2. amps-preamps
  3. 161097-1604

Some love for the Benchmark HPA4/LA4

Making this thread to show my love for this amazing preamp. Yea, all the use usual descriptions apply. Yadda yadda it is great.

It is 1:15 AM  in the morning and my kid and wife are asleep. I am not cranking it but listening at very very low volume (I have great headphones available but it sounds amazing on the speakers right now).  It is the preamp that is doing the great sound at low volume. I won't get into details., but damn this is something special. I am on my 4 or 5th scotch but do let that cloud your perception of what I am saying. I knows what I am talking about.

You guys going direct to amp from DAC. Put this into the circuit (for $2500) and tell me it is not better.
yyzsantabarbara
yyzsantabarbara OP
4,582 posts
 
https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/amplifier/preamplifier/benchmark-media-hpa4-preamplifier-ahb2-po...

The Benchmark HPA4 preamplifier, the AHB2 power amplifier, and the DAC3 B. I liked them so much that I purchased them for my reference system. Nuff said!
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Are LA4 and HPA4 identical in the preamp function, the only difference being HPA4 adds headphone amp? Or other there other differences?

Edit:  nevermind.  Found the answer on benchmark site that yes, they are identical other than the headphone outputs.
roadsterluver
18 posts
 
yyzsantabarbara - Totally agree about the performance of Benchmark.  I have the AHB2 and DAC3L and will be adding the LA4.  But in reading all of your posts, what I really wanted to know was what brand of Scotch were you drinking?
yyzsantabarbara OP
4,582 posts
 
Not sure when which photo you are referring to but at the moment in my office I have an empty bottle of Johnnie Walker Double Black (not bad) and a few drops of Oban left in the bottle. Believe it or not, when I went for my last physical (age 53) my doctor told be to drink more scotch. It does wonders for me so he said drink more.

BTW - I sold my HPA4 last week and I am now using a Topping pre90 preamp. It sounds like the HPA4 minus the great headphone amp and the volume dial on the HPA4 is nicer. However, the Topping pre90 cost $599 and actually seems to measure better than the HPA4.

The HPA4/Topping pre90 are my second preamps so I decided to recoup my cash and get the Topping pre90. My main preamp is the CODA 07x.

yyzsantabarbara OP
4,582 posts
 
I should add that the Topping pre90 is as bare bones as it gets. It just takes source inputs and adds volume to it. No balance adjustment, muting, and the interface is pretty crap. However, none of that matters in my use case. The HPA4 is a much more fuller feature set and sounds the same (to me) as the Topping pre90.
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