Benchmark Media Systems. Right or wrong

Lastly, it’s my opinion and experience that the best Benchmark products are the LA4/HPA4 preamps. Their DAC3 is rather antiquated these days (and ugly AF) and the AHB2, while a good clean performer, doesn’t offer the dynamic grunt that many speakers (especially high end speakers) thrive on.

This is 100% my opinion too. I have owned the AHB2 about 5x and all 3 versions of the DACs. I still have the DAC3B since it serves a single purpose well (used with a tube headphone amp). The LA4/HPA4 are amazing gear. I no longer have any AHB2 since it was not the most dynamic with my Yamaha NS5000 or Magnepan LRS+. A CODA #16 and a Sanders Magtech overall were a better match.

A great pairing is Benchmark preamps with CODA amps. Similar to the Parasound A21 amp described above. I had the LA4 and the A21+ and that was good, so I eventually ended up with the CODA #16 and the LA4.

In fact, I have tried about 12 amps with the LA4, and all sounded good with the LA4. Cannot say the same level of success with other preamps I owned, such as the CODA 07x, Topping pre90, Schitt Mjolnir V3, Schitt Freya+, Bryston BP20, BAT VK-42SE.

When I see people trying one piece of electronics after another searching for a better sound it generally means they are not happy with their loudspeakers. You buy an amp that drives your chosen loudspeaker well. The rest of the electronics really do not matter that much. One might climb the ladder going from say a $5000 amp to a $20,000 amp, but I see people going endlessly sideways. IMHO that is wasting money that could have been spent on better loudspeakers which is where the real money is. Another possibility is adding a DSP preamp to the mix which will allow you to make a system sound any way you want. I have a close friend who was over listening to music and he mentioned that he wished he could turn his system up like my system, but when he did it got harsh and unlistenable. He has a very modest but well chosen system. We added a MiniDSP SHD and his system now sounds like one that should be 4 times as expensive and he can turn it up until his wife yells at him.  

Let’s just not forget that accurate doesn’t only mean tonal accuracy. It also means accuracy in conveying the emotion. Saying that benchmark equipment is more accurate than tube preamps, DACs and amps is incorrect. Some of the best guitar amps used by musicians during live performances are tube amps. A lot of masterpieces were recorded using tube equipment 50+ years ago and to this day these albums sound incredible. Accurate and emotionally engaging. 
Hey if you like the Benchmark sound, good for you. It doesn’t mean it’s the best and most accurate though. 

@audphile1 Accuracy in electronics means conveying the original signal unchanged in any way except amplified. What musicians like in tube amps is the way they distort. The amp itself is a musical instrument. You like distortion and that is your business. The very best systems I have heard are accurate or as accurate as is possible with current tech. Benchmark gear gives you accuracy at a very competitive price. Whether or not one likes the AHB2 depends on the speaker. IMHO, modifying the sound in euphonic ways is unacceptable. I want what is on the record, nothing else.  

@mijostyn I don’t like distortion. I am also 100% sure you have no idea what the musicians in the studio sounded like to use as your baseline for judging how accurate or neutral a component really is. It’s all a perception. So let’s not go there.