Hi Mapman,
How It compares. Well I've never heard any of these compared in the same system. So my comments might not be fair...
Benchmark.... What I heard was fairly fast, transparent, but leaned toward dry... not dry, just leaning that way.
The Bel Canto, As close as I've heard to dead neutral... I would say the weakness was sound stage, detailed placement, width etc....
SST Ambrosia, Even though to my ears, it doesn't sound like tubes. I would say, take what you would consider being dead neutral in Tubes. That's how I would consider the Ambrosia. It just has a texture to it that I enjoyed. Its phono section was great and the tone controls work without causing harm to the sound stage.
How It compares. Well I've never heard any of these compared in the same system. So my comments might not be fair...
Benchmark.... What I heard was fairly fast, transparent, but leaned toward dry... not dry, just leaning that way.
The Bel Canto, As close as I've heard to dead neutral... I would say the weakness was sound stage, detailed placement, width etc....
SST Ambrosia, Even though to my ears, it doesn't sound like tubes. I would say, take what you would consider being dead neutral in Tubes. That's how I would consider the Ambrosia. It just has a texture to it that I enjoyed. Its phono section was great and the tone controls work without causing harm to the sound stage.