Accuphase amplifier choice

As @arafiq pointed out:

 

"there’s nothing warm about the amp. In fact, there’s a certain sparkle (not to be confused with bright or etched) in the treble region which can only be attributed to class A. The sound is liquid smooth, balanced, and natural without exaggerating any areas of the frequency response"

I totally agree with him.  The highs in Accuphase Class-A are detailed yet smooth and non fatiguing so I think people misinterpret this as WARM. Accuphase handles the the highs very well but I think their Class-A is a little more richer. I can listen to my music all night long.  There's weight behind the music but it's natural and not forceful. Honestly I can't really describe what I hear other than I'm completely satisfied with my Accuphase A-48S and C2300 preamplifier.  BTW, both the amplifier and amplifier have gain controls! All this said,  I can easily live with the P4600. 

I’m sure someone will slap me with "watts are watts" and "all watts are the same" argument,

@arafiq 

Someone might, but it won’t be me 😃

Watts are definitely not the same. For example, one Krell / Mark Levinson watt is worth 2.8 Carver watts or 13.5 NAD watts.

@devinplombier haha! isn't that the truth. I completely agree with the NAD reference, especially their class D offerings ;)

@milpai My speakers are 88 db @ 4 ohms, so even less efficient than yours. My A-80 has zero trouble driving them. In fact, it drives them better than my previous Vitus amp which was a behemoth. But, I can see why you would be wary of forking out the cash for A48S just in case it's not able to control your speakers. Either way, I am 100% sure you will be thrilled with any Accuphase. They're all fantastic.

@fire_water Currently, I'm using a tube preamp -- Octave HP500 SE, but I'm intrigued by the Accuphase preamps. Did you by any chance use another preamp with your A48? Just wondering if you can describe the improvements you hear compared to other preamp brands. Thanks.

@arafiq it got quite overwhelming and I don’t remember every brand or model. Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to demo any Accuphase amplifiers with tube preamplifiers. I did have a McIntosh MA12000 integrated amplifier which I enjoyed very much. I miss the McIntosh’s 8 band EQ though but luckily my Accuphase C2300 has some EQ which works exceptionally well especially in an untreated room regardless of what the self proclaimed audio ""experts" will tell  you. Before anyone goes ballistic on me, Accuphase is actually well-known for producing highly sophisticated equalizers known as Digital Voicing Equalizers.