![]() "On more energetic material, such as Marcus Miller’s M2 album from 2001, and the aptly named track Power, the LCD-5 showed that the HPA4 couples deep reserves of low-end grunt with a good level of dynamic expression. "The LCD-5 and HPA4 made an impressive partnership." "With the LCD-5 being a statement 14 Ohm/90db design, I felt I owed it to Audeze and myself to try driving the headphone with an amplifier whose specs suggested that it could easily cope with the requirement for current." "It had been the arrival of Audeze’s latest flagship planar headphone the LCD-5 that had prompted me to ask if I might borrow an HPA4." But in another sense it might also bridge the divide." HPA4 Driving the Audeze LCD-5 "Benchmark’s HPA4 is the first item of audio kit I have encountered that peels apart the ying and the yang of audio to expose the fault line between those of us for whom measurements are all that matters… and those of us that approach audio from a more emotional, less scientific direction. These weren’t loaner units and this wasn’t a sponsored review and you can draw your own conclusions." "The highest compliment I can give to AHB2 is that I purchased not one, but two units with my hard-earned money. "The key words with AHB2 are: world-class detail retrieval, absolute transparency, lightning-fast transient response, an open wide soundstage with a very precise layering and positioning of the notes around the listener, all tightly controlled with an iron grip, never sounding too mellow, sluggish or all over the place." "For almost a year now, AHB2 saved my speakers twice." Conclusions A microsecond didn’t pass and both AHB2 engaged their protection circuits and muted themselves without causing any harm to my loudspeakers." blasting 380Watts of power into my KEF Reference 3 after pressing the play button. ![]() "Fault conditions silently mute both output channels in order to protect the speakers and amplifier from any damage." "You know what I like the most about it? Its bullet-proof protection systems!" It looks plain and industrial, but I really dig its minimalist body." Protection Systems ![]() "Thor almighty! This thing has some amazingly thick panels all around it, adding a level of confidence and refinement. "For the craziest folks out there, you can even bridge two pieces together for ~580 Watts in 4 Ohms and 380W in 8 ohms." Build Quality "The AHB2 might look small and lightweight, but thanks to its clever engineering and power supply implementation, this little fellow could still deliver 190 Watts in 4 Ohms and 100 Watts in 8 Ohms, while maintaining an undetectable noise floor and distortion." I look forward to it joining my stable of reference components." ![]() "The Benchmark LA4 is simply the most transparent, least colored, and most revealing component I have had in my system to date. "Acoustic guitar, piano, and harmonica among many other instruments are presented with speed, clarity, and coherency that made them sound more “present” in the room and less like a recording." Notably were bass, upper midrange, treble, low-level listening, and the ability to distinguish the colorations of other components that were contributing to my overall sound." "The Benchmark LA4 yielded a change that was quickly apparent in several areas. a purity in tone with superb timing and speed . "Most of the wide bandwidth designs I have heard exhibit. The LA4’s bandwidth is specified at 0.2 Hz to 500 kHz." "Before I dig into the sound of the LA4 it is important to know that it employs a wide bandwidth design. " Highly recommended for Class A+ in Stereophile's Recommended Components." "Whether it was an orchestral bass drum or a kickdrum, electric bass guitar or acoustic double bass, the MoFi speakers seemed to acquire more low-frequency weight without losing definition." "The MBL offers an excellent sense of drive and low-frequency impact, but when I replaced it with the Benchmark, both these aspects of the music seemed enhanced." "I had been using MBL's network-connected N31 CD player/DAC ($18,680 with Roon Ready module) before installing the DAC3 B." "I never auditioned the DAC3 HGC in my own system, so when I got an opportunity to borrow a sample of the DAC3 B, I eagerly agreed." "While it uses the same complement of ES9028PRO DAC chips as the flagship HGC and retains the USB port, the B offers a fixed output level and omits the headphone amplifier, balanced and unbalanced analog inputs, volume, mute, and polarity controls, and the remote control." "The product under review is a stripped-down version of the DAC3 HGC."
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |