As the name implies, BENCHMARK is committed to excellence. The products are designed and built by audio enthusiasts, musicians, audiophiles and audio professionals who are passionate about audio quality. This passion extends to the durability and build quality of the products. Most of the products are designed, assembled, tested in, and shipped worldwide from Syracuse, NY, USA.
When you see the BENCHMARK name on an audio product you can be assured that the product has been designed to be sonically neutral and transparent. This means that the focus is on building products that have an accurate impulse response. It also means that BENCHMARK products produce very little distortion or noise. The accurate impulse response is an indication of the focus on maintaining an accurate phase response, as well as a very wide and flat frequency response. Transparency can be measured and defined by these parameters.
If you are looking for audio products that will change or enhance the sound of your music, you have come to the wrong place. If you are looking to add the warm sound of even-harmonic distortion, you have also come to the wrong pace. On the other hand, if you are looking for accurate, clean, and transparent audio equipment, you will enjoy BENCHMARK products.
DAC 3
Upgrade to an external Benchmark DAC and experience the full capabilities of high-resolution audio. Benchmark converters are designed to be sonically neutral. This sonic transparency is absolutely essential in the studio monitoring chain. For this reason, Benchmark converters have become a standard fixture in many of the world's finest studios.
When Benchmark's professional converters are used in hi-fi applications, studio-quality sound can be enjoyed in a home environment. Enjoy pure music without any coloration from the electronics. Hear the music exactly the way it was heard in the studio, and exactly the way the artists intended.
Transparent sound can go beyond replicating the studio experience. Recordings that have been produced with a natural and unprocessed sound can transport you to the performance space. Close your eyes and get ready to be transported! The experience of "being there" can only happen when the entire audio chain is selected for maximum transparency.
The DAC3 comes in three variants, with or without a wireless remote control and AES/EBU option. Contact us for further information.
AHB2
From the first watt to the last watt, no audio power amplifier offers lower noise or lower distortion than the Benchmark AHB2. The AHB2 is the ideal match to the performance limits of High-Resolution-Audio (HRA) formats. It delivers musical details without introducing the masking effects of amplifier noise and distortion. The dynamic range of the AHB2 is 132 dB, making it 10 to 30 dB quieter than some of the very best reference-quality power amplifiers.The frequency response extends beyond 200 kHz, so with the AHB2 you will discover previously overlooked nuances, dynamics, and detail in your favorite recordings and experience the full potential of the latest high-resolution 24-bit PCM and 1-bit DSD audio formats.
The musical details and emotion captured on today's finest High-Resolution-Audio recordings can only be fully appreciated when every component in the signal chain is capable of true high-resolution performance. Most power amplifiers are well matched to the limitations of the CD format, but they fall well short of the capabilities of high-resolution formats. The revolutionary AHB2 was specifically designed to deliver true high-resolution performance.
The noise and distortion produced by the Benchmark DAC3 D/A converter is 20 to 30 dB lower than that produced by most high-quality power amplifiers. Until now, this meant that the DAC3 could not be fully appreciated. Benchmark set out to solve this problem by creating an amplifier that matches the performance of the DAC3. The AHB2 uses the new and revolutionary THX-patented AAA™ technology to virtually eliminate all forms of distortion. This technology uses feed-forward error correction to eliminate the distortion that is normally produced by the output stage. No other audio amplifier comes close to delivering the clean, quiet, and robust power of the AHB2.
Most power amplifiers produce higher levels of distortion when the load impedance decreases. In contrast, the feed-forward error correction system in the AHB2 keeps the output clean when driving difficult loads. The AHB2 produces almost no measurable distortion at any rated load condition. All in all, this amplifier stands head and shoulders above the competition.