Thiel Owners

Thielrules - thank you for posting that amp list. There is a fairly widespread belief among audio pros that audiophiles prefer distortion to provide qualities they call "fullness, richness, lushness, warmth", etc. I must confess that it took me quite some time living with the Benchmark AHB-2 to appreciate its lean directness as being correct. I now delight in its simple clarity and hear other amps as adding artifacts. 
I am using a PS Stellar Gain Cell DAC/Pre. It's nice, but PS gear lands pretty far down the list. I am coveting a listen to the Benchmark DAC/Pre. Is there a similar list of preamps?

Check audiosciencereview.com for their listing of reviewed dacs with pre-amps. 

Speaking of the Benchmark DAC3B and the LA4 Pre -- Paul Seydor has a nice review of these along with considerable mention of the AHB-2 in this month's online Absolute Sound.
Todd

That is quite a list, zero relationship between price and distortion.  There's some seriously expensive stuff way down at the bottom.  

That Benchmark system in TAS is my system, except I sold the DAC3B last week. I will buy it back later in 2021 since I already miss it.

I also did a test with a single AHB2 and turned on mono operation to get more power. I then ran it on 1 CS3.7 speaker. I liked it a lot more since I got more bass and things seemed more energized. So I bought a second AHB2 that should arrive in a few weeks.

@tomthiel The Benchmark preamp, preferably the HPA4 over the LA4 because of the bonus headphone amp. I hated headphones prior to getting the HPA4. The Benchmark preamps also make their DACs sound better because the volume control on the preamp is much better. The preamps are quieter than the DAC3.

I am now thinking of trying out the RAAL SR1a ribbon headphone driven by 1 or 2 AHB2 amps (not the HPA4). RAAL used the AHB2 to develop the SR1a.

BTW - I have at one time owned, DAC1, DAC2 HGC, DAC3 HGC, DAC3B, AHB2, HPA4 and all Benchmark interconnects and now speaker cables. I love this gear.