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That adjustable damping is a neat feature. About the booming, somewhat muddy bass: your E-202 is fifty years old and many interior electronic components will long since have drifted out of spec by now. Even an old Rolls or Bentley needs careful maintenance to keep it running right. I had an E-250 like yours and really enjoyed its clean, uncluttered sound.
That adjustable damping is a neat feature. About the booming, somewhat muddy bass: your E-202 is fifty years old and many interior electronic components will long since have drifted out of spec by now. Even an old Rolls or Bentley needs careful maintenance to keep it running right. I had an E-250 like yours and really enjoyed its clean, uncluttered sound.
Now I'm going to contradict myself a bit considering what I said earlier in the thread about not doing a recap as long as things work. The Accuphase E-202 is after all half a century old. Things will inevitably start to drift and break sooner or later. Replacing components as a preventative measure might be something to consider.
Check if in your country you can find knowledgeable repairmen with a good reputation who specialize in restoring and servicing old Accuphase amplifiers. Considering that Accuphase is a sought-after brand, I can guess that these repairmen are quite expensive to hire. You'll have to decide if it's worth it for you.
Another tip (since you asked generally about Hifi tips). I visited a friend this weekend. He showed me that the WiiM Mini now has room correction functionality. The mobile phone's microphone at ear level, a swipe and FR is set automatically. Maybe something for you to try? In that case, don't use the Wiim Mini's built-in DAC, but plug in your, as you said, reasonable DAC.
This is a review and detailed measurements of the WiiM Mini Wifi/Bluetooth streamer. It is on kind loan from a member and is on sale on Amazon for US $89.
As you can see the former factor is a "hockey puck." An included phone charger needs to be used to power the unit over USB-C. It did not work so when I used my computer USB port.
Initial setup is by connecting using Bluetooth and the available App. I connected using BT but the Android app would not see it. I had to shut off BT and turn it back on for it to recognize it. While this is disappointing, I have had similar...
I too have been using, and now use, Accuphase E-460 integrated amplifier (launched in 2010) in my PC-DSP-based multichannel multi-SP-driver multi-amplifier fully active stereo audio rig (ref. here #931 and here #1,009 for the latest system setup).
As you would know well, Accuphase provides maintenance and/or repair services, of course if needed, all the products they ever produced/marketed after the company was established, as I wrote under the below spoiler cover.
These Accuphase service policy and practice are of course the same for overseas users through the appointed dealers/distributors.
In my post here, I wrote; Accuphase provides repair and maintenance services for any of their past and present products sold in the past 50 years. Just one phone call to Accuphase, and they collect the amps (by the specially contracted transfer company having huge Accuphase boxes) at your home and they send it back to you afterwards; usually within one week quick and perfect service (in Japan) in reasonable cost after the warranty period. Of course the service is completely free within the warranty period.
I did it three times on my E-460; Accuphase's own decision to replace one capacitor (after the warranty period but of course free; a kind of gentle/generous preventive recall?), one repair for my mistake (short-circuit at SP terminals while operation) and one full overhaul maintenance.
They have several large storage rooms keeping huge amount of amp parts, including rather old capacitors, resistors, inductors and so on, used in their old products. In case if they cannot find the same parts, sometimes they even handmade it (by themselves or by contract-out) for perfect repair and maintenance, still in reasonable cost for us.
Their comparably high price list includes the cost covering such repair/maintenance policy, operation, human resources and services, I believe.
In my post here, I wrote; All the Accuphase registered users (including myself, of course!) receive "New Year's Greeting Card" every year (at least in Japan).
I too have been using, and now use, Accuphase E-460 integrated amplifier (launched in 2010) in my PC-DSP-based multichannel multi-SP-driver multi-amplifier fully active stereo audio rig (ref. here #931 and here #1,009 for the latest system setup).
As you would know well, Accuphase provides maintenance and/or repair services, of course if needed, all the products they ever produced/marketed after the company was established, as I wrote under the below spoiler cover.
These Accuphase service policy and practice are of course the same for overseas users through the appointed dealers/distributors.
In my post here, I wrote; Accuphase provides repair and maintenance services for any of their past and present products sold in the past 50 years. Just one phone call to Accuphase, and they collect the amps (by the specially contracted transfer company having huge Accuphase boxes) at your home and they send it back to you afterwards; usually within one week quick and perfect service (in Japan) in reasonable cost after the warranty period. Of course the service is completely free within the warranty period.
I did it three times on my E-460; Accuphase's own decision to replace one capacitor (after the warranty period but of course free; a kind of gentle/generous preventive recall?), one repair for my mistake (short-circuit at SP terminals while operation) and one full overhaul maintenance.
They have several large storage rooms keeping huge amount of amp parts, including rather old capacitors, resistors, inductors and so on, used in their old products. In case if they cannot find the same parts, sometimes they even handmade it (by themselves or by contract-out) for perfect repair and maintenance, still in reasonable cost for us.
Their comparably high price list includes the cost covering such repair/maintenance policy, operation, human resources and services, I believe.
In my post here, I wrote; All the Accuphase registered users (including myself, of course!) receive "New Year's Greeting Card" every year (at least in Japan). View attachment 472726
Accuphase is justifiably legendary for their customer care as well as for their durability. However this level of care only applies in Japan, or overseas if you can prove your unit was purchased from an authorized dealer.
If, on the other hand, you purchased a grey-market unit (not uncommon in the USA for example) you may find yourself mighty disappointed. Accuphase won't even sell you replacement parts in that situation.
The retail markup from distributors and dealers in the USA (and they are very few) is astronomical, which is why so many resort to the grey market in the first place. An obvious solution would seem to present itself but apparently Accuphase is satisfied with the status quo.
The retail markup from distributors and dealers in the USA (and they are very few) is astronomical, which is why so many resort to the grey market in the first place. An obvious solution would seem to present itself but apparently Accuphase is satisfied with the status quo.
After experiencing the two Accuphase amplifiers, especially the E-202, I don’t think I can look beyond them. I’m very sure of their quality: the E-202 is half a century old and yet sounds accurate. Everything about the two amplifiers I own screams quality and class.
However, as @Archguy posted, the after-sales care only applies that smoothly in Japan, and I doubt it will apply for my second hand E-202. However, I'm keen to hear if you know of any options I have.
I'd absolutely prefer to have the E-202 serviced by Accuphase themselves rather than a local technician, no matter how trustworthy.
Considering that Accuphase is a sought-after brand, I can guess that these repairmen are quite expensive to hire. You'll have to decide if it's worth it for you.
This is a valid point. I do have a technician who seems competent, whether I trust him with my Accuphase or not is another question.
There is a technician in France, but he recently started refusing orders from other EU countries.
Also, as you said, the repair will cost in the 100's, so I'm not sure if it's worth the cost for me. I might as well go for a used E-350 and benefit from a fully balanced implementation (I do have buzzing/hiss when listening closely).
I'm aware of that, and they're also opposed to scaling up the company. I can understand this, though. They'll otherwise be in this unsustainable rat-race to "increase shareholder value" instead of delivering quality, which they certainly do.
If, on the other hand, you purchased a grey-market unit (not uncommon in the USA for example) you may find yourself mighty disappointed. Accuphase won't even sell you replacement parts in that situation.
I'm not sure if this is the case with a 50-year old amplifier. I purchased it second hand and without the original papers.
In contrast, I acquired my newer E-250 with the original packaging, manual & receipt, at a very reasonable price.
So, in case if you seriously considering technical supports/maintenance/repair/overhaul etc. on your E-202 and/or E-250 by Accuphase Company, I would like to suggest you contacting Accuphase Support Team through their web inquiry site. https://www.accuphase.com/contact/contact_us.html
At least within Japan, Accuphase operates "second-hand product registration for services" for people purchasing Accuphase products in second-hand/used market; I believe your E-202 has serial number on back panel.
At least within Japan, Accuphase operates "second-hand product registration for services" for people purchasing Accuphase products in second-hand/used market; I believe your E-202 has serial number on back panel.
I've already written to them, but I didn't mention my serial number (yet). Let's hope they reply back to me and then I can give them the details.
I also think that the E-250 isn't in any need of any maintenance/repair since it's much more modern.
I am planning to clean its insides with a blower once in a while, though.
FWIW, another exclusive Japanese amplifier manufacturer (Leben) is also quite strict about not supplying the aftermarket. NB: I've taken this risk a couple of times anyway because 1) the equipment under consideration is supremely durable, and not prone to failure and 2) the price differential runs into the thousands of dollars here in the USA. Nonetheless, I don't make a practice of it.
looks like this amplifiers specs ( thd and snr ) are way worse than my dirt-cheap denon pma-520 amp, i dont know how audible is that but i think one can do better for a fraction of the cost of accuphase ? Maybe back in early 70s even best amplifiers were not up to todays ( and 35 years ago ) standards specs wise?
looks like this amplifiers specs ( thd and snr ) are way worse than my dirt-cheap denon pma-520 amp, i dont know how audible is that but i think one can do better for a fraction of the cost of accuphase ? Maybe back in early 70s even best amplifiers were not up to todays ( and 35 years ago ) standards specs wise?
That kind of 1970s vintage look, in combination with the brand Accuphase drives up the price...significantly.
Your Denon pma-520, even if it can be considered vintage, does not have the looks that are in demand. Hence dirt-cheap, even though it is most likely a good amp.
I used a Pioneer SX-777 occasionally, about a year ago. Also dirt-cheap, the same time period and looks (more or less) as Denon pma-520.
Pioneer SX-777, a perfectly ok receiver. Presumably lower distortion than Accuphase E-202. Presumably because one does not know from the Hifengine link below how this 0.03% is measured, under what circumstances. But presumably better, or lower than Accuphase E-202 because development had progressed.
By the way. I was wrong, or missed the distortion level regarding the Accuphase E-202 in my #2. Here is what Accuphase themselves state:
...i dont know how audible is ...
Noise is clearly easier to detect. At least for me. That plus if you can hear the difference between two different amplifiers you can test here:
Do all amplifiers sound the same? Level matched listening test
One more to this neverending discussion. Two very different amplifiers are tested, however both with very flat frequency response in the audio band. The test level is set such that 0dBFS of digital data corresponds to THD = 0.9% for both amplifiers under test (that means close to clipping). The music sample has maximum digital amplitude of -0.1 dBFS and DR = 12. Outputs of both amps are recorded via Cosmos ADC, time aligned and level matched (to average RMS). The ADC recorded music samples have maximum amplitude of...
SOTA electronic devices like DACs, preamplifiers and amplifiers have now incredibly high S/N ratio. The limiting factors are in fact S/N of recordings and ambient noise in a listening room. Would you like to check how much S/N you can reliably hear in your listening conditions? Below is a link to test files. They contain a sine 200Hz signal and the same 200Hz sine with added white noise, with rms level of -20dB, -30dB, -40dB, -50dB, -60dB and -70dB relative to 200Hz sine rms level.
My recent thread showed that we have members with a range of hearing sensitivity. Many can easily hear a difference, but some could not.
I am now curious about ASR members hearing sensitivity as compared to larger pool of participants (over 8680 participants for this particular test).
I note that after I got some practice with first run, I did much better in second run. I went from -45 first try to -60 second try. Also, it looks like my sensitivity reduced after running a certain numbers of tests, thus fatigue set in fast for me.
looks like this amplifiers specs ( thd and snr ) are way worse than my dirt-cheap denon pma-520 amp, i dont know how audible is that but i think one can do better for a fraction of the cost of accuphase ? Maybe back in early 70s even best amplifiers were not up to todays ( and 35 years ago ) standards specs wise?
If you buy Accuphase, it's a given you're paying a premium for the aesthetics, the brand, an obsessive (and overkill) attention to detail and quality and legendary after-sales service. The more up to date Accuphases offer great sound, but like most competent amplifiers, should be as transparent as possible.
Even if the THD numbers vary and may be worse than other modern amps. in some cases, but the other aspects of the Accuphase amplifiers are worth it for me (unless the THD numbers are way worse than expected, of course).
The question was what I'm missing by using an amplifier of that age rather than how expensive it is.
However, I do take the point that an amplifier from that era is not as accurate/transparent as more modern amplifiers. But this is my question: to what degree is this relevant/audible?
In addition, the aforementioned Pioneer SX777 and Denon pma-520 (around thirty-five years old) vs Accuphase E-202 (around fifty years old) have only 70% of the power that the Accuphase E-202 has.
Is the Accuphase E-202 vs SX777 /PMA-520 worth more than fifteen to twenty times, price-wise? Apparently so, if you check prices on them on Hifishark anyway.
I leave the question of audibility levels regarding distortion aside (check the threads I linked above in #36). What can be annoying with old vintage amplifiers/receivers, however, is mechanically humming transformers. A hum that is drowned out when the music is turned up, but it can still be annoying for some to hear that sound when music is not playing.
Maybe something for you to try? In that case, don't use the Wiim Mini's built-in DAC, but plug in your, as you said, reasonable DAC.
