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

The Peachtree Nova 150 is not even anything today. The latest GaN amps from Peachtree are another level. The Peachtree GaN 400 is the exact same amp as the LSA Voyager.....same boards inside a different box. You heard the Voyager stock and modded.....so you know how good that is. The GaN 1 is a completely different thing. It is a fully digital input class D amp.....It eliminates your DAC, your preamp, your analog interconnects, all forms of feedback. This is the revolution we have all wanted. No more heavy boxes. This amp will drive your new Kefs like crazy....200 watts a channel. Of course, the execution in the GaN 1 is still not super serious. You heard what my mods did to the Voyager......even more could be done to this $2000 amp. The glory of great sound for little money. We need to rejoice! 30 day money back trial. You need a great digital source.....(not the Blue sound) for best sound....and of course, a great digital cable, great footers, mass damped weight on top.....and Inverter power so you are off the grid. Such a system will simply blow your mind.

Paul Seydor does not listen to reference quality amps. His reference in his review is a Quad 909 and a all tube Zesto amp.....hardly a $200K pair of mono block Boulders or whatever. In order to claim something has zero sound you need to do a straight wire bypass test on it (yes,this is possible with a power amp....however, I know no one who has ever done it except my late friend Sieg Modes....and he did his testing in the late 70s). The Benchmark is not totally neutral....nothing is. Many do not hear the air, space, depth, harmonic rightness, palpable presence and micro detail they get from more expensive amps. For the money...it is really good. However, for even less money the Peachtree GaN 1 digital input class D amp is even better.....because it eliminates the DAC, analog cables, the preamp, normal amp and any feedback whatsoever from the signal path.......less is more. Volume control is done with your choice of lossless digital volume done in software.. Linear amps and analog signal paths are dead! he he. Unless they are Super expensive or tapes. Even tapes or records can be converted to 24/192 with great accuracy and sent to this amp. Of course, tubes and such are always going to be loved....coloration or not.

Everything is synergy. If the original recording is dry....lacking harmonic info....then adding a tube somewhere in the playback chain can make is sound more REAL....no doubt. But if the recording is fantastic and the medium delivering it is fanstastic then having a low distortion playback system will give you a lot of the joy of the original event.

The GaN 400 is the same as the Voyager......the GaN 1 is the new digital input only amp. The Kef Blade 2 Meta’s do not have that low of impedance and are 87db sensitive, so 200 watts will get you at least 107db. How loud do you listen?

The older now discontinued Benchmark mic preamps used discrete transistors.  They now use op amps for most of the analog signal path in their current products.

Most here do not realize that everything has a sound.....everything makes a difference.  I have spent over 45 years listening to wires, solder, resistors, caps, damping, shielding, etc into infinity.  You can lose harmonics or add juiceiness, etc. from a solder joint.....a single one.  The measurement people think that as long as it measures flat and has low distortion then it is neutral.  Simply is not the case.  I can take any amp....including the Benchmark and make is sound all over the place by modding it in different ways........and none of these things I do will change how it measures.  Only those that have done these kinds of tests understand this. There are many audio companies that know some or much of what I say.....other companies and designers simply do not believe in parts and execution.  What I believe in is what I BE LIVE......that is, experience.....and in audio that means how it sounds.

I could make the Benchmark amp sound more detailed and more warm and more holographic (more neutral, to me and most).  No problem.  However, it is too dang cramped to work on.  Next!......and now we have a pure digital amp.....so, no need.

Most people who own the Benchmark amps have never heard an amp over $10K.....so they have no reference as to what is possible.  If it beats their current $2K or $4K amp then they think it is perfect.  Sorry......there is a big world out there. When the Hypex NC400 module was first released it became the darling of the measurement crowd "nothing will ever be better".  Well, I modified it with better caps on the output filter (you can look up the sonic results still posted by several people on Audio circle)...and it sounded much better.  So, was it "perfect" before or after I did the mod?  Neither.  Would not want a modded NC400 now.....yesterdays toy.

The guy at 10 audio.com loves his Benchmark.....However, he changed the fuse to a $150 fuse and he liked it much better (still his reference).  I doubt he has ever listened to mega buck amps......but in the price range he plays in (under $7K for an amp).....he likes it best out of the very few he has heard.  If I made a list of possible competitors under $10K.....I would have to type for a half an hour.....he he.  There is soooooo much out there.  Please try the $2000 pure digital amp from Peachtree......sooooo pure sounding....no dac, no analog cables, no preamp, no feedback or non feedback normal amps......less is more....

The Benchmark amp has been proven over time. It is certainly a reference at its price point......BUT.....a big butt.....he he.....we like big butts....well, I do. What if the Peachtree GaN 1 amp ($2000 with 30 day money back) driven from an IFI Zen Stream (with upgraded linear power supply) is better?....... Wouldn’t it be cool if it sounds much better? Or do you have to have a DAC, Preamp, amp and analog cables? Do you want the best sound? What if this thing is it?!? It has already beat a Holo DAC May KTE with Holo Serene preamp with mono block Kinki B7 amps (see thread here on audiogon). If this GaN 1 amp is the real deal (and so far all reviews are raves)....then there will be a lot of happy people spending way less money to get better sound.......and it weighs 11 lbs!!!!!! 200 watts a channel. Of course, there will be even better digital amps available down the line.

Volume control is in the digital domain.....so the better the digital volume control and the better the streamer....the better the sound. The Bluesound does not sound as good as the $400 IFI Zen Stream (according to many). The $2400 Lumin U1 has LEEDH digital volume control (totally lossless).

I know, I am repeating myself here......but usually we have to hear something several times before it sinks in.  This technology to me seems like its revolutionary......better sound for less.

Was this the GaN 1 or the GaN 400? What was his digital source and volume control if it is the Gan 1? Please, tell us more details......about your "trusted" friend and his experience. Have him come here and describe what he heard. I trust people’s ears. Hearsay is meaningless.

There you go......not what I was talking about. The GaN 400 and the GaN1 are completely different animals.....one is analog in with op amps and feedback inside....the other is digital in with no opamps or feedback and not needing a DAC or preamp.  Please.....get this information straight.  As far as I know there are only 3 companies in the workd making "digital" amps......Technics, Lyngdorf and Peachree......The Peachtree amp was just released and has the most simple pure signal path.....we shall see how it fares as more people listen to it.  Please follow the thread on the Gan 1 Beta amp here on Audiogon. 

Class H is not digital......class D is not digital. I already explained that the digital info is turned into PWM inside the "digital" amp....and then into the swtiching class D output stage.

Yes, if you have analog then you need to convert it through a great ADC to make it PCM so the amp will decode it. There are GREAT ADCs out there that do less damage to the sound then a normal preamp and normal amp do. However, most who have a serious record collection will look elsewhere. Most people who own Benchmark amps, etc....do not do analog. I stopped doing analog 32 years ago. Analog is GREAT.....no doubt. Love it.

A digital amp is a class D amp that takes normal PCM signals and converts it to PWM in software.....then into a class D output stage. Some will just say its a class D amp with a digital input only. However, most of the manufacturers of this type of amp call them digital amps........including Technics and Lyngdorf. How you do the software conversion of PCM to PWM is crucial. Tact was the first company to make such an amp back in the 90s. In their white paper they stated that converting PCM to PWM was inherently non linear.....and that is why it took them so long to do the software. We now have much greater computing power and people have been writing audiophile code for years......but there is always room for improvement.

Because it converts the digits directly to PWM (analog) then there is no need for a "normal" dac......and, if you use excellent digital attenuation......no need for preamp or other kinds of analog volume controls. You might call it a "power dac". Tact actually lowered the output power voltage to reduce the gain in their amp they made in the 90s. Now we have seriously good digital attenuation and we now work with higher bits then back then.

Thre are no threads solely about one thing.  Audio is incredibly diverse and finding the right component and equipment can be a lifelong journey......so everything is open for discussion on any thread.  A couple of people on this thread describe their modest system using the Benchmark amp and DACs and preamps....etc.  If I had such a system and someone suggested a simpler cheaper system that was all digital (and I listen to nothing but digital).....I would want to know about it.  Some will feel threatened as they just spent money on something and they don't want to investigate other options, are set in their ways, etc.......Everyone has their own experience.....there is no right or wrong.  The more options you have presented to you the more you can find what works for you best.  If you went to Baskins and Robbins and they only had Vanilla you would be bummed. One thing for sure in life........it is always changing......If you want to keep thinking the same way while everything around you is evolving then you are just putting your head in the sand.  It's fun out here......ever exanding possibilities for things and for the souls expression.....love is infinite.