@michaelc2020 If you are eve in the NYC area let me know I can should you a pure 1 watt amp on a pair of Klipschorns that sound simple beautiful. Happy Listening. |
https://youtu.be/abdmZbQPQtY This guy has a very good channel, in one of the videos he talks about amp design and how many watts we really need, just bare in mind he is talking about European midsize room not US cathedrals 😜 I must say I totally agree with his viewpoint, when ever I go over 80db it starts to get seriously loud and often uncomfortable very soon. Anyway, I thought his views on the matter would interest most audiophiles, also he has a very good way of presenting his views. Enjoy! |
The Benchmark is as smooth or smoother than any class A amp I’ve heard...IF it’s paired with a good class A preamp. There is no point in owning a low distortion amplifier if the preamp is a weak link. In my mind there are absolutely no reasons to own any other amp unless you either want a very colored sound or your speakers require more than 100/200 WPC, 8/4 ohm. You get an AHB2 then tailor the sound with your choice of preamp. Class A tube preamp paired with an AHB2 is that cliche “match made in heaven.” |
Agree with the Benchmark stack being smooth, It is a smoothness that also has the most clarity that I ever heard. I recently added a Gustard X26 Pro to my Benchmark HPA4 | AHB2 mono. It replaced the Benchmark DAC3B (still keeping it). The sound of my system was transformed to that of the Gustard. The HPA4 and AHB2 do not seem to add any flavor. |
Comparing company X’s class A amp with company B’s class AB amp may not mean much. I bet even there are many class D amps that sound better than class A amps at the same price point. I cannot think of apple to apple comparison, but how about these?
For my Plinius SA102, I cannot hear any difference between class A and AB settings in most music. Only when the music is very demanding (more bass and dynamics) I can tell some difference, but still the difference is not day and night difference. |
