Nebojsa Ugljesic, Too Loud Blog
Whenever Emir Fakic, the owner of the Planet Audio store, calls me and asks – ‘Listen, I have a new Accuphase for you, would you like to test it?’ – Without having heard what kind of device it is and what model it is, I instantly agreed. There is a good reason for that.
The point is that I hold Accuphase in high esteem as a name in the audio industry, and whatever I’ve tested, listened to, or owned so far has not disappointed but thoroughly impressed. Admittedly, there’s a certain type of audiophiles who stereotypically label the sound of Accuphase and characterize it in one way or another, mostly negatively.
But the fact is that Accuphase is, first of all, the subject of many people’s wet dreams. Secondly, it’s a company with a reputation many manufacturers can only aspire to and never reach. Accuphase is a serious HIFI story and not for everyone. In my eyes, it’s on a par with some Swiss watch manufacturers that no one has heard of but whose watches cost an arm and a leg and are bought by a select group of audiophiles with deeper pockets. Clearly, and who knows what it is about.
Accuphase has no ‘budget’ components. Even the first one implies ‘landing on Normandy’ (I’m talking about counting money, of course), and even the first model enters the high-end class of HIFI devices. There is no entry-level amplifier or CD player. Still, the “weakest” model already goes to the highest class and is treated as a top HIFI product.
To not dwell on what Accuphase is, what it represents, where it has its roots, etc., I invite you, if you haven’t already, to read the text I published on the blog in the ‘Brand Story’ section. Accuphase marks 50 years of existence and works as this text’s writing. I believe that this jubilee speaks for itself. So, instead of further dealing with Accuphase as a company, I’ll get to the point of this text: testing the new Accuphase E-280 integrated amplifier.
Accuphase offers stereo amplifiers, mono amplifiers, integrated amplifiers, preamplifiers, digital sound sources (players and processors), tuners, power supplies, one gramophone cartridge, modular accessories, and audio cables and other equipment. The Accuphase E-280 is there as an entry-level model of integrated amplifiers (there are even five models above). It may seem modest and uninteresting, but if I write that the tested model with a built-in DAC and phono module costs 7,400 euros, then it becomes clear that there is something serious happening and which incredulously arouses curiosity and begs the question – man, how much does the E-800 cost, an integrated amplifier from the top with the same options?! – But, let’s put aside E-800. You better not know how much the P-7300 reference stereo output or M-6200 mono amplifiers cost, not to mention the C-3900 preamplifier.
But in order not to think that the price a priori determines the quality of the sound, the other side should also be mentioned, which is that it has been shown many times in practice, that is, in the world of HIFI, that something that costs a lot does not necessarily mean that it plays for the Gods. Moreover, there were many surprises and disappointments. Fortunately, Accuphase is not part of that sad story, and the requested money is valorized entirely differently.
The starting point would be the manufacture of the Accuphase device, where the E-280 is no exception. Although Accuphase has that ‘vintage look’ as part of its visual identity, that will lead the uninitiated to think that ‘these’ are behind the times. All devices are made at the highest possible level and hide ‘state-of-the-art’ technology under the hood.
Anyone who has touched any Accuphase device once will know what I’m talking about because that tactile feeling can only be compared to a few high-end devices on the market. The Japanese have put them together very precisely. Everything fits perfectly. There are no deviations. Every ‘click’ of a switch or button is ideally in place, every drawer from the player comes out and retracts noiselessly, every screw is impeccably tightened, and every cable connects perfectly. Every edge of the case matches perfectly with another, etc.
The champagne finish is also not for everyone’s taste because it gives the feeling that it’s a HIFI relic of the last century. Still, on the other hand, this retro touch strengthens Accuphase’s recognizable identity from which it does not deviate. They don’t care for silver and black, stereotypical variants of device finishes. They keep their own identity, and they are doing well.
E-280, apart from the fact that it was made ‘to leave you speechless’, looks neat from the inside. I don’t hide the fact that I’m not overly knowledgeable about topology, but one would have to be blind not to see how all the elements of the amplifier are arranged perfectly cleanly. No wires are sticking out, any strange connections, screws, insulators, etc. Okay, it’s a transistor amplifier. With some tubular ones, especially those that are assembled on the P2P (point to point) principle, the wires must be seen because the elements are connected directly without wires on the printed circuit board, but this can also be seen with many transistor ones, and it should not be.
The E-280 is a classic integrated amplifier that works in Class AB and delivers 90 Watts at 8 Ohms or 120 Watts at 4 Ohms. Quite enough power to drive a large number of speakers on the market. Even if a speaker turns out to be more demanding and the impedance drops below 4 Ohms, the E-280 will push through it without damaging the music structure. Unlike the Yamaha A-S2200 integrated amplifier that I also tested, which has similar power and which, with Wilson Audio Sophia 3 speakers on more demanding material, died in the lower registers and lost its grip, the E-280 simply expressed its lack of power in a quieter, i.e., muted presentation, but remained within the frequency range.
Although the Sophia 3 speakers are not an ideal partner because they still require a more powerful amplifier, I spent most of my testing time with the Wilsons. Namely, as great as the KEF LS50 speakers are, they are no match for the E-280. It’s not a question of drive and control but a simple question of that magical moment when you should, at some point, free yourself from critical listening and let yourself go to the music. Something was missing, something in the presentation that could turn into, to put it mildly, boredom. Like, everything is there, everything fits, yet colorless and unattractive. At the same time, I don’t think I aimed for an attractive or colorful sound, God forbid, but for the absence of involvement. There is no way out, the cables didn’t help either, and it’s not like I didn’t tickle them to the point that I became hard on myself.
But with the Wilsons, it’s an entirely different story. I realized quickly that I would be deprived of a complete presentation of orchestral works in which there are parts in the lower registers, so I turned to lighter material but demanding enough to see what the E-280 could do.
For example, you have jazz compositions, and classic jazz trios, where in the rhythm section, there is also a double bass in addition to the drum, which can often be a subtle background, but very tricky. Here is a specific case. Steve Kuhn and the album Remembering tomorrow (ECM, 1996). So Steve Kuhn on piano, Joey Baron on drums, David Finck on bass, 4th composition, Trance.
Baron takes the lead from the beginning, and Kuhn joins in and enters the composition with fluttering piano tones. Just to mention that the separation of instruments, piano, and cymbals, along with spaciousness and correct timbre, was done masterfully by the E-280. Fincka’s bass joins the feast decently and stays there until the end, subtly and gently, later more expressively, but correctly and for a reason. With a lousy amplifier or, to put it mildly, a weaker one, the bass will remain in the mud, you won’t hear it clearly in the moments when these two take the lead. By doing so alone, you will lose the foundation of the composition, and it will turn out that the bass is only there in passing. Especially in the climax of the composition, somewhere in the middle, when Kuhn doesn’t spare the piano keys, and neither does Baron the drum sticks.
Well, that’s where the bass holds the chaos together, and the amplifier has to make an order and separate the instruments and give them a logical sense. It must cover the frequency spectrum and keep the image homogeneous. This is where the E-280 showed how good a device is and how serious it is.
If we talk about vocal presentations, the E-280 excelled here as well. That ‘sparrow’ of the amp gives an example of how vocals should sound. And it divides them perfectly. I’ve listened to several vocal albums, but one that will stay in my memory for a long time is Keith Greeninger’s Wind River Crossing (Wind River Music, 1997) and the song, Looking for a home. That song is better known among audiophiles and interpreted differently on the compilation album, Blue Coast Collection – The E.S.E. Sessions (Blue Coast, 2007).
The less known singer, at least to me, Keith Greeninger, has a distinctive voice. He is an American country singer and a music genre that I bypass because I’m not interested in. However, it is undeniable that there are great things in country music. Some songs have become a part of the music anthology. Whether this one is also for an anthology is less important, most likely not, but Looking for a home is a fantastic combination of music, text, and interpretation. I listened to the song many times, and I almost know it by heart. As much as it is sad and heavy in content, Keith Greeninger made it exactly that way. So, we are looking for emotion, convincing presentation, and tangible vocals. We are looking for bitterness on the one hand and high-fidelity sound on the other.
E-280 pulls an ace from his sleeve again and throws it on the table. He made me listen to that song one more time, one more time, and one more time… This only says that we went through this musical journey together.
This is where things get interesting. In the E-280, on the back side, among other things, there are also two so-called Slot options, i.e. slot. One is intended for inserting a DAC module (DAC-60), and the other is for a phono module (AD-50). The whole story is reminiscent of a PC era in which you insert a graphics or video card. Namely, you don’t have anything special to see on these modules, and compared to complete devices, they look cheap. Today, in PCs, the graphic or video card looks like space. It, processors, fans, tubes, coolers, wonders, and miracles. Here are a few ‘poor’ elements on cards smaller than a postcard.
However, I don’t know how and I don’t know why the Japanese made DAC and phono in a couple of judo moves. The DAC, I hate to use these terms, but I don’t know how to convey the difference, simply buried my Classe CP-800. He killed it in all parameters. In addition, we are talking about a DSD DAC that will swallow all possible audio formats and turn them into a sound sensation.
It’s a slightly different story with the phono, and it didn’t come close to the Audio Research Ref 2SE phono in the end, but it provided an extremely good sound. Finely polished, detailed, and balanced. I would be disingenuous if I wrote that I didn’t enjoy listening to the vinyl and had major complaints. No, there weren’t any. The bigger stage, more palpable midrange and overall presentation make the difference in favor of the ARC Ref 2SE phono. On the other hand, the Accuphase phono module has a lower noise level, contributing to the sound quality.
Finally, I have one good and one bad news for you. I know what you are thinking, first the bad one. The bad thing is that 7,400 euros represent the Great Wall of China for most, and, let’s face it, only a few will be able to afford such a complete device. Desperation is not even mitigated by the fact that in the bigger picture, for the requested money, you get a high-end device that covers everything, and it’s superb. Find the right speakers for the amplifier, and you could end the HIFI system story once and for all. If you were to dissect and buy components individually, the figure would go far higher than this. There is no doubt about that, especially in the device class Accuphase is in.
Now the good news. E-280 without additional modules costs only 5,100 euros. However, it is still 2,300 euros less than what I am writing. If you already have a quality DAC or phono, then modules are not a hot item for you, and consider that the amplifier itself is already ‘naked’ like this, the pearl of the audio industry.
Price (with built in MC/MM phono, 1,000 euros and a DAC model, 1,300 euros): 7,400 euros
Distributor:
Planet Audio
Ul. kralja Zvonimira 13
10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Phone: +385 98 232 465
Associated equipment:
Speakers: Wilson Audio Sophia 3, KEF LS50
Power amplifier: Pass X250.5
Preamplifier: Pass XP-20
DAC: Classé CP-800 Rev. 2
Analog source: Kuzma Stabi S PS MKII/Kuzma 4Point 9/Lyra Delos
Phono preamplifier: Audio Research Reference Phono 2SE
Digital source: MacBook Air, Audirvana 3.5
Digital source (CD transport): Marantz CD6000 OSE LE
Digital cable (USB): Nordost Blue Heaven
Digital cable (AES/EBU): Z Audio Spider (XLR)
Digital cable (COAX): Profigold (RCA)
Speaker cables: Transparent Musicwave Super MM2, Transparent The Wave Gen. 5
Interconnects (XLR): Transparent Musiclink Super MM2, Transparent Musiclink Plus MM2, WAY Cables Harmony+, Sumic Audio Ultimate 3, Cardas Clear
Interconnects (RCA): Marohei Cables CT Reference, Sumic Audio Overture
Power cable: Transparent Reference Power Cord Gen. 5, Revelation Audio Labs Passage CryoSilver Reference, Audioquest NRG-2, Audioquest NRG-3, Wireworld Stratus
Power distributor: Supra MD06-EU MKII
Accessories: Stillpoints Ultra SS, Stillpoints Mini
Rack: Rondo Spirit Custom
Speaker stands: KEF Performance
Listening room: Acoustically treated, 8,5×3,8×2,8 m