I’ve been looking hard at the Benchmark stuff for the past few days. Their amp and DAC are really well regarded. The downside is the aesthetics which aren’t great for a living room. That said, it would be an impetus to get the audio stuff out of the way. And Stereophile loves their stuff.
The ABH2 is way smaller than it looks. Easy to hide.
I have an AHB2 and an HPA4. They are awesome together. I use them with KEF LS50 Metas and Susvara headphones and could not be happier.
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There is a part of me that just wants to drop the $$$$$$ on the h390 and be done with it. It has everything (and more) that I need.
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Yup. Spent a while dithering about upgrading my H190 - didn’t regret it from the first song, and should have done it a lot sooner 
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My current plan is to save for the H390. It is a bit embarrassing how much it costs, so we’ll see if I can actually spend the money when it is time.
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I got a decent trade from my dealer on my H190, so the impact was softened a bit! I think you need to get into Gryphon/Boulder territory to get significantly better SQ - I heard the H590 and TBH the H390 is pretty close. I was thinking about the H590 but when I compared them I did not think it was worth nearly double the price. H390 is the sweet spot.
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@Bryan_T, why not thinking about the Lyngdorf TDAi 3400 It is Roon Ready, has Roomperfect, enough power, is in the same price range as the Hegel H390 and last but not least has very good reviews.
I have an H190 and a H390, resp. in the living room and the listening room.
Since i had a bargain on the H190 and needed the power to drive my ATC SCM11, i bought it.
Hadn’t it been for the ATC’s low sensitivity, i would have bought a Lyngdorf TDA-1120 instead.
The H390 with my ATC SCM40’s is a phenomenal combination, very good sound, high WAF.
This is a setup that will stay with me for a long time, i am really satisfied with it.
As an amplifier the H390 is stellar, as a Roon endpoint it is not.
I never considered the H590, it is out of my reach.
I’d never heard of them. Off to investigate.
Some years ago, I sold my Devialet Expert 200 and purchased a Lyngdorf Tdai 3400 based on reviews. It just didn’t have the dynamic punch of the Devialet, though, so I sold it and purchased a Devialet Expert 220 Pro. Much better IMHO. Later, I sold the Devialet and purchased a Kinki Studio EX-M7 amp, which brought better SQ. Journey of discovery…
They get great reviews from users.
Also rumours around here that a new an in-between model is being announced later this month
A few years back I bought the Lyngdorf 2170 based on rave reviews on the Audiogon forums.
It left me wanting…
It was flexible and a nice compact solution but it lacked life and slam and dynamics.
It did not draw me into the music and I found myself turning it off rather than listening all night as I do now.
Hopefully the newer ones are better though.
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It’s all about feedback from user’s that have actually used them.
yeah, my impression of the lyngdorfs is that the processors are amazing, and top notch room correction, but the amps maybe not so much. fwiw.
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Hi Bryan,
have a look at Peachtree. A lot of their amps have a very good built-in DAC.
I have an iNova and love it. The later amps are even better apparently.
I think the pricing is competitive and they also, from what I’ve heard, have a good return policy I believe but have not had cause to use it.
Enjoy the search.
Ian
I would get one of the Class D Purifi Eigentakt or Purifi of any kind. There are some excellent manufacturers in the US like VTV or Nord in England. You will have clean sound with power to spare. Then get an RME Dac or a Topping. I use all these components and could not be happier.
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Thanks for all of the suggestions so far. I’m a casual hi-fi enthusiast (but music nut), so a lot of these brands/technologies are new to me.
That’s what I am looking into:
https://www.apollonaudio.com/apollon-1et400a-mini-stereo-amplifier/
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Excellent choice. I think you will be very pleased.
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