Accuphase or Musical fidelity for Focal Micro Be

Nvp,

In my experience, the E-530 was considerably smoother and more refined than the E-408 (and bear in mind that I thought the E-408 was a great amp). Besides being pure Class A, I think the pre section of the E-530 was quite a bit more transparent. The E-408 obviously with much higher pwr rating might have had a bit more 'slam' and maybe a bit more on the 'foregiving' side (although I don't think I've ever seen any Accuphase products described as too analytical). Unless you listen to heavy metal type rock at really loud volumes, I can't imagine that you would need more pwr than the E-530 provides; it drove my Micro's to insane volume with no sweat (and retained its fabulous smooth resolution even at high volume). IMHO, the E-408 is one of the classic great ss integrateds, but the E-530 is a definite notch above, up there in a much smaller class of truly top of class ss integrated.

I have no experience with any of the new Accuphase amps.

Happy listening and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Randy

Hi,

Only a couple of comments. I believe that Utopias are great speakers that deserve decent applification. I do not think that A5 Musical Fidelity combo is capable of squeezing everything out of these Focals - I do believe that you need something better. Much better ...

I am not sure that Accuphase would be a right move. I had a long listen at my home with Accu E-307 and Focal Electra 1027 Be and that was not working exceptionally well. Saying that, Accus in class A are different amps than these E-307, E-308 or E-408 ... Maybe that could work well together ... I do not know - never tried it.

But my suggestion is that you take a look into Pass Labs offering. Some very interesting amps ... A lot depends of course on your budget, but the starting point could be Pass Labs X-250.5. It does work well with Focals ... very well indeed ...

I would not worry that the M3 is ten years old. It is actually the newest amp I have. Yes , 10 years is a long time for digital players. Ten years most of them were much better than the ones being made now. The high point in general CD performance was the early 90s. My DAX is from 1992 and is very close to some current $10,000 ones according to tests in HIFICRITIC. Most current DACs use parts intended for other applications, the big Japanese electronics companies took their best designers off CD years ago. I would not get the NuVista player as it seems that MF does not support them very well. It would still perform well but I wouldn't want to take the chance. This does not apply to the amps, whose parts are available from other sources if necessary, I haven't had trouble with the volume control but this is a subjective area.

its very difficult to go wrong w/ the accuphase integrated! they are among the best i've tried and owned.
they are warm and smooth but detailed (not in your face).
I've heard a few systems where the marriage of the accuphase & JM labs are a match made in heaven.
good luck!

Hi all,

Firstly, I would like to wish a "Happy New Year!" to everyone. Secondly, I should apologias for my very late reply. December was extremely busy, both at work and at home (also at the HiFi store). Nevertheless, I am back with great news.

I have bought myself two Accuphase units, i.e. the E-550 amp and the DP-500 cd player. As, Accuphase has just replaced the E-550 amp with the E-560, I've got a great deal from a local dealer for the E-550/DP-500 combo. Not only did I got a substantial discount for each unit, but the dealer also gave me credit for my Musical Fidelity A5 combo and also for a pair of Dali Helicons 300 with the original stands (which I did not used since I've got the Micro Be). Of course, I've bought two demo units but with full warranty.

As you can all imagine I am an extremely happy man now with not much money left in his account. Even with the substantial discount I have received I have still spent twice of what I had planed. My wife made it very clear that this was not a Christmas present, but rather my present for the next few years.

Now, regarding the sound, in my opinion the Accuphase combo together with the Focal Micro Be are a match made in haven. Personally, I find the Accuphase combo and the Focal Utopia speakers very similar in character. By similar I mean that 1) both retrieve tones of details without being thin and/or fatigue, and 2) both can play superbly any type of music.

Since I have my purchase I have listen to half of my music collection, e.g Metallica/Megadeth, Diana Krall/Norah Jones, Loreena McKennitt, Bill Evens/Chick Corea, Ludovico Einaudi, Bach, etc. and I am yet to find something lacking in the reproduction of every music gender. Everything sounds that way it should, nothing is recessed and/or accentuated. Of course, since the system consists of a 30 watts amp and a pair of monitors it can't reproduce the dynamics of a full orchestra or a big band. However, this is not a limitation for me as I am not listening those genders.

I have to go now as it is very late. I thank you all for posting your advices and/or opinions. Somewhere this week I will answer all your posts. I will also post more details about the auditions prior to my purchase, and of course thoughts about my new system.

Best wishes!