Benchmark Media Systems. Right or wrong

When I see people trying one piece of electronics after another searching for a better sound it generally means they are not happy with their loudspeakers. You buy an amp that drives your chosen loudspeaker well. The rest of the electronics really do not matter that much. One might climb the ladder going from say a $5000 amp to a $20,000 amp, but I see people going endlessly sideways. IMHO that is wasting money that could have been spent on better loudspeakers which is where the real money is. Another possibility is adding a DSP preamp to the mix which will allow you to make a system sound any way you want. I have a close friend who was over listening to music and he mentioned that he wished he could turn his system up like my system, but when he did it got harsh and unlistenable. He has a very modest but well chosen system. We added a MiniDSP SHD and his system now sounds like one that should be 4 times as expensive and he can turn it up until his wife yells at him.  

Let’s just not forget that accurate doesn’t only mean tonal accuracy. It also means accuracy in conveying the emotion. Saying that benchmark equipment is more accurate than tube preamps, DACs and amps is incorrect. Some of the best guitar amps used by musicians during live performances are tube amps. A lot of masterpieces were recorded using tube equipment 50+ years ago and to this day these albums sound incredible. Accurate and emotionally engaging. 
Hey if you like the Benchmark sound, good for you. It doesn’t mean it’s the best and most accurate though. 

@audphile1 Accuracy in electronics means conveying the original signal unchanged in any way except amplified. What musicians like in tube amps is the way they distort. The amp itself is a musical instrument. You like distortion and that is your business. The very best systems I have heard are accurate or as accurate as is possible with current tech. Benchmark gear gives you accuracy at a very competitive price. Whether or not one likes the AHB2 depends on the speaker. IMHO, modifying the sound in euphonic ways is unacceptable. I want what is on the record, nothing else.  

@mijostyn I don’t like distortion. I am also 100% sure you have no idea what the musicians in the studio sounded like to use as your baseline for judging how accurate or neutral a component really is. It’s all a perception. So let’s not go there. 

@audphile1 See, you are comparing playing music with music REPRODUCTION, which is two different things. I want my system to convey exactly what was recorded by the artist. To me that is accuracy and yes it will convey the emotion that the artist put in their music.

@mijostyn spot on and I totally agree. That is what I strive for as well.