Accuphase class A amps - going up the food chain from an A-48 to an A-80 or A-300?


Earlier this year I acquired Accuphase separates (C-2450 pre-amp, A-48 amp) and have been very happy with them.  

We have a decent resale market in Canada for Accuphase products, and I was able to snag a C-2900 pre-amp at a good price this past weekend.   We see mostly integrated amps on the resale market here, and current production separates are much harder to find.

The C-2900 sounds noticeably better than the C-2450, and it got me thinking about moving up from the "entry level" A-48 to either the mid-level A-80 or even the top of the line A-300 monoblocks (though size and expense are almost prohibitive).

Does anyone have any experience or advice about moving up from the A-48 to the A-80 or A-300 monoblocks?

BTW Accuphase pricing in Canada is significantly better than in the US - so much so that Canadian Accuphase dealers are not allowed to post prices online for fear of alerting US customers to how unfair pricing is in the US - and Canadian dealers are not allowed to ship to US customers. 

toronto416

Showing 3 responses by lalitk

“BTW Accuphase pricing in Canada is significantly better than in the US”

FYI - US Pricing is now on par with Canadian market. This was rectified as of late last year. 

Entry Level is a subjective term. IME, every model in a brand lineup has that ‘house’ sound. Generally speaking, when you move up in the line, you get more of everything due to more freedom with implementation and parts selection. I own a Accuphase E-650, Class A - 30wpc which has been a game changer for me. When funds permits, I may move up to E-800 or separates like A-80 and C-2900.

Only you as an end user can decide whether moving up in a line up at a considerable expense is worth your investment. I know when I am ready to move up within Accuphase line up, I would want to audition those components before committing my $$$$.

“It’s interesting that the one who brought up the ’distracting’ pricing issue was the OP himself, right from the very beginning.”

Exactly! Not sure why OP cares so much about US pricing living in Canada 🙄