Din bhai, forget all else, I am happy that you logged in today. I don't see some of the best hifi brains here these days. That makes me feel a bit lonely. I am so glad you are here today.
Thanks! Thanks!! Thanks!!!
I have no idea after how many amp auditions exactly this amp is with me. Luckily I got a dealer who gave me a sweet deal. Otherwise even I am not so open handed that I would splurge unabated. But I am fully satisfied with this purchase. Till now I haven't even for a moment thought I have spent extraneously. This amp deserves every single paisa I paid for it.
@Asit, bhagwan, dinyaar, everyone else here
I am not surprised by any of the comments regarding the Accuphase. In fact, this is the only amp that will indeed sound different with different speakers, at different places, and in different rooms. No surprises there. The whole signal path despite multiple push-pull stages is so pristine, the volume control is so noiseless, everything about this amp is refined, it really leaves no print of it's own in any setup. It just let others do all the talking. And this amp is my dream amp in the sense that
(1) It is pure and pristine. No messing with the signal you feed.
(2) It's powerful. It may have modest specs but doesn't lack drive.
(3) It's stylish. It's styling in neither understated nor over-the-top. It just hits the right chord on all aspect in looks department. Even the Vumeters are a beauty.
(4) Connectivity options are superb. I don't think I'm ever gonna need more
(5) If at all I want to go that way, I can use add-on boards to make a great all in one system.
(6) It's not expensive. (Okay it is, but it doesn't need selling both kidneys, selling one is enough
)
Overall, what a lucrative proposition this amp. I am a value for money guy. I audition some very good stuff. But don't buy everything I audition (I have only two kidneys, remember?
)
About the speakers for this amp
All my experience I have with Focal is with Electra BE 1007 and upper models. I have heard them with Marantz (Top of the line, reference series), Luxman (Middle of the line). With Marantz I was satisfied with the synergy but felt the sound was too forward, and too sweet (without losing any details). It was like listening to an all tube gear even as there was no tube to be seen in the chain. I know this description is a bit weird, but I can't really describe it better. On the other hand, with Luxman, the combination just sounded too bright. The details pumped out by Luxman made the Beryllium tweeter in the Focal screech so much, it became unbearable for my taste. I guess it may be worth having a look at Focal again with Accuphase. I was guessing that Accuphase might feed so much to Focal's tweeters that it will become unbearable (to me).
From the discussion so far here, it is again abundantly evident that different people like different sounds. Even if they might actually be listening to the same genre and same artists, they might actually be drawing pleasure from vastly different sound signatures. It is no wonder, different people have different opinion on the same product.
As for my taste, I like open and warm sounding speakers rather than bright. Warm is sometimes used by people to express lack of details. I don't mean that here. Neither do I accept dark, veiled sounding setups. But at the same time, high frequency overload annoys the hell out of me. I can't stand bright systems even for an hour (at reference level).
I didn't like DynAudio Confidence. Not because it wasn't good. Rather because it was too good. It sounded like nothing else. Even other DynAudios don't sound same as Confidence. It's like the ear hear the same song in a totally different tonal makeover. So different that it sounds alien. It's like looking at the wall hanging in the room that you everyday see, albeit in an entirely different lighting condition. So different from what you are used to that it seems to be new, different.
Looks like the speaker hunt will take long. Though thanks for assurance on Accuphase-Focal partnering. Focal is well priced in China. If Focal can float my boat, it will be home with Accuphase too.
@dinyaar, btw, how was your experience with Theil?
About the amp
Accuphase came across to me like a obedient student, brought up in military discipline. A what a great amp that would be which will do it's job without spilling a drop here and there and without losing a coin on the way. It seems like a dream amp. At least for the moment it's so.
Is this the final frontier? Is this my last amp, from which I will never upgrade?
I don't know. Honestly, I don't. May be I will, may be I won't. But even if that happens, that would a very hard decision to make.
But change is good. Too much of any thing is bad. Too much of good is bad too. May be some day I upgrade from this amp just because it's too good. May be I start feeling it's boring to be so neutral. Let's see, if that happens. And we will all know when that happens!
@bhagwan
Thanks for all the Accuphase pictures. These set ups are so beautiful. Need space like those to have a setup like that at home.
