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I first saw Benchmark's AHB2 stereo power amplifier at the 2013 Convention of the Audio Engineering Society, in New York City. On silent display in Benchmark's booth on the convention floor, its compact size and comprehensive features made the amp immediately attractive, and the design was described as a departure from traditional analog and digital amplifiers (footnote 1, more on that later). It was also explained to me that the AHB2 was based on designs by Benchmark's founder, Allen H. Burdick (whose initials it bears). By the time of Burdick's retirement, in 2006, Benchmark didn't yet…
In building my listening systems over the years, my primary goal has been to hear as much of the source recordings, and as little of the system itself, as possible. Every piece of every system imposes its own sound to some degree onto what comes out of the speakers. I don't only mean obvious, measurable things like distortion, noisefloor, S/N ratio, and so on. Those matter, certainly, but there are also things we hear but aren't usually measured, likely having to do with how the components in a system interact.
I've never not heard differences when I've changed pieces in my reference…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Music streamer, DAC, preamp with 6" LCD touchscreen, virtual VU meters, dedicated control app, 2 × ES9038Q2M converters, and the XMOS XU316 audio processor. Ethernet (10/100/1000Mbps), Wi-Fi (2.4G + 5G). 10-band parametric EQ, FIR filters, and room/speaker EQ based on microphone measurements. Inputs: Bluetooth 5.0 supports SBC/AAC. USB-B Audio supports up to Stereo DSD512, PCM 32/768, MQA Format. Optical/Coaxial supports up to Stereo PCM 24/192kHz, DoP64, MQA Format. HDMI ARC supports up to Stereo PCM 24/192. Outputs: USB supports up to Stereo DSD512…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: Custom Intel/Win11 and Mac mini M4 music servers running JRiver Media Center v35 and Roon 2, Merging Devices Hapi II DAC. QNAP TVS-873 NAS. Oppo Digital UDP-103 universal disc player. Marantz AV8802A pre/pro.
Power amplifiers: Three Benchmark AHB2.
Loudspeakers: Three KEF Blade 2 Meta (L/C/R) with IsoAcoustics GAIA II NEO feet. KEF LS60W (SL/SR). Two KEF K92 and one SVS SB-2000 Pro subwoofers.
Cables: Digital interconnects: Mogami Gold AES TD DB25-XLR0 snake, AudioQuest Carbon HDMI. Analog interconnects: Mogami Gold AES TD DB25-…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
After I connected the Eversolo DMP-A6 Master Edition Gen 2's Ethernet port to my router and installed the Eversolo Control app on my iPad mini, the app informed me that the processor was running software version v1.5.75. Roon recognized the Eversolo as an MQA decoder and renderer that would handle 32-bit network PCM data with sample rates up to 384kHz. I connected my MacBook Pro to the Eversolo's USB port; Apple's USB Prober app identified the processor as "Eversolo DMP-A6" from "MQA" and confirmed that the USB port operated in the optimal isochronous asynchronous…
I am not big on streaming overall, but I do like to find new releases on Qobuz, enjoy the live feed from the Berlin Philharmonic via their Digital Concert Hall, and sample multichannel music on Apple Music. If I really like something, I buy discs or downloads to add to my local collection. (Usually I can find one or the other.) Unless you already have a big library—a huge library—streaming has its attractions. Plus, I must admit, as much as I dislike the cheesy adjective, audio streamers are hot!
And why not? They efficiently encapsulate so many functions that one might regard a streamer…