All Benchmark System Question

If 80% of recordings sound really good then you may be hitting the bullseye because some are just not very good. I’d leave well enough alone perhaps unless there is some specific thing on certain recordings of particular interest you know you are missing out on having heard it elsewhere, etc.

I would love to try the all BM stack with my Ohm Walsh speakers. It’s on my audio bucket list of things to try. Anybody out there with that combo?

Maybe  adding a sub properly set up to fill in low end or even with a crossover to offload some work from the little Harbeths would help take things further in the desired direction via addition and tweaking rather than replacement. 

Small speakers can only do so much. It’s pretty much assured you are missing  the lowest octave with any small speaker like that and offloading work from them would probably help them go louder and clearer with less congestion as well. 

That is a great point about the lowest octave.

Here is Benchmarks guidance to hook up subs to the AHB2

REL Subwoofers with AHB2 Power Amplifier - Benchmark Media Systems

That is an idea I have considered Mapman but I am a little concerned about losing the magic of the P3SERs’s by adding a sub. I would love to try it out though to see how it sounds.
In the interim I may very well play with the DACs to see where that takes me. As YYsantabarbara has stated, the Benchmark gear really is magical when it’s right and it’s right most of the time. With the Benchmark stack it’s hard to believe the midrange magic coming out of those P3SER’s!

@regg I forgot to mention that the store that has the Gustard also has a 30 or 45 day home trial.

I personally want to try the Benchmark stack on the Yamaha NS5000. I think it would be great.

When I demoed Harbeth I thought it may be very good with the BM stack. 

@regg This thread is perfect and I have the same exact conundrum regarding my system.

Although I don't have the HPA-4 I do have the Benchmark Dac 3L and two AHB2's feeding my speakers (Raidho D1.1) and I too was considering adding the Audio Mirror Troubador to add some euphonic color/ warmth for those recordings where the instruments seems get in the way of the music and seems a little flat.....it's almost to precise if that makes sense. It's not necessarily a bad recording issue so much as just distracting or boring.

Anyway, you got advice from @yyzsantabarbara whose input I value (a lot) for all things Benchmark:) so now I'm going to have to check out the Gustard x26 pro too, so thank you both for that nugget. The truth is I have a hard time distinguishing between Dac's so I want a quality Dac on the opposite end of the spectrum of the Benchmark strengths to see where that gets me.

Sub's next.

Good luck