Dust Settled Consensus- is the Benchmark AHB2 an Audiophile Amplifier?

@holmz

Excellent comments and response.

@jtgofish 

poor musical communication

I heard the amp at AXPONA. Going from room to room, it's sometimes hard to keep up with what room you're in. I would walk out of many after a few minutes of listening. After about a minute of hearing this amp, I could not believe my ears, and stayed for quite a stretch of time. I definitely was hearing some of the best "musical communication" I have ever heard from an amplifier.

@tkhill

Is this the same Benchmark that makes the exquisite mic pre amps?

Affirmative. IMO, I do believe almost everything they touch is exquisite.

You can lose harmonics or add juiceiness, etc. from a solder joint

You are absolutely correct (but I’m not sure that helps the person with OCD sleep better at night 😉). Have heard it and fixed it numerous times. It’s crazy what audio improvements can be heard from just reheating solder joints sometimes (even ones that are functional). It definitely helps if you know some basic electronics, and know how to solder, while partaking in this audio hobby.

The measurement people think that as long as it measures flat and has low distortion then it is neutral.

...or, as long as it sounds great to you, it must sound great to the rest of us. Audio reproduction has always been, and will always be, subjective. What sounds good to you, may not sound good to me, and vice versa. It’s as simple as that.