IMO Cosmin's statements above are not quite true, i.e. E-560 and E-550 are not completely different integrated amplifiers.
Like all new Accuphase amplifiers, the E-560 is built on what Accuphase calls instrumentation amplifier principle. In theory this is significant as it allows for fully balanced signal paths, in practice not so much. For example, the old-now E-450 integrated is built like an instrumentation amplifier but it was inferior to E-550 (which is not an "instrumentation amp") in almost any respect (except power of course). On the other hand, E-560 is suppose to have a somewhat larger power supply than E-550, plus it has two larger capacitors which should give better results than the eight smaller ones found in the E-550. As a result, it is said (and it is likely true) that E-560 has larger power reserves than E-550. However, one has to be rational here and realize that 30 watts are but 30 watts and will not work miracles, i.e. none of the two amps will have fist control over large woofers.
I own the E-550 for almost 1.5 years now and a few months ago I have listen for a few hours to the E-560 (at a dealer). Even though the dealer used for the demo the Avantgarde Uno speakers which are very different than my speakers (Focal Micro Utopia Be) I have instantly recognized the "golden" sound of class A Accuphase. Based on this demo I can not tell whether the E-560 is indeed better than the E-550. But one thing is certain, if E-560 is better than E-550 it is only marginally so (E-550 it still is one of the best integrated in the world). On the other hand, price-wise there is a large difference between the two, i.e. the E-560 new cost almost twice as an E-550 demo unit with full warranty. (This seems to be the general trend with Accuphase integrated. Prior to purchasing my E-550 I have listen extensively the E-550, E-450, E-350 and E-408 integrated amps. My preference back then was E-550 > E-408 >= E-450=E-350. However, the reality was that all of them had very similar sound and one will quickly forget any sonic difference between them after 30 minutes of listening. The most important things to consider in my opinions are the amount of power one needs and of course the budget. You can't go wrong with either.)
Having said all this, I should also say that I like very much the fact that the E-560 has numerical volume level indicator. For me this is the most significant difference between the two integrated (leaving money aside). I do believe that the volume indicator adds up for the long term satisfaction. However, there is no way I will pay 4000 euros or more to change my E-550 for an E-560 only to get a volume indicator. (As the Accuphase AAVA volume controls allows a very smooth adjustment of the volume I am not much bother by the lack of display but probably that will not be the case if I would have had very efficient speakers, e.g. horns.
I hope this helps. Good luck with your purchase.
All the best,
Paul
