Review: Benchmark AHB2 Amp

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  • pearsall001
    pearsall001 Posts: 5,247
    treitz3 wrote: »
    pearsall001 wrote: »
    I'm finding it amazing how the absence of noise in the system can really open things up to a sonic level that you didn't know existed. You're so used to noise without even knowing it until it's not there.

    Where have I heard that before?

    Tom

    Yes indeed!!! The Snubway that you recommended was a definite step in the right direction of getting rid of as much noise as possible.

    Thank you Tom for opening up that rabbit hole. Lol!!!
    "2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up.
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,640
    The Stereophile review of the AHB2 amp is pretty informative:

    https://www.stereophile.com/content/benchmark-media-systems-ahb2-power-amplifier

    I looked into getting one a few years back but they were out of stock so I moved on to something else. The AHB2 has been on the market for around a decade so knowledge of it is out there. My take on it is that the super low noise floor is an intentional design primarily intended for the professional recording industry like all the Benchmark gear is. The low noise is partly because there's no large transformer inside the box and there is carefully placed shielding inside to block interference from the sensitive components instead. A common nit to pick is the AHB2 has little to no character of its own. As the Stereophile reviewer noted that may present an issue if the amp doesn't pair well with the speakers it's driving. It's good to know these things going in because this isn't an inexpensive product. The price to performance of their original DACs was great.
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  • Conradicles
    Conradicles Posts: 6,335
    It is definitely a space saver. Glad you're enjoying the new amplifier!
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,421
    The problem is the word "noise" is all encompassing in audio. It's a very generic descriptor. There's probably more going on than just "lack of noise". S/N specs aren't the singular reason you are hearing differences.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,640
    Here's a bit more info about the "Achromatic Audio Amplifier" technology from THX that Benchmark is using. The word achromatic literally means "without color".

    https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/news-1/137185991-thx-achromatic-audio-amplifier-technology

    https://www.thx.com/aaa/

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  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 7,483
    heiney9 wrote: »
    The problem is the word "noise" is all encompassing in audio. It's a very generic descriptor. There's probably more going on than just "lack of noise". S/N specs aren't the singular reason you are hearing differences.

    H9

    I believe that was the intention of my post last night. Also, I am reading now that the A21+ doesn't measure as clean as the original Halo A21 that I had for many years.
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,421
    Emlyn wrote: »
    Here's a bit more info about the "Achromatic Audio Amplifier" technology from THX that Benchmark is using. The word achromatic literally means "without color".

    https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/news-1/137185991-thx-achromatic-audio-amplifier-technology

    https://www.thx.com/aaa/

    The problem is (or can be) we stray too far from what "real" in person music sounds like. If you make the signal so clean and sterile you take away the fundamentals/harmonics that are intended to be there. In real life those fundamentals are part of the sound we hear in person. Music in real time, is not created in a vacuum.

    The above statement is an oversimplification, but you get the point.

    I could see Achromatic being beneficial for movies.........but I can't pass judgment on a piece of gear I've never heard.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,421
    The biggest red flag for me is when the manufacturer or reviewer states that "a lot of correction to the signal has taken place to make it sound good".

    Everyone knows I'm old school, simple circuits, fewest gain stages possible, excellent parts, minimal to no feedback, etc. But that usually entails large power supplies, lots of heat, heavy components, high cost to name the most obvious tradeoffs.

    Remember the 70's and 80' and some 90's gear. In order to publish the best specs (in the spec war) they heavily used both forms of negative feedback. It gave great numbers, but the musical signal left a lot to be desired.

    The other side of the coin is we all like different things and have certain expectations of our gear. There's lots of different types of gear to choose from.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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  • pearsall001
    pearsall001 Posts: 5,247
    heiney9 wrote: »
    Emlyn wrote: »
    Here's a bit more info about the "Achromatic Audio Amplifier" technology from THX that Benchmark is using. The word achromatic literally means "without color".

    https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/news-1/137185991-thx-achromatic-audio-amplifier-technology

    https://www.thx.com/aaa/

    The problem is (or can be) we stray too far from what "real" in person music sounds like. If you make the signal so clean and sterile you take away the fundamentals/harmonics that are intended to be there. In real life those fundamentals are part of the sound we hear in person. Music in real time, is not created in a vacuum.

    The above statement is an oversimplification, but you get the point.

    I could see Achromatic being beneficial for movies.........but I can't pass judgment on a piece of gear I've never heard.

    H9

    You're assuming an awful lot without ever hearing the AHB2 especially in your own system. Not even close.
    "2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up.
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  • gyosa
    gyosa Posts: 770
    edited December 20
    Class A and A/B amps can easily be outclassed by much cheaper and more efficient class D ..
    Any of the amps using the Hypex NcX500 modules readily come to mind - dead quiet and gobs of power.

    Gotta admit , I’m impressed with my S300 - class D , and not even state of the art by today’s standards.

    Bk
    PS Audio S300 , WiiM Ultra , Yamaha wxc-50 , Salk SuperCharged Songtowers , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 48” - BEDROOM

    B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL

    Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Ascend Acoustics ELX Ribbon Towers , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN system

    Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sony 65” TV - PATIO
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,421
    pearsall001 wrote: »
    heiney9 wrote: »
    Emlyn wrote: »
    Here's a bit more info about the "Achromatic Audio Amplifier" technology from THX that Benchmark is using. The word achromatic literally means "without color".

    https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/news-1/137185991-thx-achromatic-audio-amplifier-technology

    https://www.thx.com/aaa/

    The problem is (or can be) we stray too far from what "real" in person music sounds like. If you make the signal so clean and sterile you take away the fundamentals/harmonics that are intended to be there. In real life those fundamentals are part of the sound we hear in person. Music in real time, is not created in a vacuum.

    The above statement is an oversimplification, but you get the point.

    I could see Achromatic being beneficial for movies.........but I can't pass judgment on a piece of gear I've never heard.

    H9

    You're assuming an awful lot without ever hearing the AHB2 especially in your own system. Not even close.

    Read my last sentence. I am talking in generalities.
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,421
    gyosa wrote: »
    Class A and A/B amps can easily be outclassed by much cheaper and more efficient class D ..
    Any of the amps using the Hypex NcX500 modules readily come to mind - dead quiet and gobs of power.

    Gotta admit , I’m impressed with my S300 - class D , and not even state of the art by today’s standards.

    Bk

    Yeah, ok.....agree to disagree. Unless by chance you be heard every amp out there. Dead quiet and gobs of power really means nothing.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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  • invalid
    invalid Posts: 1,448
    I find it funny how a member on this forum was saying how great the Benchmark amplifier sounded, then how great a tube amp sounded. If signal to noise was the end all be all, then the Benchmark amplifier should have sounded way better than the tube amplifier, there is more to this than signal to noise ratio.
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 13,089
    Apples and oranges, and "better" is subjective.
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  • Tony M
    Tony M Posts: 11,589
    This Benchmark AHB2 amp review is interesting and funny at times, too. B)

    https://youtu.be/Yqde9iAB3Eo
    Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.

    “Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.”
    --Mark Twain.

    “If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.” - Steven Wright
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