Next to the power button is the tiny infrared receiver sensor. On the left, just under the screen, I noticed a small (0.25") black button that I guessed was the power-on button, but there was no labeling to confirm that it wasn't a wayward faceplate screw.
The first thing I noticed was a 3.5" Color TFT touchscreen and thought, "I hope that screen has a dimmer." (It does.) The manual says the touchscreen is a "Status Display" that uses two bargraphs to indicate volume (separately or together) for headphone and line outputs (footnote 1). The HPA4 occupies the same stacking-friendly footprint as Benchmark's DAC3, although it's roughly twice as tall.Īfter admiring the black, 0.5"-thick, brushed-aluminum side panels, I looked at the HPA4's 0.25"-thick brushed aluminum front panel.
According to the HPA4's spiral-bound instruction manual, it is a "half-rack wide" (8.65") and "2 RU" (rack units) high (3.47"), and only 9.33" deep including knobs and connectors. It was light, weighing only 8lb, and compared to most audiophile-level headphone amplifiers, it was small. the measure of excellence!" As I cut the clear tape with my boxcutter, I noticed the "THX Technology" logo printed on it and wondered why it was there.Īfter sliding it out of the box, I held the HPA4 in both hands and turned it around, examining all six sides. Second, one whole side of the box said "Benchmark. First, I noticed that the amp had shipped from Syracuse, NY, where it was made. While removing the Benchmark HPA4 headphone amp from its simple-but-effective packaging, I noticed three things. This approach to living has served me wellespecially during this review of the Benchmark Media Systems HPA4 headphone amplifier ($2999). I am certain the quality of life I live is determined by two factors: who and what I give my attentions to, and my ability to observe all that I encounter with an open mind.
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