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

Nice to see folks are enjoying their Benchmark amplifiers and that there is not a ton of mud slinging here. 

@jeffseight LOL

I am driving Fyne F702 floorstanding speakers (92 db efficiency) with the Benchmark AHB2, with a Rogue Audio RO-7 preamp, Schiit Bifrost 2/64 DAC, Ifi Zen Stream with upgraded power supply, NAD C568 CD player (thru Schiit DAC), and the system sounds great, not at all sterile in our rather “dead” 13 x 20 living room.  Indeed, just last evening I fired up my recently-refurbed Thorens TD 126 MKII thru a Schiit Mani 2 and I was stunned by the realism from some MFSL and Sheffield records from the 1980s that have been stored for nearly four decades.  Excellent imaging, dispersion, clarity, tonal qualities, and the harmonics produced by the instruments all provided a realism that nearly placed the performers in my living room.  Even further from sterile than from digital sources, and I may have to invest more in vinyl and associated equipment.  Might I replace the AHB2 with something that some people consider truly “audiophile?”  Perhaps, if I had a rich uncle that passed away and left me a modest fortune, but, alas, no rich uncles in my case.  So, the AHB2 gives me superb sounding music with a vibrant sense of realism … which, after all, is what it really is all about … in my view.  So, again in my view, the answer is yes.

@ricevs I just sold a KRELL Duo 175XD (175-watt Class A) amp that I know will not be ideal for the Blades in my Livingroom. The room is rather open with a 25+ foot ceiling. The AHB2 monos which have more power than that will also not be really powerful enough with the Blade. Contrary to the Stereophile review that used the AHB2 monos with the Blade 2 Meta. 

I am getting a big boat anchor Class A amp for the Blades because these speakers will use that power and current to make better sound than the AHB2 or the 175-watt Class A amp I just sold.

 I am looking at a KRELL Dou 300XD, KRELL Duo 375XD mono, or KRELL KSA i400. The KRELL XD line is closer to the PASS in that it is warmer than the AHB2. No thoughts of Seppuku on my part. I can have both AHB2 and KRELL and enjoy both.

@ricevs Many claim that amps like AHB2 reduce harmonics. I don’t know how it is possible if amp has flat amplitude and phase response in audio band.
Adding even harmonics to create "warm" sound or bit of distortion to create illusion of dynamics seems to be what people are looking for. Warmth of the sound is assumed a virtue. Do you still hear clarinet (only odd harmonics) when you add even harmonics? Do you hear real piano sound when you add even harmonics that beat with stretched piano overtones? One person claimed that Benchmark DAC plays instruments separately while he preferred them all together (sound blob?). Another person asked how to make sound warmer and less detailed (I recommended blanket over speakers). Perhaps we need to learn to listen. We know that sound at the concert is different but at home we follow sound that we got used to. I took me a while to get used to clarity of the Benchmark DAC.