2s in bridged mono mode is just right. (110dB peaks are recommended, as the system should have at least 20dB headroom above average listening SPL.) Good to know!
Here's the link to the Benchmark page: System Performance Calculations - Benchmark Media Systems Here's a detailed document on formats and alignment levels: http://www.sona.co.jp/pdf/M2TB_r352E.pdf From Page 23 you can see that the 85 dB SPL listening level referenced is ALL PASS. Personally, I think 85 dB is on the loud side for a home environment (unless you have a large listening room). I usually calibrate to 75 dB SPL (using pink noise), so have even more headroom than the 20 dB minimum. Benchmark seem to agree that peak level in a home should be less than peak level in a professional mastering room.
@Tone? thanks for sharing your experience and review! I also have an Rega Elex-R and am also thinking about picking up a AHB2. Did you have to do anything special to get the Rega Elex-R preamp out to work with the AHB2, aside from using an RCA to XLR adaptor? Same question for the LA4 and your DAC, did you have to use any boost settings on the RCA/XLR inputs? Generally speaking, does anyone have any experience and guidance pairing consumer gear and professional gear? Will doing so impact performance? Thanks!
