lalitk, I see you have E-650 integrated, which is class A amp. class A amps have relatively stable current at different sound volume level, which helps to reduce transient current in incoming power, thus amp self-induced voltage drop is minimal. my question was about your house ac pwr wiring, length, gauge etc. simple way to check if house wiring is okay to turn on vacuum cleaner and look at lights if they are dim or not. if lights dim when vacuum (or refrigerator) turns on, then IR drop issue is not in IEC cable.
New Accuphase Amplifier Experience
I've just completed my months long replacement of my system with the addition of the Accuphase P-4600 Amplifier. This is their new A/AB Amp.
For context my previous systems was:
Macbook Server/Streamer
Benchmark DAC3 HGC
Benchmark ABH2
ATC SCM11 Speakers
New System:
Aurender N20 Streamer
MSB Discrete DAC
Accuphase P-4600 Amplifier
Harbeth 7ES-XD Speakers
Each new component added was a significant upgrade to performance and SQ. The Accuphase was the last and a conflicting one for me as the ABH2 is an excellent amp and IMHO the best you can get under 5K. It is very neutral yet has an impactful bass, plenty of detail and smooth highs. However I did find the upper mid and lower treble a little too neutral and what some might call clinical or thin. That was really the only fault. The soundstage while not expansive has a nice width and decent depth. Its really a pleasant listen and not at all fatiguing. But I felt I could do better now that I had a more revealing system. After auditioning several amps on my list (Bryston 4b3 and Maciintosh 462) I found the Accupahse to have the sound I enjoyed the most. It was also the most expensive. But I decided that since this was probably my last system I would get what I wanted. So after getting a good deal at BEK HiFi in Allentown PA I ordered it the end of March and unfortunately missed the April shipment from Japan so I didnt get it until June 3. It comes well packed with a shipping weight of 80 pounds with the unit at 66 pounds. I felt getting the heavy box home would be an issue but Eric at BEK HiFi offered to deliver it with his dad and set it up for me even though he is a 90 minute drive from my house in southern NJ. While we listened Eric and his father Barry and I had a good hours conversation about music and audio equipment. I can highly recommend BEK Hi Fi. Very easy to do business and very accommodating.
Once out of the box and on the floor I surprised myself. I was able to pick it up the amp and place on the shelf. My upper arm weight exercise is paying off.
I connected the amp and powered it with my audiophile power cable and started listening. It sounded really good for a new component and continued to do so for the next day as well. Then, as most of us do, I decided to read the Manual. In it Accupahse has very specific statements about use. Once that stood out was:
"Using a power cord other than the one provided is PROHIBITED. If you use a different cord it must meet the specifications defined by Accuphase"
. Which means essentially one that is exactly the same as the supplied cord.
This was actually listed as a WARNING. Very odd. So I decided to swap the power cable and use the one supplied by Accuphase. Well at least in my experience the sound improved significantly. It wasn't subtle. So I guess Accuphase knows what they're doing concerning power cords.The stock cord will stay.
The power cord I had I purchased to address those issues I mentioned about the ABH2 and it worked well adding some warmth to the mids and lower treble as well as adding depth to the soundstage. Good synergy. But It was missing the target with the Accuphase. I think because the Accupahse did not have the issues the ABH2 did so the cable was warming it too much and making those areas too prominent. Power cable/Amp matching can be challenging.
The Accupahse SQ is somewhere between a very good SS amp with open smooth highs, plenty of detail, and a solid impactful bass and a very good tube amp with a slightly warm rich midrange and lower treble. The soundstage is very wide with ample depth and instrument separation. Its a beautiful presentation that can be listened to for hours without fatigue. From Large scale classical to jazz, pop it just sounds smooth and relaxed. Vocals in particular are really life like and full.
Accuphase support tells me the amp will not deliver its best and really open up until 200-300 hours of break-in. So hopefully some additional improvements yet to come.
While waiting those two months for the amp to be delivered I had moments of buyer's remorse as the Benchmark ABH2 sounded really good in the new system. I had to keep reminding myself of what I experienced while demoing the Accuphase. Was it worth a price more than 3x the Benchmark? Well I can tell you now I would not want to go back to the Benchmark. So yes I guess it was. .
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Reviving this thread from last year. The Accuphase P-4600 is one of the power amplifier that I am considering - now that I have decided to upgrade from my 15 year old Parasound A21. I am looking for refinement and details in the system. Based on your description, I am guessing that the Accuphase sound is on the warmer side of neutral? While warm is good than cool/cold, I do not want too much warmth in my system. I believe the ProAcs that I own are already a bit on the warm side than neutral. |
@jfrmusic If you check Audiogone, USA Audio Mart, etc. sometimes HIJIRI power cables come up. I have got some this way. It’s not often. Colin @ Gestalt is a great guy and a pleasure to deal with. There’s also the Hijiri user’s thread here on the forums. |
I can assure you the Accuphase is not too warm. Its sound character is slightly to the warm side of neutral. Enough to add just the right amount to avoid being over analytical. It also offers a beautifully detailed, wide and deep soundstage. It runs in Class A for the first 20 Watts or so adding a refined relaxed and natural sound. |
@jfrmusic Great write up, thanks for posting! I agree with your findings on the AHB2; tried that for a few weeks and pretty much came to exact same conclusion. I also agree with your characterization of the Accuphase P-4600. I had been running a Simaudio 761 power amp (direct from my DAC playback mpd-8) into ATC SCM 50 passives. The Sim/ATC synergy is very good, but sometimes I felt like the upper presence region a touch too forward or spot-lit, and that a tiny bit warmer amp in this area would be welcome. Challenging to find an amp that has the transparency and resolution, ie gets out of the way of the source, but that has a natural and unforced presentation in the midrange/upper mids, that is not a tube amp. Long story short, was able to try a P-4600 and was super pleased with the ATC/Accuphase pairing. The 761 had more super low bass control and "slam" but the Accuphase, quite simply, sounded better- more natural and open. The ATC midrange is super clear and articulate and paired with the high performance tweeter (also manufactured by ATC), makes for speakers that render up stream changes readily. The P-4600 is everything you describe sonically and I'd further offer, that it's built to a higher spec; from a purely industrial and mechanical design, than the identically priced 761 (loved this amp and still have high praise for it). I won't say it's night and day better than the 761- it all comes to system synergy and our own subjective preferences, but for me it was a compelling enough move in the direction I wanted my system to go that I ordered the P-7500 as my endgame amp. The SCM50 woofers love power and the move to the P-7500 has confirmed the bass performance exceeds that of the 761, with at least the same quality of organic naturalness in the midrange to tweeter expression.
@milpai I would not call these latest amps from Accuphase warm- the top end is brilliant, clear, and very extended; to me the descriptions that come to mind would be harmonically right sounding, unforced, and like water flowing more freely from its source. Maybe the A-80 (or other Class A amps they make) is more saturated in the midrange that biases the subjective experience to “warm” connotations but I have not heard that amp yet. BTW I also owned that exact Parasound. You will be blown away by the jump in sound quality to the P-4600. It is a musical monster.
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