Integrated amp: Component weight

@cundare2 I was not going to comment because you asked for an integrated. However, since you are open to the Benchmark stack, I was also going to say that would work nicely with the Harbeth’s.

I hear the Harbeths as a bit warm and the Benchmark gear is as neutral as can get. On a warm speaker the synergy could be good. I have a warmish Yamaha NS5000 speaker, and I got the Benchmark AHB2 to try with it. I really wanted to make it work because I like the AHB2 sound. However, I found my CODA #16 better. Surprisingly the bass on a single AHB2 was as good as the CODA #16 (a bass monster) on my speakers. That is not the case with the AHB2 and other more demanding speakers.

I use my Benchmark DAC3B stacked on top of my Benchmark LA4 preamp. The form factor is smaller than most integrated amps. On my warmish speakers this is a winning combination. On a less warm speaker I would change the DAC, but I would use it with the Harbeth.

For your Harbeths, a pair of mono AHB2’s would be the better choice over the single stereo. I am putting mine up for sale later today. However, Benchmark will offer you a 30-day home trial, which is a better choice than buying a used unit blind.

The Hegel 390 is the integrated I would look at pairing with the Harbeth, though the Benchmark DAC3B and LA4 pre are better to my ears. Smaller form factor than the Hegel. You can safely stack all 3 Benchmark components,

Im all about the weight. Many praise the Benchmark AHB2 that weighs 5lbs. No way will I buy something like that. It all about the heft imo.

I think it is all about the speaker. My current speaker had the same bass response with the AHB2 (stereo) and the 110 lbs CODA #16 (a bass monster on all speakers I tried)

What associated equipment was in your system when you were evaluating the Benchmarks? Are you talking about the LA4 and AHB2?

If I went that route, I’d probably add a DAC3 and some third-party streamer, so I’d be getting into the $15,000 range, not including interconnects and power cords. At this point, weight, SQ, and connectivity are more important than cost, though. (Within reason, of course!)

With the Benchmark gear I have much better experience with their low cost XLR between amp and preamp ($200 for 20 feet). I use Audience XLR and RCA from the source to the preamp. The BM gear is AES48 compatible (for XLRs). I use Benchmark XLR from the DAC3B to the preamp. Though the DAC3B is not the end all of DACs (a little hot but good with Harbeth). The only place where I really want non-BM cables is the speaker cable (I use Audience FrontRow). The BM speaker cable is good on a bright speaker.

Using non-BM power cables is something I also never do on BM gear. Other gear, I use non-stock cables. Reviewers may say different, but this how my ears hear the BM gear. I even have some 15-foot amp power cables from BM, very useful, cheap, and sounds fine.

On the used market you can hookup the 3 BM components for under $6500 (with BM cables). The form factor is rather small with all 3 units stacked on top, which is fine to do with BM gear.

@cundare2 Here is another suggestion for your Harbeth. I have heard Harbeth with the very best Luxman gear and liked it, but I knew I would not like it long term. It was too lush. Lots of people like that type of sound and the KRELL K-300i integrated sounds as good as that very expensive Luxman stack I demoed.

I owned the K-300i and it can be bought used for around $6000. The DAC is very good, you can do better with an external DAC. The RJ45 streaming was great (not as good as fibre optic) but great for RJ45. The ROON READY was a delight, especially the volume control from my iPhone (it is done as analog on the integrated).

The KRELL is sonically the opposite of the Benchmark stack. The KRELL weighs 52 lbs. Read the Stereophile review of the Boulder 866 and see what they say about the KRELL in comparison. The KRELL is a great integrated. I liked it even more than the CODA CSiB I owned.

K-300i Integrated Stereo Amplifier Technical Specifications – Krell (krellhifi.com)

Not listed above but the first 90 watts are in Class A. It is the KRELL's cool running iBias Class A which sounds as good as my CODA #16 traditional Class A.

@cundare2 The new KRELL that is represented by the Duo XD lineup is buttery smooth, very powerful, and decently detailed. It is the most relaxing gear I have owned or heard. Do some searches on A’gon on the Duo XD. Read the Stereophile review of the K-300i. those guys can give a better sonic description. Normally I do not like this type of sound, but I remember how much I enjoyed listening to the K-300i and then later the Duo 175XD amp.

For me the Luxman c900u | m90u | Luxman DAC | Harbeth was incredibly lush sounding. The Luxman 509x integrated amp on the same speakers and DAC was not as good nor as lush.

I used the AHB2 monos with the following speakers:

• Thiel CS3.7 (not a good match since speaker is hard to drive)
• KEF LS50 (great match)
• KEF LS50 Meta (great match)
• Audience 1+1 v3 (good but the room was bad)
• Yamaha NS5000 (best speaker I have owned. There is a touch of hardness on top)

I also demoed it with the Magico A3 speaker. It was awful with that speaker. Not enough power as a stereo amp (not mono).