Benchmark Media Systems. Right or wrong

 I’ve yet to find a preamplifier at any price that I prefer to the Benchmark LA4, even some at twice its cost, such as the McIntosh C49 or Allnic L-1500. Both of the latter sound good in their own right, but the LA4 is clearly a level above. 

I love the LA4 compared to any preamp at any price. Been saying that for years.

I traded my Benchmark AHB2 amp for a Benchmark HPA4, and when it arrives tomorrow, I need to decide if I keep my LA4 or the Holo Serene.  The Serene has a headphone output that the LA4 lacks. 

I have been trialing “audiophile” balanced interconnects between my DAC, the LA4, and my amp. I had one set of Benchmark XLR’s and a set of Blue Jeans Belden’s, that I was replacing.

I use my audiophile XLR’s between my sources and my LA4. However, between my LA4 and amp I use 25-foot Benchmark XLR. When I had my AHB2 the cables did not matter too much. With my CODA #16 amp and Sanders Magtech amp I get the same impression.

My Benchmark DAC3B is definitely too hot on the top end. I do not use it on 2-channel but on my RAAL VM-1a tube headphone amp running in Pentode mode I love the DAC3B.

Their speaker cables running off the AHB2 are just OK. They have some issues. I replaced them with the Audience FrontRow and massive improvement. The interconnects are not that much of an issue.

Or could it be that the LA4 revealed a “sheen” inherent in either your source or amplifier? I suggest this possibility because I had that very experience with the LA4 until I upgraded my source (to the Electrocompaniet ECD-2).

I was telling the person who bought my LA4 today this same thing. If you hear a "sheen" or some other nastiness first assume it is another component. I replaced the LA4 with the Benchmark HPA4 preamp.  

I did this when I was trying to figure out how to drive the Yamaha NS5000 speakers. I like to use the LA4 preamp to figure things out because I feel it is not going to mess up anything.

After figuring out what amp and DAC to use with the speakers. I was getting a bit of that sheen and fatigue in the sound. I tried 2 different WyWire speaker cable, Benchmark speaker cable, and Audience AU24 SX speaker cable. All were giving that sheen or gremlins but at different frequencies.

I bit the bullet and bought Audience FrontRow and that eliminated that bit of nastiness. The LA4 did what I needed it to do. Let me hear my other gear.

The LA4 also plays nicely with about a dozen amps I have used it with. Just love this preamp. If I did not want headphone support in my big system preamp, I would have kept the LA4 and sold the Holo Audio Serene preamp. I would have been very happy with the LA4 and HPA4 in my 2 systems.

Lastly, it’s my opinion and experience that the best Benchmark products are the LA4/HPA4 preamps. Their DAC3 is rather antiquated these days (and ugly AF) and the AHB2, while a good clean performer, doesn’t offer the dynamic grunt that many speakers (especially high end speakers) thrive on.

This is 100% my opinion too. I have owned the AHB2 about 5x and all 3 versions of the DACs. I still have the DAC3B since it serves a single purpose well (used with a tube headphone amp). The LA4/HPA4 are amazing gear. I no longer have any AHB2 since it was not the most dynamic with my Yamaha NS5000 or Magnepan LRS+. A CODA #16 and a Sanders Magtech overall were a better match.

A great pairing is Benchmark preamps with CODA amps. Similar to the Parasound A21 amp described above. I had the LA4 and the A21+ and that was good, so I eventually ended up with the CODA #16 and the LA4.

In fact, I have tried about 12 amps with the LA4, and all sounded good with the LA4. Cannot say the same level of success with other preamps I owned, such as the CODA 07x, Topping pre90, Schitt Mjolnir V3, Schitt Freya+, Bryston BP20, BAT VK-42SE.

I am about to spend a small fortune on what some are saying are the best headphones in the world. The designer of the phones used the Benchmark AHB2 to design them.

He is now become more of a tube or distortion fan in his sound reproduction gear, but when designing his gear, he used the AHB2.

Interestingly, I traded my AHB2 for the Benchmark HPA4 preamp + headphone amp because I wanted to hear as clean a reproduction of the sound as possible with this new phone. My best headphone amp for this new phone is a tube amp that likely measures badly. I have not heard the HPA4 with the new phones.