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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
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25 posts
 

Did you bring the AHB2 with you to compare, sighted though the comparison probably would have been? It's easy to travel with! (I have one.)

jfrmusic OP
266 posts
 

No I didn’t bring the AHB2 with me however the Accuphase clearly had a more expansive soundstage and better instrument separation as well as a slightly more larger presentation that wasn’t confined to a between the speakers image. Also vocals were slightly behind the speaker plane vs at the plane or slightly  in front with the AHB2.

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25 posts
 

I was also considering replacing my AHB2 with a P4600. Was going to drive to Safe and Sound in Massachusetts (about 250 miles, but near a friend's house) with the AHB2. I was looking for more "warmth". Went with an equalizer instead.

jfrmusic OP
266 posts
 

Yes the ABH2 is very nice amp. Very neutral and detailed. Great amp for evaluating all components in the system. But it just lacks that last bit of midrange body and  while it basically delivers whatever is connected before it with no coloration I find it just slightly missing something. I can’t really put my finger on it. Don’t get me wrong it really sounds very nice, clean , quiet and smooth. But when you compare it to an amp like the Accuphase it becomes apparent what I find missing. I also recently heard the Hegel H30A also with my DAC, Streamer and Speakers and that amp was amazingly good. Beautifully smooth, warm and with a soundstage that while not as wide as the Accuphase had tremendous depth. It clearly surpassed the Benchmark. However it $18k and over 100lbs. Beyond my budget and weight class. So I guess my point is that while the ABH2 is an amp with great performance characteristics and a very nice neutral sound especially for the money there are other amps that offer clearly better sound and of course for a lot more money. 

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