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Accuphase Experiences

In my search for a new amp I recently a look at Accuphase. I’ve watch numerous demonstration videos to get a sense of their sound characteristics and I find them very appealing especially when directly compared to Luxman and MacIntosh. They tend to be on the slightly warm side of neutral with a very life like beautiful mid range, a smooth extended treble and a tight but not overwhelming bass. In fact bass is the only region where they are a light but not by much and only in comparison to other amps that excel in this range. But the area they excel for me is soundstage. It’s very wide and depth is very good but not like tubes. Also instrument separation is excellent . The whole presentation appears real and expansive. I liked it so much I’m going to drive 90 minutes to a dealer that has several models to demo. Hopefully next week. I really want to hear the P-4600 amp and the e4000 integrated. 
 

So has anyone had any experiences with Accuphase?  I would love to hear you opinions and experiences. 

jfrmusic
scott22
241 posts
 

Not my cup of tea sounds like it's playing in a subway.

Post removed 
macg19
672 posts
 

So many d-bags on this site... 
 

Really? For stating an opinion? Me thinks izj is the pot calling the kettle black.

Sorry, even if the video was recorded with the same mic, there are far too many variables to get a true sense of the sound of any component on YouTube. Features, looks, someone else’s opinion - sure.

ricky64
28 posts
 

I applaud the OP; they did their best to discern some differences the best they could from home, and are now planning on auditioning in person. Sounds about right to me...

And, Accuphase isn’t good or bad. It is a very stable company with a particular vision for their ideal sound, which tends to be built more from the bottom up than from the top down. In the past, I feel that some Accuphase equipment sacrificed soundstage and airiness to achieve the warmth and density. I feel this has been dialed back, and the touch of warmth is achieved without much sacrifice to other qualities. That said, people who find preference for B&W speakers combined with analytical electronics are not the target market. Different strokes for different folks. For me, the way my Accuphase pre adds weight to bass, vocals, and instruments like tenor sax, piano, etc....that is my nirvana.

jfrmusic OP
125 posts
 

With good flat response headphones and a good DAC you can get a very good sense of a component’s sound characteristics on YouTube.  You have to listen at a slightly elevated volume. Some demos sound terrible but there are a lot of excellent examples. An in comparison demos with the same track you can easily toggle between components. works particularly good for amps which have very slight and unique differences

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