[Barone Birra]

My further listening are convincing me that the HPA4's sense of existence comes with headphones of the same potential technical level. With the Final and the Vérité it seems like listening to music through mountain thin air, at the latter gives quite an "electrostatic" touch. Stunning....

 

[Bad2dbone]

I'm a current Benchmark gear owner : AHB2, LA4 and DAC3 HGC and I'm hoping John Siau can give me some advice along with the members here

Overall I'm very happy with the neutral and detailed sound but like other audiophiles I'm always looking at ways to improve it further

1. Has anyone here experimented with upgraded power cables and did it make any difference to any of their Benchmark components ?

2. Has anyone experimented with audiophile grade fuses and again did it make any difference to their Benchmark components ?

3. I know from previous replies to this thread by John Siau, he does not recommend using a power conditioner with the AHB2 but will it make any difference or give improvement to the LA4/HPA4 or the DAC 3 ?

5. Is the AHB2 along with the HPA4 and DAC3 immune to domestic electricity noise and low voltage, distorted waveforms and sagging power ?

6. Would the AHB2 or other Benchmark gear benefit from a PA Audio Directstream Power Plant such as in the link below ?

https://www.psaudio.com/products/directstream-power-plant-12/

 

[phthora]

I'm a current Benchmark gear owner : AHB2, LA4 and DAC3 HGC and I'm hoping John Siau can give me some advice along with the members here

Overall I'm very happy with the neutral and detailed sound but like other audiophiles I'm always looking at ways to improve it further

1. Has anyone here experimented with upgraded power cables and did it make any difference to any of their Benchmark components ?

2. Has anyone experimented with audiophile grade fuses and again did it make any difference to their Benchmark components ?

3. I know from previous replies to this thread by John Siau, he does not recommend using a power conditioner with the AHB2 but will it make any difference or give improvement to the LA4/HPA4 or the DAC 3 ?

5. Is the AHB2 along with the HPA4 and DAC3 immune to domestic electricity noise and low voltage, distorted waveforms and sagging power ?

6. Would the AHB2 or other Benchmark gear benefit from a PA Audio Directstream Power Plant such as in the link below ?

https://www.psaudio.com/products/directstream-power-plant-12/

I'm no Siau, but I can give you a little insight about questions 3 and 5 (what happened to 4?). I asked the same question about the power conditioner. I wanted to use one with my HPA4 because my previous amp picked up noise from dirty electricity, so I know that was an issue with my house, and because I needed the extra sockets. Benchmark (I forget who exactly) told me it would make no different either way for the HPA4. After playing around with it and without it, it certainly didn't seem to change the sound to my ears. My previous amp had a noticeable mains hum that was eliminated by the power conditioner, but with the HPA4 nothing is picked up on the same outlet without the power conditioner. That's not about the AHB2, but I hope it helps.

 

[Bad2dbone]

I'm no Siau, but I can give you a little insight about questions 3 and 5 (what happened to 4?). I asked the same question about the power conditioner. I wanted to use one with my HPA4 because my previous amp picked up noise from dirty electricity, so I know that was an issue with my house, and because I needed the extra sockets. Benchmark (I forget who exactly) told me it would make no different either way for the HPA4. After playing around with it and without it, it certainly didn't seem to change the sound to my ears. My previous amp had a noticeable mains hum that was eliminated by the power conditioner, but with the HPA4 nothing is picked up on the same outlet without the power conditioner. That's not about the AHB2, but I hope it helps.

Good observation I don't know what happened to question no 4, It's actually disguised as no 5. Thanks for your reply are you still in the same house with the dirty electricity or are you using your HPA4 in a different house with cleaner electricity hence no difference in sound with the power conditioner ?

 

[phthora]

Good observation I don't know what happened to question no 4, It's actually disguised as no 5. Thanks for your reply are you still in the same house with the dirty electricity or are you using your HPA4 in a different house with cleaner electricity hence no difference in sound with the power conditioner ?

My current house doesn't have that dirty electricity. Since I've moved, I've listened to my HPA4 in several locations, with or without a power conditioner, often not my own, and I've never heard a difference.

 

[SackATK]

I'm a current Benchmark gear owner : AHB2, LA4 and DAC3 HGC and I'm hoping John Siau can give me some advice along with the members here

Overall I'm very happy with the neutral and detailed sound but like other audiophiles I'm always looking at ways to improve it further

1. Has anyone here experimented with upgraded power cables and did it make any difference to any of their Benchmark components ?

2. Has anyone experimented with audiophile grade fuses and again did it make any difference to their Benchmark components ?

3. I know from previous replies to this thread by John Siau, he does not recommend using a power conditioner with the AHB2 but will it make any difference or give improvement to the LA4/HPA4 or the DAC 3 ?

5. Is the AHB2 along with the HPA4 and DAC3 immune to domestic electricity noise and low voltage, distorted waveforms and sagging power ?

6. Would the AHB2 or other Benchmark gear benefit from a PA Audio Directstream Power Plant such as in the link below ?

https://www.psaudio.com/products/directstream-power-plant-12/

I currently have a Benchmark DAC3 B/HPA4 stack and I love it. I've had a DAC3 for a number of years now and before that I had a DAC2. I also use to own an AHB2 before I moved to Kii Audio Three active speakers. Take what I'm saying here as my experience in my system with my ears and brain. YMMV

1: Without a doubt the DAC3 is greatly affected by power cables. The first power cable that was heads and shoulders above other cables was the Shunyata Sigma Digital. I "downgraded" to a Shunyata Delta NR cable and it was just as great as the Shunyata Sigma Digital. The Delta NR can be had used for less than $500. I would recommend this cable for anyone new to power cables. Just know that Shunyata Cables have large connectors and this creates an issue with using their cables and any USB cable on the DAC3. There's not enough space for both cables. I had to make alterations to get both to fit. I'm currently using Shunyata Alpha NR V2s on the Benchmark stack and the Kii Threes. I remember the power cable not affecting the AHB2 as much but I would like to test this again in my current system. I have not so far tested changing power cables on the HPA4 individually.

2: I have Synergistic Orange Fuses on the Benchmark Stack. I will reserve judgement until I replace these fuses with the stock ones and retest. I don't believe they hurt the system, that is for sure. If they do affect the system, I believe the change is not as big as the power cables or the USB cable.

3: The DAC3 is greatly affected by the power conditioner. I've gone through about 5 or 6 Shunyata power conditioners over the years and the higher I climb, the better the sound. I'm currently on the Shunyata Everest which is Shunyata's TOTL. I've never tested the HPA4 without the DAC3 so I can't say how power conditioning affects the HPA4 by itself but how the DAC3 goes the stack goes.

5: Nothing is totally immune from noise. The noise can come from outside the system and the noise can from the component itself or from other components in the system. Obviously, I like the way Shunyata addresses the issues of noise. The chef needs fresh ingredients to cook and my Shunyata power cables/conditioners provide them.

6: I don't have any experience with PS Audio Conditioners but if they are anything like Shunyata conditioners, then the answer is yes, at least for the DAC and the DAC/headphone amp stack.

Bonus 7: Is USB better than toslink/coaxial on the DAC 3? A: YES! The DAC3 loves USB. It's sensitive to USB reclockers and USB cables. It's also sensitive to power supplies for those reclockers. I've fed the DAC B using an opticalRendu, then I added an ISO Regen to the chain and just recently I added an Innuos Phoenix to the chain to feed the DAC3. The Phoenix is worth the high price. You'll have to try it to completely understand. The first USB cable that was heads and shoulders above the rest was the Shunyata Alpha USB. If I were new to high end USB cables, I would start with this cable. All the USB tweaks I've mentioned are not subtle tweaks. If a new purchase is not an obvious improvement, I usually don't hesitate to sell it and get some money back. I've tried tweaking the coxial input and reclocking it but nothing I've done has come close to the results I'm getting with USB.

To test if the HPA4 is affected by the power cable and power conditioner, I can try to replace its power cable with the stock cable and then plug it into an unconditioned outlet totally separate from the rest of the system. I will provide an update if I do this.

 

[jsiau]

I'm a current Benchmark gear owner : AHB2, LA4 and DAC3 HGC and I'm hoping John Siau can give me some advice along with the members here

Overall I'm very happy with the neutral and detailed sound but like other audiophiles I'm always looking at ways to improve it further

1. Has anyone here experimented with upgraded power cables and did it make any difference to any of their Benchmark components ?

2. Has anyone experimented with audiophile grade fuses and again did it make any difference to their Benchmark components ?

3. I know from previous replies to this thread by John Siau, he does not recommend using a power conditioner with the AHB2 but will it make any difference or give improvement to the LA4/HPA4 or the DAC 3 ?

5. Is the AHB2 along with the HPA4 and DAC3 immune to domestic electricity noise and low voltage, distorted waveforms and sagging power ?

6. Would the AHB2 or other Benchmark gear benefit from a PA Audio Directstream Power Plant such as in the link below ?

https://www.psaudio.com/products/directstream-power-plant-12/

Benchmark products are designed to have very high immunity to conducted and radiated interference.

You will find that you can pause the music, turn the volume to maximum and hear absolutely no noise coming from your speakers at a point-blank range. Turn on a blender in the kitchen, flick some light switches, and run a power tool. You should still not hear any noise coming from an all-Benchmark system. This is proof that a line conditioner is not needed.

Don't waste your money on special power cords, power conditioners and similar devices. Spend that money on speakers, room treatments, or on more music.

Our lab tests show that line interference also has no impact on the THD or IMD produced by our products. It also has no impact on frequency response.

Power conditioning is built into every Benchmark product.

 

[SackATK]

Benchmark products are designed to have very high immunity to conducted and radiated interference.

You will find that you can pause the music, turn the volume to maximum and hear absolutely no noise coming from your speakers at a point-blank range. Turn on a blender in the kitchen, flick some light switches, and run a power tool. You should still not hear any noise coming from an all-Benchmark system. This is proof that a line conditioner is not needed.

Don't waste your money on special power cords, power conditioners and similar devices. Spend that money on speakers, room treatments, or on more music.

Our lab tests show that line interference also has no impact on the THD or IMD produced by our products. It also has no impact on frequency response.

Power conditioning is built into every Benchmark product.

I agree with a lot of things Mr. Siau said. Benchmark components are excellently designed when it comes to noise and interference. They have excellent power conditioning built in. I don't hear any hiss when the music is dead quite.

I want to clarify that one does not need to have the type of power conditioning or perform the upstream digital cleaning that I do to enjoy Benchmark components. They are great "stock". The biggest complement I can give to a manufacturer is to keep their components in my system after heavily changing other parts of the system. The DAC3 has survived that crucible splendidly and it has been at the heart of my headphone system for a number of years. I've never felt the urge to seriously replace it (until if and when the DAC4 is released, of course). Same for the HPA4 that I bought last year.

For any change to the system, I use the best measurement system I have in my arsenal and that's my ears and my brain. And at the end of the day, I have to live with them. That's how I've settled into my current system and that's why it includes the Benchmark stack. I really don't want to spend a lot of hard earned money on USB reclockers and power cables but after hearing what they bring to the table, I don't want to go back to the old sound. I'm hearing a difference and my experiences with such tweaks force me to believe that everything matters. Power conditioning inside the components matter and power conditioning outside the components matter. One does not supplant the other. I think they complement each other and are synergistic. Jitter reduction and signal integrity strategies/techniques inside the DAC matter and the same is true for strategies/techniques deployed external to the DAC. One does not supplant the other and can be complementary and synergistic.

I popped my head into this thread mainly to help Bad2dbone with his questions. I wanted to provide my experience so that it can help guide his audio journey just like how I've used other people's experiences to help guide my journey. I gave my most honest response I could give.

 

[phthora]

...aaaand three weeks of silence.

I wonder if everyone else out there is just kind of quietly happy with this amp, with nothing really notable to report. Personally, I love how low-drama this amp is. I never have to worry about some weird quirk in the UI or messing up some arcane setting. Every headphone I plug in sounds spectacular (well, at least spectacular for that headphone). No worries over pairing them appropriately. No reason to update cables or get ancillary gear. The amp just always sounds fantastic, regardless of what I run through it or out of it.

Frankly, it's a bit... boring. lol

 

[SalR406]

...aaaand three weeks of silence.

I wonder if everyone else out there is just kind of quietly happy with this amp, with nothing really notable to report. Personally, I love how low-drama this amp is. I never have to worry about some weird quirk in the UI or messing up some arcane setting. Every headphone I plug in sounds spectacular (well, at least spectacular for that headphone). No worries over pairing them appropriately. No reason to update cables or get ancillary gear. The amp just always sounds fantastic, regardless of what I run through it or out of it.

Frankly, it's a bit... boring. lol

That about sums it up. Drama-free audio gear? What a concept!

 

[stemiki]

I have the system stopped because I am waiting to receive the new dac, the delivery is late. Can't wait to reconnect everything. HPA 4 however remains here, for me the best of the best!

 

[MacedonianHero]

...aaaand three weeks of silence.

I wonder if everyone else out there is just kind of quietly happy with this amp, with nothing really notable to report. Personally, I love how low-drama this amp is. I never have to worry about some weird quirk in the UI or messing up some arcane setting. Every headphone I plug in sounds spectacular (well, at least spectacular for that headphone). No worries over pairing them appropriately. No reason to update cables or get ancillary gear. The amp just always sounds fantastic, regardless of what I run through it or out of it.

Frankly, it's a bit... boring. lol

After I completed another amplifier review, I finally came back to my HPA4 and plugged in my Phi TC into to them with some Audioslave. Absolutely floored with what I'm hearing! This amplifier has a firm grasp of both drivers! Loving it!

 

[jlbrach]

this is one amp I havent had the chance to sample..I heard it really briefly at a show but couldnt pass judgment

 

[Stereolab42]

Woohoo, it's about to get real. Seems like they are 1-2 weeks out on building these. With the component shortage you never know if that will change though.

 

[Fysty]

I'm two weeks into my HPA4 and DAC 3 B stack and love it. I spent a lot of time researching and was coming from a Schitt Jot 1 with Multibit card. The difference is pretty staggering and should be given the two different price points. I have a studio background and gravitate toward that type of sound. I am running a pair of Genelec 8320s from the HPA4 as well as Beyerdynamic DT1770s and Focal Celestee cans. Overall I couldn't be happier. The amp/dac combo from Benchmark sounds great and they work so well together.

For giggles I found a used Apogee Mini DAC used here on Head-Fi. I had one years ago and remembered how amazing it sounded back in the day. It arrived last week and I hooked it up to the DAC 3 number 4 spidf after changing the jumper. There is a marked difference between the two with the DAC 3 winning hands down. It was a fun little comparison and I will probably part with the Apogee down the road.

I was using the Rupert Neve Headphone Apm (not the fidelice version) as well and with the addition of the HPA4 I'm not sure I will keep it. The HPA4 just performs so well that it's hard to justify keeping the RNHP unless I move it bedside, which will thrill my wife.

Overall, I couldn't recommend the HPA4/DAC 3b combo enough. If you like the studio sound this is hard to beat. Be sure to add in the remote as well, works incredibly well.