![]() Even the SATRI link seemed identical to the conventional RCA one. With volume levels matching I could use the Bakoon remote to select the 3 inputs in turn, but hard as I tried, I really couldn’t say that any one was better sounding than the others. The NAD and Accuphase were rigged as usual – power via Isotek and Belden power cables. I had the Bakoon units rigged up as shown and with power via the Puritan filer box and power cables. Here are edited notes I sent to the dealer who loaned me the Bakoon 13r and Bakoon DAC-21 (now discontinued): Please see attached sketch to see how I rigged my kit to compare results. Could you please let me know what you thought of the Bakoon amplifier sound quality (heat aside)? Could you compare its sound to that of your Accuphase A36 as well as the NAD (I am very familiar with Accuphase Class A sound as I own the A70 amplifier). I have read good things about the Bakoon amp. It seems a good amp and perhaps an excellent one in some systems, but far from one that can be unreservedly recommended.ĭid you try it on your AGs and how did it compare with your other amps? Peter If I now read the subsequent generally excellent reviews, I note that there are always provisos in the reviewers’ findings. He seemed to place this virtue higher than its vices. Yes, it is dead silent and I think this was an overwhelming factor in the opinion of the other AG owner. However I found it decidedly dull – no sparkle or excitement to its music - and I wanted to turn the volume down rather than up – that’s never a good sign. It has some highly desirable features such as adjustable gain, is very nicely built and has a sensible price. Perhaps it would offer more enjoyment with a tube preamp, but that’s a condition that shouldn’t be required of a good power amp in my opinion.Īs I think you know, I bought an AHB2 early on and before any reviews had been published on the rave recommendation of a fellow Avantgarde owner. Joe - I'm pleased that you've tried the Benchmark, but relieved you've decided against keeping it. So unfortunately no, never tried it with the Lintons. Something like a 6sn7 type or similar tube. It was smoother and more natural but I feel it needs a very sweet tube preamp in front of it. It was totally different than I expected from reading the reviews. I absolutely love the quiet and black background. I do wish the AHB2 had a little more meat on the bone. Not because I didn’t like it but because I have a few amps that I prefer a little more. I returned the Benchmark at the end of the trial. I will also use the very low priced Benchmark XLR's between all the Benchmark products since they are professional-grade (not consumer-grade). Since I am picky about getting things wanting to run at there best, I went with the Benchmark DAC3B (not saying it is the better DAC, but better synergy). The other DAC I was considering, AudioByte VOX, of Rockna fame, ran at 12 dBu and was also noisier (SNR). It seems the Benchmark products run best when used with professional-grade XLR interconnects that run at 24 dBu. That was related to the the type of interconnects used between the HPA4 (preamp + headphone amp) and the AHB2. I was planning on buying a DAC from an different manufacturer but learned of a synergy issue that would result in the HPA4 not running to it's max ability. The HPA4 has the same sounding amp as the AHB2 but for headphones. Yesterday, I bought the Benchmark HPA4 and the DAC3B. Would have been today if not for some unexpected car repairs. I was a favorite of mine but sold it a few years ago. The jury is still out for it to be a long term only solid state amp for me but is in the top 2-3 so far.Ĭongrats on the AHB2. I think adding a tube dac and sweet balanced tube preamp with balanced outputs, for my taste, would be a killer system. Lower res streaming, while good, is not ideal. Of course better quality music or high res is excellent. I have the tendency to crank it up too much when I love the song that's playing. It's absolutely wonderful at low/medium volume like I love. Itreally is a great amp but vocals could be a little fleshier and meatier. ![]() Everything can be clearly heard and late night in the dark listening is a whole new experience. It's absolutely and amazingly dead quiet with spooky details popping out of nowhere. It’s very, very smooth, totally not aggressive, extremely articulate and it has powerful bass. The benchmark AHB2 amp has some awesome qualities to it butis not sweet and warm. The Benchmark gain is set to its lowest setting and I am using it on my Avantgarde Duo XD. I'm using it with the Wyred 4 Sound STP-SE Stage 2 pre and an Audio Mirror Tubador SE dac. I think the amp has warmed up sufficiently.
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