One of the old favourites from the heyday of the hi-fi world is Japan’s Accuphase. The manufacturer is still launching new products, even though they all look like they were produced in the 1980s or 1990s (just like their website). Golden coloured amplifiers with old-fashioned VU meters are not a rare sight, and the brand new E-700 is no exception.
The amplifier is a successor to the E-650, and it has no extras beyond what’s necessary for good analogue sound. In other words, no digital inputs. However, there are modules for digital-to-analogue conversion or RIAA amplification for turntables. They are called DAC-60 and AD-60.
The rear panel contains five pairs of RCA connectors for unbalanced input signal, two pairs of balanced XLR connectors and also a tape loop. It’s not often seen these days, but it can also be used to connect a headphone amplifier.
The amplifier also has both unbalanced and balanced preamp outputs, should you feel the need for an additional power amplifier.
The E-700’s sound level is controlled by Accuphase’s proprietary Accuphase Analogue Vari-gain Amplifier (AAVA) technology, which more accurately matches left and right channel volume – important at lower sound levels.
35 Class A watts
The amplifier section operates in pure class A. It’s not very efficient, as most of the power goes into heat generation. But many argue that nothing sounds better than class A, and Accuphase wants us to have the best sound. 35 watts per channel into 8 ohms is what it produces, or 70 watts into 4 ohms. It also claims 140 watts into 2 ohms and as much as 160 watts into 1 ohm. In other words, we’re talking about very stable operation, delivered by four MOSFET transistors per channel.
The amplifier draws 178 watts from the mains at all times. Class A operation means it uses the same amount of power whether it’s playing music or not. Paradoxically, it gets hotter when not playing music. And yes, expect it to get really hot.
Accuphase E-700: Price and availability
The E-700 will hit stores in April for a suggested retail price of 860,000 Japanese yen, equivalent to approximately €5,275. But we suspect it will cost more when and if it gets here.
More info: accuphase.com