Benchmark LA4 vs. Anthem STR Preamps

Definitely two very interesting and different pre-amps to compare!

My next system could be all Benchmark or top notch full feature integrated amp to downsize a bit, like Anthem or NAD.

I feel like an all Benchmark stack is truly something special and worth the experience.

I would expect either would be a good match to my current preferred speakers (Ohm Walsh and kef ls50 meta).

@audiotroy When you say you have experience with ROON I have a feeling you are saying that you have made adjustments via the ParametricEQ settings.

What I am taking about is this.

https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/bits-and-bytes/what-is-accurate-sound-r923/

This is using very expensive software, in my case AudioLense, to first measure my room with a mic and then create Convolution files that are installed into my ROON Core. The person that did my Convolution DSP is the man who wrote the article linked above. He is a professional acoustic engineer. The results are incredible. 

I have considered hardware based DSP such as:

- ARC
- Space Optimization
- Room Perfect
- DecWare (sp? from Australia)

I would rather use the immense processing capability of my cheap computer versus the limited and fixed processing ability of an audio device.

I agree in theory (have not tried applying DSP to my setup).  

IF you can create the needed correction model on a computer then use the results at playback time via the streamer or server, that sounds like a good way to go.

Of course the devil is always in the details.

The flip side is if done well, integrating DSP into an integrated amp or similar audio device would seem to be an easier approach, especially if it can be applied to all sources both analog and digital, not just certain digital ones.

@mapman I agree that what I have done is not the easy way. There is no way I would attempt to create the files myself. I am computer literate and that makes me realize my limitations in using this complex audio software. 

Using a audio hardware approach is likely easier and good enough for most DIY'ers.

@yyzsantabarbara - Regarding using a PC vs. hardware RCS. Devices like the Anthem and Wavelet use more powerful computers for generating filters, which is the computationally intensive part -- I suspect it involves numerical optimization. Convolution in playback is handled by specialized hardware (DSP chips) in the preamps. I have no way of comparing such DSP hardware to a PC (better, worse, more efficient, whatever), but by using the external computer to make the filters, it seems they have sidestepped many of the issues with dedicated hardware.

Of course, with time, correction techniques will develop and may need more powerful playback DSP; but in time, everything becomes obsolete, anyway. IMO the simplicity of the Anthem or Wavelet paradigm is a reasonable tradeoff for many people. (I don’t like having a PC in my music room, though I understand that many users use them with great pleasure and success.) More than one way to do things, it seems to me.