Vintage vs Modern; Class A vs A/B

[Willem]

True, but I always thought that design such as by Accuphase even if perfectly executed was pretty ghastly and backward looking to a nineteeth century esthetic. My design canon is more in the Dieter Rams mould.

 

[Phorize]

True, but I always thought that design such as by Accuphase even if perfectly executed was pretty ghastly and backward looking to a nineteeth century esthetic. My design canon is more in the Dieter Rams mould.

Accuphase? Ghastly? Heretic, burn him!

 

[Phorize]

True, but I always thought that design such as by Accuphase even if perfectly executed was pretty ghastly and backward looking to a nineteeth century esthetic. My design canon is more in the Dieter Rams mould.

I take your point though; Impressive? Yes. Industrial? Definitely. Elegant? No.

 

[Inner Space]

Benchmark is great, but looks like it was yanked out of a studio rack. Nothing wrong with that--for your studio it doesn't matter. And given its form factor and specs it might be exactly what you want. For the living room? That could be something different, altogether.

I have one in one of my TV systems, in a nice-enough room, and I don't think it ruins the look:

 

[dualazmak]

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.

 

[mhardy6647]

If you have to ask the price...

Reminds me of Jerry del Colliano's Cello story:

Qualification was demanded of Cello customers. There was no sense in doing a 2-hour demo of a $400,000 system for a guy who wanted to spend $40,000.

Mark and Joe (Cali) were best at getting people to buy more. They were both expert at picking up on the context clues of somebody who could really spend some money if you showed them something fantastic. A typical Hollywood customer would show up wearing a white t-shirt, jeans and some nice loafers.

Cars are a good way to qualify a client but in LA they can also be a bit of a misnomer. ...indicators were his shoes, belt and the best indicator was his watch. To the untrained eye, the guy with a white t-shirt and jeans might look like anybody else out shopping for toys on a Saturday afternoon in Hollywood, but when the guy is driving an Aston Martin, wearing Tods and rocking a Patek Philipe perpetual calendar – you know you have a well qualified customer even before you start asking about his system.

I'm not sure Accuphase is in that league. The Accuphase buyer is probably more like the Mac customer... from the 'Cello perspective' he's the 'guy in the $40,000.00 category. Flies First Class to get to the out of state dealer, instead of using part of his alloted share in a Cessana Citation fractional owership plan.

Nice amp. Needs the Accuphase rosewood sleeve. Could the company be cheapening out? Probably optional at x-tra cost.

I am in the $4.00 category. I'd ask to see their dumpster.

 

[mhardy6647]

Accuphase is like McIntosh in that respect, although IMO Mac has pushed it over the cliff with their latest look, which is almost a self-parody of their traditional stuff. I'm talking about green LEDs in the tube sockets and so forth.

Yeah, I mean... the least Mac could've done was make their vacuum tube lighting gold/teal... and special.

source: https://www.hifiengine.com/hfe_downloads/index.php?mcintosh/mcintosh_state_of_the_art_catalog.pdf
(annotated )

 

[anmpr1]

Yeah, I mean... the least Mac could've done was make their vacuum tube lighting gold/teal... and special.

The 78 was special. For the day. Wasn't the gold lettering silkscreened on the glass? Back then, inflato adjusted, it was over ten thousand dollars. And then you needed an outdoor antenna with a rotor. Other than to look at on your equipment shelf, who would have use for something like this, anymore? Not many. But it would go well with your ReVox A700. How the mighty have fallen!

 

[mhardy6647]

I have, and use a McIntosh tuner regularly. Not an MR-78, though -- cannot afford one.

DSC_7288 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

This one glows in the back , too.

DSC_0257 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

I have never actually figured out the "gold/teal" from Mac's catalogs of that era -- maybe (??) it refers to the lettering, which is illuminated.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

I have, and use a McIntosh tuner regularly. Not an MR-78, though -- cannot afford one.

DSC_7288 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

This one glows in the back , too.

DSC_0257 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

I have never actually figured out the "gold/teal" from Mac's catalogs of that era -- maybe (??) it refers to the lettering, which is illuminated.

I have the MR-66 along with a C-11 preamp. There are only two FM stations that I can get which are somewhat worthwhile and both are available on streaming.

 

[anmpr1]

I have, and use a McIntosh tuner regularly. Not an MR-78, though -- cannot afford one.

Back in the day, if you were fortunate enough to live in an area with a lot of stations, and had reception difficulties such as multipath, a highly selective tuner with all the other specs was a valuable component. When the Marantz 10 and MR78 came on the scene, they were quite exceptional.

Newbees should read the old reviews, from guys like Len Feldman et al, to appreciate just how remarkable they were. But those components were not built to a 'price point', for sure. Names like Sid Smith, Mitch Cotter, Rich Modafferi, Dick Sequerra were well known in the RF business and their designs were respected. I don't know how active he still is, but Richard Modafferi was still aligning and updating his MR78, at Audio Classics.

By the late '70s, for most practical purposes, you could get something from Japan for a fraction of the cost that was as good. But that's always been pretty much the story of tech.

In my area the local university has two stations. One is rock 'n roll and the other has some classical and jazz. However, they stream programs over the 'Net, so the idea of an FM broadcast tuner is not something I'd be interested in buying, if I was interested in listening to them. I guess it's like that for most people. In the car it's a different thing, for sure.

 

[dualazmak]

I like Classical KUSC providing also high quality streaming over internet, so I can seamlessly listen to it in Japan, very nice for classical music lovers, no commercial ads. I always tuned my car tuner and my tuner/PC at laboratory office and at my home and hotels to Classical KUSC while I have been working in La Jolla research triangle area, northern San Diego. I was a small supporter to Classical KUSC by purchasing CDs through them with a few clicks on their web broadcast program site.

Nowadays, I seldom listen to FM radio stations in Japan even though almost all of them providing internet streaming; too much noisy chats and commercial ads, almost no classical music...

 

[watchnerd]

I'm curious about what you guys think about this:

Accuphase E-202 Integrated Amplifier with Meter for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Accuphase E-202 Integrated Amplifier with Meter at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Manual here:

https://www.accuphase.com/cat/e-202en.pdf

 

[Doodski]

I'm curious about what you guys think about this:

Accuphase E-202 Integrated Amplifier with Meter for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Accuphase E-202 Integrated Amplifier with Meter at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Manual here:

https://www.accuphase.com/cat/e-202en.pdf

I think the speaker terminals would loose their nostalgia tout suite.

 

[watchnerd]

I think the speaker terminals would loose their nostalgia tout suite.

Yeah.

On the other hand, you only have to endure the PITA of bare wire once in a while.

It's not like you're hooking up and disconnecting speakers all the time.

 

[Phorize]

I'm curious about what you guys think about this:

Accuphase E-202 Integrated Amplifier with Meter for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Accuphase E-202 Integrated Amplifier with Meter at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Manual here:

https://www.accuphase.com/cat/e-202en.pdf

I had one and bitterly regret selling it.

 

[Doodski]

Yeah.

On the other hand, you only have to endure the PITA of bare wire once in a while.

It's not like you're hooking up and disconnecting speakers all the time.

Is USD$2400.00 a going rate for these bad boys when the caps have been replaced?

 

[Phorize]

Is USD$2400.00 a going rate for these bad boys when the caps have been replaced?

They have reached ridiculous prices on eBay and stopped being value for money along time ago. I’d expect huge variability in the standard of servicing too.

 

[anmpr1]

I'm curious about what you guys think about this:

The first time I came across it was (from my questionable memory) about 1975. It was the first strictly 'high end' Japanese gear I'd touched. Other than reading about the usually unobtainable Stax electronics. I'd seen pictures of those. I don't recall seeing much from Lux at the time. Anyhow, Accuphase gear was styled in the typical Japanese 'fully functional from and end-user' form. Expensive, but not like it is now. I believe it was priced in the McIntosh ball park. Back then, McIntosh was a no nonsense company, and their prices were not unreasonable for what you got--exceptional build, and excellent dealer support. Accuphase was attempting that sort of thing, I think.

Pioneer, Sansui, and Kenwood/Trio had top of the line models, but they were viewed more like GM cars were--that is, you could buy a Chevy, or an expensive Chevy called a Cadillac. I don't know about Europe but, for example, in the US Pioneer's Exclusive brand was not imported. In the US, no one viewed mainstream Japanese manufacturers as 'luxury'. I remember people asking, "Why should I spend those prices for a Japanese integrated amp, when I can buy this discounted Pioneer with similar specs, for a lot less?

Back then, a top of the line Pioneer integrated amp (SA-9900 or 9500) had a solid feel, with machined knobs--better than anything you can find today at the price, but next to Accuphase it just didn't have that 'luxury' feel/look to it.

They have reached ridiculous prices on eBay and stopped being value for money along time ago. I’d expect huge variability in the standard of servicing too.

The second hand on-line market is through the roof. Most of what is offered should be in the 'garage sale giveaway' category. But sellers are asking top dollar. Who is buying it? I think naive folks see these pictures, compare it to the visually unappealing and boring gear offered today, and then naturally gravitate to '70s Japanese product. My guess is that most of this 'used' gear requires significant overhaul, which is not going to be cheap, even if you can find someone who knows what to do, and is willing to accomplish the refurb.

Speaking of ebay, the listings have gotten ridiculous. Often not working gear, listed as being 'sold for parts', but at a top dollar asking price. Or the very common: Like new. Was working fine when my dad put it in the box and stored it in our basement, twenty years ago. But I have no way to test it, and don't know anything about it. Refer to the pictures for more information.

What else is there? Maybe a place like Reverb could be better? But from my slumming, even they are out of site. Used guitars selling for as much, or more, than new ones. And I'm not talking about '50s Les Pauls, but last year's Epiphones and Squires!

Never try and find a video card. List price on new can be doubled or tripled, and used ones that have been crypto mining for the last year 24/7 selling for list.

I've read that shipping prices have risen considerably. With commensurate backlogs. Other than that, all is good...

 

[anmpr1]

I'm curious about what you guys think about this:

PS: I checked the listing. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt that his restoration was done correctly, everything works, and the meters are calibrated. The one year warranty claim is more than you expect for used gear, ...if it can be honored. I remember how ReVox, a then well established company, at the time offered a 'lifetime' warranty on their products. Good luck getting your A-77 repaired under that.

His claim that vintage Accuphase... is head and shoulders superior in build quality and sound quality engineering to every other major audio manufacturer, including McIntosh... is silly. But you expect some hyperbole with this sort of thing. The optional cabinet for two hundred dollars is probably a nice addition, and not out of line, price-wise.

So, if all of that pans out, what he is asking is not unreasonable, in the scheme of things. Buyer always beware.