Irrational Accuphase Lust

[Ceburaska]

For me, it's Nagra gear I lust for:

Me too, there’s just something about those dials. In my most gullible phase I came close to buying Nagra a few times, but the sky high prices put me off even then. Especially as my fetish means I’d have wanted a full set.
But it’s so pretty!

 

[restorer-john]

Accuphase. For people who only live once...

 

[anmpr1]

Just start with a piece of 2nd hand Accuphase at a reasonable price, say something from the late 80s/early 90s and see what you think. /90.

Even the mid-70s gear, the first ones, had an upscale cachet. I remember the first time I encountered them. The integrated amp and tuner. The pair just looked much more solid and sophisticated than gear from the usual suspects: Pioneer, Sansui, Marantz, Kenwood. The knobs and switches had an upscale positive feel to them.

Speaking of which, the story told is that Accuphase was an offshoot of Kenwood (Trio). The original gear was marketed under the name of Kensonic. Teac imported them into the US for a while. I don't know if they have much of a North American presence today.

 

[Hank Nova]

Irrational? You call Accuphase lust irrational? How about these Electron Luv beauties?

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And, then, of course, I would want a steampunk HTPC to complement the amps...

View attachment 36327

Oh my dear lord, hahaha that stuff is terrifying!

 

[Hank Nova]

Accuphase. For people who only live once...

View attachment 36332

Stop torturing me!!!!!

 

[soundwave76]

I hear you. I love them too, and McIntosh as well. They just look awesome. However, I will not buy them, since all I need nowadays are active digital speakers with DSP (Genelecs of course) and that's it.

 

[watchnerd]

I hear you. I love them too, and McIntosh as well. They just look awesome. However, I will not buy them, since all I need nowadays are active digital speakers with DSP (Genelecs of course) and that's it.

I would buy Genelecs if they weren't so ugly.

I know it's studio gear.

But I don't want my living room to look like a studio.

 

[soundwave76]

^ They are not ugly. It's an acquired taste...

 

[digicidal]

For me it's mostly speakers... MBL or Avantgarde-Acoustic... I don't even care if they sounded like crap... I think the designs alone as "sculptures with purpose" is incredible. Just not as incredible as the price makes them out to be of course.

 

[KozmoNaut]

I think if I was handed a plain black box, with objective evidence that it was far and away, the world's greatest amplifier, I'd refuse it for a big class A/B Accuphase. I know i know, i'm an idiot. But staring at that plain black box would annoy me to no end.

Black anodized aluminum box with a single red power LED right in the middle? I would love that!

I find most gear to be garish and their looks acceptable at best. Give me plain and straight-forward, please.

 

[Ilkless]

It says a lot about the absurdity of the hi-fi electronics industry when I look at McIntosh, Esoteric, Accuphase and Luxman and think about how they offer a relatively strong value proposition compared to the many many cottage industry brands that charge much more like Dartzeel, Vitus and so on. The documentation, broad distribution and support network, the cachet, the measured performance, the many stories of longevity, the resale value all cushion the blow quite a bit.

 

[Hank Nova]

It says a lot about the absurdity of the hi-fi electronics industry when I look at McIntosh, Esoteric, Accuphase and Luxman and think about how they offer a relatively strong value proposition compared to the many many cottage industry brands that charge much more like Dartzeel, Vitus and so on. The documentation, broad distribution and support network, the cachet, the measured performance, the many stories of longevity, the resale value all cushion the blow quite a bit.

See, it's posts like this that are going to cause me to spend 10 grand on an amp. Smh hahaha

 

[watchnerd]

It says a lot about the absurdity of the hi-fi electronics industry when I look at McIntosh, Esoteric, Accuphase and Luxman and think about how they offer a relatively strong value proposition compared to the many many cottage industry brands that charge much more like Dartzeel, Vitus and so on. The documentation, broad distribution and support network, the cachet, the measured performance, the many stories of longevity, the resale value all cushion the blow quite a bit.

Dartzeel and Lampizator are probably shadow-funded by the McIntosh / Audio Research / Luxman / Accuphase cartel as a false-flag operation to make their products look like good deals in comparison.

 

[watchnerd]

See, it's posts like this that are going to cause me to spend 10 grand on an amp. Smh hahaha

It only hurts the first time.

After that, it becomes easier....

 

[Ilkless]

Dartzeel and Lampizator are probably shadow-funded by the McIntosh / Audio Research / Luxman / Accuphase cartel as a false-flag operation to make their products look like good deals in comparison.

It's scary how -insert totally new, low-volume brand that suddenly pops up at RMAF asking 10k++ for it's first power amp- have made me look at the equipment from the "usual" high-end suspects and go "hmm, a good price as far as these things go". For instance, Luxman starts at under 4.5k in the US (after substantial markup from domestic pricing presumably) for their sexy VU meter integrated amps. I thought the entry-level for a big beefy integrated like that would be at least 6-7k, and I was surprised to see that price. Not that I'm shopping at that range, but still.

 

[watchnerd]

It's scary how -insert totally new, low-volume brand that suddenly pops up at RMAF asking 10k++ for it's first power amp- have made me look at the equipment from the "usual" high-end suspects and go "hmm, a good price as far as these things go".

Even more so if you look at used.

$3-$4k for a used McIntosh integrated starts to seem reasonable compared to Dartzeel when depreciation / resale is factored in.

On a somewhat related note, my collection of NOS tubes seem to have gone up over time, well above the rate of inflation.

 

[Ilkless]

Even more so if you look at used.

$3-$4k for a used McIntosh integrated starts to seem reasonable compared to Dartzeel when depreciation / resale is factored in.

Yes, I can relate to this sentiment (and it's not OT because it pertains to well-built Japanese amps). I've been spoilt by how much I've lucked out on the last 2 amps I've sold on. Made a profit on one, and only had about 30% depreciation for another (and this was an obscure handbuilt amp). The one I made profit on was a mid-90s Marantz Reference PM-17 (part of a series of equipment I firmly believe to be on the cusp of becoming classics; the swan song of Japanese conglomerate supremacy in sanely-priced amplification). It is more beefy than comparable amps in Marantz's recent lineup. I think it looks a hell lot better (trust me, I own a PM6004), is built a ton better and looks more timeless than Marantz's current stuff (picture not of mine, but similar amp):



I paid the equivalent of $250 for it used from it's second owner. It later received an overhaul (recap, new toroid) from the official Japan-trained Marantz tech in the country. He quoted $60. He later realised the new parts he'd shipped in/taken from the spare stock cost much more, even excluding his labour. He honoured his original quote. I was about $310 in on the amp. Used it for nearly 2 years, and sold it for a profit at $420.

I got paid for using an amp with strong manufacturer support and was an utter pleasure to use (the chamfered knob with a weighty but smooth action is a dream) after routine maintenance. Let that sink in. I only sold it on because the idiot of a first owner bought in on the bi-wiring snake oil and got a third-party tech to drill holes in the back panel for a second pair of binding posts. The tech used crappy ratty plastic-nickel ones like you'd find from Radioshack, unlike the knurled brass of the factory posts. Probably only an aesthetic thing, since the Marantz tech passed it, but still a total eyesore I couldn't tolerate. And it still turned a profit.

 

[watchnerd]

Yes, I can relate to this sentiment (and it's not OT because it pertains to well-built Japanese amps). I've been spoilt by how much I've lucked out on the last 2 amps I've sold on. Made a profit on one, and only had about 30% depreciation for another (and this was an obscure handbuilt amp). The one I made profit on was a mid-90s Marantz Reference PM-17 (part of a series of equipment I firmly believe to be on the cusp of becoming classics; the swan song of Japanese conglomerate supremacy in sanely-priced amplification). It is more beefy than comparable amps in Marantz's recent lineup. I think it looks a hell lot better (trust me, I own a PM6004), is built a ton better and looks more timeless than Marantz's current stuff (picture not of mine, but similar amp):



I paid the equivalent of $250 for it used from it's second owner. It later received an overhaul (recap, new toroid) from the official Japan-trained Marantz tech in the country. He quoted $60. He later realised the new parts he'd shipped in/taken from the spare stock cost much more, even excluding his labour. He honoured his original quote. I was about $310 in on the amp. Used it for nearly 2 years, and sold it for a profit at $420.

I got paid for using an amp with strong manufacturer support and was an utter pleasure to use (the chamfered knob with a weighty but smooth action is a dream) after routine maintenance. Let that sink in. I only sold it on because the idiot of a first owner bought in on the bi-wiring snake oil and got a third-party tech to drill holes in the back panel for a second pair of binding posts. The tech used crappy ratty plastic-nickel ones like you'd find from Radioshack, unlike the knurled brass of the factory posts. Probably only an aesthetic thing, since the Marantz tech passed it, but still a total eyesore I couldn't tolerate. And it still turned a profit.

That's quite handsome.

What did you replace it with?

 

[watchnerd]

Accuphase. For people who only live once...

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If McIntosh and Audio Research are the "American" equivalents to Accuphase and Luxman, what are their European counterparts?

 

[Ilkless]

That's quite handsome.

What did you replace it with?

Replaced it with a Serbian amplifier that had a cult following. Paid around $450 direct from factory. Thought it was an OK price, considering it was a build-to-order-by-family-business-in-Europe amp that had exceptionally good parts (Mundorf input and power supply caps, ALPS Blue Velvet, transformer supplied by a specialist supplier) for the money. And it was no-fuss, class AB in a shoebox form factor, which was relatively rare. Only amp I found locally then that was in the price-range and form factor were the first-gen class D integrateds from TEAC (felt like flimsy crap to me). Thought I'd go for the Serbian one for the pride of ownership. I sold it for a loss of about $120 two years on. $60 a year for an amp that was also a pleasure to use (pride of ownership + no frills class AB + didn't run hot). After I sold it, I'd resolved to go active. Then my uncle said he had a PM6004 he wanted to give us. So I got passives (built by a driver supplier off a DIY kit; read: impossible to sell) instead.

Again, not OT as it's still tangential to the point on value proposition, depreciation and pride of ownership. A S/H McIntosh would probably operate on the same logic as my Serbian amp, just with one more zero to amount of money under consideration. Depreciation would be minuscule, pride of ownership, longevity and support high. Hence why the McIntosh/Accuphase/Luxman stuff I find at least vaguely rationally-defensible.