Benchmark AHB2 power amp impressions?

@aberyclark 

Try disconnecting your amp at the amplifier end and listen to the noise of the speaker wires. Generally speaker wires run at high signal levels and speakers are rather inefficient and are rarely able to pick up any RF/EM speaker cable noise to be even close to audible.

I have a pair of Ming Da 3008a monoblocks.  40 watts of SET.  They play as loud as a 100 watt SS amp.  I never forgot when I first heard them.....how the music stopped and started on a dime with the best separation and black background.  It was a quick education on cross over distortion.  If the Benchmark amp could achieve this, with say a tubed CD player, I would be interested.  On the other hand it seams as if the amp is at its greatest when paired with the DAC.   

I purchased enough of the AHB2 amps to tri-amp my speakers, and these are truly world class amps.  

Having an invisible noise floor means you can hear so much more detail that was previously hidden in the background (at loud or even soft volumes).  You can also hear things at low volumes that no other amp I have heard is capable of, and measurements of what this amp can do at the 1 watt and below clearly show it's distortion is the best out there.  Hint: ultra low distortion at 1 watt and below really matter if you want detail at low volumes.

This amp is absolutely fantastic from an engineering and specifications perspective, and the real world listening is the same; it can make hairs on your neck stand up because it can sound that real if the rest of your system can reproduce the required dynamic range with ultra low distortion.

The dynamic range and driver control in my setup is truly unreal.  To be fair, my setup also involves using active XOs that employ FIR filters, and of course I removed the passive XOs from my speakers to achieve the best possible damping factor.  I have all drivers time aligned as well.

That said, I did try several amps in the $1k-3k category in my tri-amp setup, and the Benchmarks are absolutely some of the best amps on the market.  I've shown my system to one dealer that does $100k+ setups and he couldn't believe the sound of my setup.  Google the measurements and read the reviews such as the one Stereophile did.

I totally understand if someone likes the warm sound of tubes though, but if you want to hear exactly what was recorded in ultra high fidelity with the best possible dynamic range, these amps are likely the best option for you.

Since I'm a decent guy, if you are local to Columbia, SC maybe I can let you hear what I'm talking about.  Send me a PM if this is the case because I don't come on here very often...

Thanks for invite. People must love the amp...not may used (or they return them quickly after purchasing). I'm hoping, after new year, to try one in my system. I have to say, my NuForce STA200 is sooo good as I have everything dialed in great. However, the thought of the ultra quiet Benchmark, with my RP-5 tube preamp and ZU omen defs really sounds appealing.