I have to admit a certain lust for the retro-style of Accuphase. I understand that engineering quality is also high. And while I have no interest in trading in my Boulder, I would love to hear if anyone is pairing the Rossini or Vivaldi with these beautiful amps : )
(After all, a second system is always possible… !)
R
Great equipment.
The big integrated (E-800) was well up there for me when I was amp shopping. I preferred the D’Agostino MxV stereo amp and the darTZeel (obvs.), but I would have been very happy with any of those three. Pretty, too 
Accuphase C-2900 pre-amp here, combined with A-80 power amp. DAC is a Rossini + Rossini clock.
Accuphase is a great company making honest and very high quality gear. They’ll still repair anything they’ve ever sold.
I have a C-47 and DP/DC-1000. The phono pre is really great, worth an audition if you’re in the market, even vs. more expensive units. The 1000 series takes a very different approach than dCS, but complements the Vivaldi very well, and is a joy to use.
DP-900 Transport / dCS Network Bridge / Panasonic TV / C-37 Phono > DG-68 Voicing Equalizer > dCS Vivaldi Apex > A-250 Power Amps > B&W 800 D3.
C-3850 Pre has been taken out of system (not fully neutral, combination with Mapping 3 not satisfactory).
DC-901 just came about eye level with older dCS 974 + dCS 954 (basically pro versions of Purcell and Elgar Plus). With this combination I was listening to CDs upsampled to DSD for over two decades. A DP-700 had absolutely no chance against this combo.
DC-1000 vs. Vivaldi Apex: I got a factory refurbished Vivaldi at a price lower than DC-1000 (new) and later upgraded it to Vivaldi Apex.
If you want to stay up-to-date with Accuphase, you have to change your devices every 4 to 5 years. Upgrading dCS is definitely less expensive on the long run.
Thank you Martin.
The A-250s are beautiful machines indeed! Do you find them fast/musical?
R
that was the main issue for me not to buy Accuphase- they are just too fast with new products, almost like McIntosh amps. You buy it and it’s old. Don’t get me wrong- they’re building very high-class gear but they should reduce their product cycles time.
There is a high synergy between the B&W 800 D3 and the A-250 (and the rest of this Accuphase generation). Accuphase used the 800 D3 to fine tune the A-250 and also demonstrated this combination publicly at the Tokyo Audio Fair 2022.
AQ Wel Signature or AQ Dragon speaker cables are IMHO the best match for this combo.
Extremely musical, but also fast and highly transparent without being analytical.
Simply put: typical new generation Accuphase sound esthetics.
BTW Vivaldi Apex set to 2V and A-250 set to -12dB gain (it is not an attenuator).
I agree!
I run a C3900 with an A80 (I may get a pair of A300 at some point) with B&W 801 D4 and it’s brilliantly synergistic. The Bowers and Wilkins need lots of current to bring them to life, and the Accuphase Class A obliges.
The reason, why I opted for the monoblocs, was simple:
4x 2m speaker cables plus a stereo amp or 4x 1m speaker cables plus two monoblocs was about the same price.
Yes - I’ve considered this economic upside. The way my room is configured though, I’d end up spending money on longer XLRs to get to the poweramps, so any shorter speaker cable runs would be negated.
I need to make the case based on sound - I’m going to demo the A300 soon, so will see!
Does the A80 run hot? I currently have Pass Labs class A amps, and they get very hot - which is getting to be a problem given the hotter summers we have now.
It doesn’t get particularly hot, no. The Accuphase cooling fins are very, very effective.
Agree with Paul - no - not especially hot. And they warm up very quickly also - mine go off over night, and are singing again after 15 minutes.
They can also be set to auto power down after 2 hours inactivity - which I think is great, and is how I have mine configured. No need to give Octopus Energy more cash than absolutely necessary!
OK thanks that’s interesting.
Just another quick question for you Accuphase experts. How important do you feel the pre-amp is to that sort of ‘golden’ warm sound that I’ve heard with Accuphase? I have the Rossini directly into the Pass Labs power amps. I’d rather not have to get the pre as well.
Accuphase does fine tune every generation (e.g. DP-950/DC950, C-3850, A-250 or DP-1000/DC-1000, C-3900, A-300).
My Vivaldi APEX mapping 1 matched with my C-3850, but mapping 3 did not (loss of room).
Running Vivaldi APEX mapping 3 directly into A-250 resulted in the desired sound character, and bettered Vivaldi APEX mapping 1 plus C-3850.
IMHO Accuphase pre is not a necessity and may also sonically compensate for some limitations of their DACs, compensation that is detrimental with dCS DACs.
My previous setup had 4x 1m speaker cables and a pair of 7.5m XLRs.
Now it is 4x 1m speaker cables and a pair of 1m XLRs.
(All AQ WEL Signature)
I think it’s a case of “use your ears” (I hate it when people tell me that - but it’s true!)
I have the 3900 and an A80 - I tried for a while just with the A80 - and personally found that the addition of a pre amp massively opened out the sound, it was a 3 second demo to hear the improvements in basically everything.
Here’s the caveat though - this was before I had dCS. I was using a HiFi Rose transport and DAC (very good for the money) and clearly expect the analogue output to not be as good, but that’s the same analogue output that went into the 3900 with a transformed sound. So I think Accuphase (and preamps generally) do benefit.
Have a listen. It’s a super easy dem for a dealer to do.
Yeah certainly it’s always a matter of your ears, your subjective preference. There aren’t that many Accuphase dealers around though.
