Benchmark ahb2 amplifier review8/19/2023 You can only understand the AHB2 properly through the lens of today’s high-resolution music. You cannot understand Benchmark’s AHB2 properly when you look at the amp in isolation, as just a single product. The Salon2s are nominally 6 Ohm speakers, but their variable impedance drops dips down into the upper 3 ohm range from about 40 Hz – 90 Hz and again at 200 Hz (You can view the Revel Ultima2 Salon’s full measurements here courtesy of our friends at the SoundStage network ) and John Atkinson’s measurements at Stereophile ( )īut if we go down that traditional path, we’ll miss the main point of the AHB2. SNR and Dynamic range are 132 dB A-weighted in stereo and 135 dB A-weighted in bridged mono mode.Īs you’ll see further down, we’ll be driving the AHB2 with a pair of Revel Ultima2 Salons. The Signal to Noise (SNR) ratio of the AHB2 is also off the charts awesome. Unlike other amplifiers, with the Benchmark AHB2, there is no increase in distortion with an increase in impedance load. While most amplifiers’ distortion increases when the load impedance increases, the AHB2 remains virtually distortion free. The AHB2 is completely stable into 2.2 Ohm loads at full output level. At 2 Ohms, you actually get more power running in stereo mode. In stereo mode, you can deliver almost 360 Watts into the same 2-Ohm load. With 2 Ohms in bridged mono you will trip the protection circuits if you try to deliver more than 324 Watts into the 2-Ohm load. Measurements courtesy of Benchmark.Īs a side note to audiophiles with impossible-load speakers: If you have 2 Ohm speakers, you will want to run the AHB2 in stereo mode. Note that the AHB2 shows no signs of increased distortion while delivering 397 W into 8-Ohms bridged mono. The green trace is the THD performance while driving an 8-Ohm load in bridged mono mode. The red trace is the no-load THD performance in bridged mono mode. Output Power, in Bridged Mono – 8-Ohm Load compared to No-Load This plot also shows that the THD produced by the AHB2 does not increase with loading. However, if you try to exceed 486 watts into 3 Ohms bridged mono, you will trip the 18 Amp over-current protection and the amplifier will shut down. Technically speaking, you can even drive speakers whose variable impedance dips into 3 Ohm range. In bridged mono, the AHB2 will deliver 380 Watts into 8 Ohms, and 480 Watts into 6 Ohms. In bridged mono, the AHB2 is rated for 6 Ohms, but there’s a bit of an asterisk to that. Unlike so many other amps with a bridged mono option, the AHB2 does not limit you to just 8 Ohm nominal speakers. With the flick of a switch you can transform the AHB2 into a monoblock amplifier. It will nearly double down its power to 190 wpc into 4 Ohms and 240 wpc into 3 Ohms with both channels driven simultaneously.īut the power output doesn’t stop there. Benchmark says that the AHB2 can deliver up to 18A to each channel simultaneously. The AHB2 is a 100 wpc stereo power amplifier, but boy is that ever deceiving. The AHB2 was a joint engineering effort between Benchmark Media Systems (best known for their universally heralded DACs) and THX. The folks at Benchmark, whose AHB2 power amplifier is the first commercially-available amplifier based on THX’s AAA technology, assured me that this was indeed the case. If Laurie Fincham can put his stamp of approval on an amplifier technology then audiophiles should, at the very least, take notice.Ī feed-forward design? Virtually no noise? A traditional topology with a radical reduction in waste heat, like Class D designs, but without any compromise in sound quality? Pure audiophile sound in a compact size? Seriously, could all this and more be true? When I had the opportunity to interview Laurie Fincham, who is not only THX’s Vice President but also a legendary figure in the audiophile world, I became extremely excited at the amplifier advancements made possible by THX’s new Achromatic Audio Amplifier (AAA) technology. To a degree, such a closed attitude towards new amplifier technology betrays a rather closed and gentrified view of things. But let’s be brutally honest for a moment. One only needs to look at the sonically inferior, early incarnations of Class D amplifiers. Anecdotally speaking, there has been some merit to that perspective over the years. In most audiophiles’ minds, amplifier size equates with audiophile performance.ĭare to mention a new amplifier technology or even attempt to show a smaller-sized amplifier and-if you’re lucky-you’ll only be met with a skeptical, raised eyebrow. Big, bulky amplifiers with heat sinks as large as Stegosaurus plates are a die-hard audiophile’s prized possession.
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