Benchmark AHB-2

Discussion in 'Power Amps' started by cskippy, Sep 14, 2017.

  1. Ringingears

    Ringingears Honorary BFF

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    I would have given a shit, but I was constipated at the time. :confused: How do you think it would work with 92 dB full range speakers?
     
  2. gbeast

    gbeast Mighty Moral Power Ranger

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    just because noone posted responses doesn't mean it wasn't on our radar. I have had one on my to buy list since but it was a bit lower on the list than other items I want.

    I heard the one mentioned here using the HE-6. It definitely wasn't mind blowing (which can be a good thing). My walk away impressions were that it didn't do anything wrong. The Vidar bass is better but this seemed to have a really clean sound without and grit or grain. It also seemed like it was almost perfectly balanced. I also didn't hear a huge jump in dynamics on the HE-6 like I was expecting so in other words it didn't make it mad punchy or anything. If I pay that much I want a bigger soundstage and better depth but elsewise I can dig it. It is still on my radar for sure because it hit a real sweet spot of timbre and balance with an analog sound to it. Anyway mini meet impressions are sometimes useless but my itch has been scratched.
     
  3. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    I run mine directly from my Prism dac since it has built-in volume control. I prefer it without a pre in the middle.
     
  4. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    Yeah, I was just about to say Freya is most likely holding it back a bit.
     
  5. winders

    winders boomer

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    You think Freya is that poor of a preamp?
     
  6. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    I didn't say Freya is a poor preamp, I'm implying the AHB2 is that good of an amp. As in, the Freya is the weakest link in the chain.
     
  7. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    The benchmark is the kind of component that makes you take a long hard look at the rest of your gear. Stellar preamp and transducers will scale with it.

    We have had that discussion already in the he6 thread. Jozur took upon himself to find and get a 4 screws he6 (kudos to him for that). Now he's selling his Utopia and 6 screws he6.

    That said it's not for everyone, no midrange bloom, no phat bass. If one's looking at this to correct/influence the rest of his gear, this is not the right answer.
     
    Last edited: Sep 15, 2017
  8. Hrodulf

    Hrodulf Prohibited from acting as an MOT until year 2050

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    I'm pretty sure one could run Freya in passive mode without incurring any any audible impact. On the other hand I'm perfectly comfortable with digital attenuation even if it incurs SNR loss. It's not like the music suddenly becomes 8-bit when you turn it down, usually the main culprit would be noise floor creep, but proper gain staging and modern electronics usually have nearly inaudible noise.
     

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