Dust Settled Consensus- is the Benchmark AHB2 an Audiophile Amplifier?

The AHB2 amp sounds pretty good in my bedroom with Harbeth 7ES3XD speakers but I would not say it is the best product that they make. 

I also have in same room the dac3 and benchmark hpa4 linestage and headphone amp.  The headphone amplifier and dac using balanced cabling are an excellent combination with my slightly warmish headphone ZMF closed ended Verite.

As for the same dac and linestage with the amp I found it was very good overall but did not draw me into the music as does the same combo with an EAR 890 tube amp.  

Ultimately its a subjective exercise depending on your room, associated equipment, and cabling.  Its certainly worth an audition imho but for most unlikely to be an amp you passionately love (but for value hard to beat).

When I heard Harbeth with a top end Luxman stack (m900u/c900u) I enjoyed it, but I was thinking this would sound great with my AHB2's.

@radioheadokplayer The HPA4 + DAC3B + Meze Empy is also a great combo. I had that for a while and really enjoyed it.

I've had an AHB2 amp for around 6 months. It's a perfect fit with my ancient AR-LST speakers.

Owners of this amp may need to experiment with the sensitivity switch to get the best results.

The sound from my system with the ABH2 is very much dependent on the source material being played. Records which are not well engineered have nowhere to hide with this amp.

For me, the AHB2 is a good combination of relatively low cost and really good performance. No regrets whatsoever.

In my experience, the AHB2 is incredible. I can fully change my system based on the DAC and Preamp I choose. This amp knows it's job - to amplify the signal it's given, no more and no less.

Right now i'm using a fully restored sansui 9090 as preamp and i'm enjoying music more than I have in years.

I've used it with a very neutral, sterile preamp and the music was just that. I've used it with a tube preamp and the sound was excactly what you'd want from tubes.

It's a must-have.

I recently heard @lancelock's system.  Really nice sonics driven by a low power tube LTA amp and Backert preamp.  Since none of this equipment is a live performance, despite much inflated hyperbole about equipment getting u there, listen and experiment with different configurations till u find the facsimile version of the live performance that u are happiest with.  I have heard many pleasing systems and none have sounded the same. I have heard multiple systems that I did not care for and they did not sound the same.  So, neutral is a sound descriptor that is used frequently to describe systems or components that sound different.  

I like the interchange of information and even the divergent opinions about certain equipment.  In the end, the only thing that matters is do your brain pleasure centers light up when u listen to music.  If they do then to hell with the measurements.  I ain't listening to measurements nor seeking audio jewelry in my stereo equipment.  I wish I could weigh in on the Benchmark amp debate, well at least express a preference, but since I have not heard it I cannot.