I am glad you trust your ears. However, the March guy is a "nothing makes a difference except measurements" kind of guy. He argues against discrete op amps (those of us who listen know the OPA1612/LM4562 are good op amps but cannot compare SONICALLY to the best discrete op amps). IE....his amps are the worst sounding of the pack. The AudioScience guys go crazy over non meaning supposed wiring errors. They obsess over nothing because there is very little to look at because it is all measurements to them and other science based thoughts (like how pin one on an xlr is grounded). Meaningless drivel. They do not listen and compare. Every single mod I do to a Purifi based amp changes the sound (and to me, makes it sound better).
The measurements of the Benchmark and Purifi are so close it is a wash. However, there are tons of things you could do to each amp to improve the sound.....non of which will change the measurements. Check out 10 audio. Jerry reviewed the Benchmark and loved it. However, he put in a $135 Audio Horizon fuse in it and it became better (to his ears). So was the amp perfect before or after the fuse? Neither....if you gave me a Benchmark and I spent months tweaking it.....it would sound way, way, way better.......and that YOU could hear.
It is nice to know which components measure the best....but as I said in the last post......there are infinite amounts of things that effect the sound.....and measurements is just one.....one is not infinity....except in spirit.
The measurements of the Benchmark and Purifi are so close it is a wash. However, there are tons of things you could do to each amp to improve the sound.....non of which will change the measurements. Check out 10 audio. Jerry reviewed the Benchmark and loved it. However, he put in a $135 Audio Horizon fuse in it and it became better (to his ears). So was the amp perfect before or after the fuse? Neither....if you gave me a Benchmark and I spent months tweaking it.....it would sound way, way, way better.......and that YOU could hear.
It is nice to know which components measure the best....but as I said in the last post......there are infinite amounts of things that effect the sound.....and measurements is just one.....one is not infinity....except in spirit.