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Which one would you choose?

J

JRR

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Jun 8, 2022
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Of these three amps? And why? Not Benchmark or Purify or whatever you have at home. RTFQ, ATFQ.

I’m planning my endgame amplifier and have my heart set on Accuphase. Of the two the more expensive model is 50% more. I’m leaning towards the E4000 as I do not foresee using balanced inputs. Im planning on getting the discrete phono and dac card. Combined with an MC record player that would be it. The third option and odd man out is the 66lbs single transistor push pull Denon SX1 limited. To me the Accuphase is electronics porn on a higher level than the Denon but i’m still curious about this flagship model as it has some interesting features.


First contender is the one I’m leaning towards at roughly $5000

Accuphase Laboratory, Inc.　E-4000

www.accuphase.com www.accuphase.com

Second is the Accuphase E5000 at $8000:

Accuphase Laboratory, Inc.　E-5000

www.accuphase.com www.accuphase.com

Third, the odd duck at $6000

Denon公式 | PMA-SX1 LIMITEDの仕様・特長 | プリメインアンプ

PMA-SX1 LIMITEDの製品詳細ページです。サウンドマネージャー”山内慎一”が4年の歳月をかけて作り上げた新世代のフラッグシッププリメインアンプ。
www.denon.jp www.denon.jp
 
Why not a pair of Topping LA90’s.
 
JRR said:
Of these three amps? And why? Not Benchmark or Purify or whatever you have at home. RTFQ, ATFQ.

I’m planning my endgame amplifier and have my heart set on Accuphase. Of the two the more expensive model is 50% more. I’m leaning towards the E4000 as I do not foresee using balanced inputs. Im planning on getting the discrete phono and dac card. Combined with an MC record player that would be it. The third option and odd man out is the 66lbs single transistor push pull Denon SX1 limited. To me the Accuphase is electronics porn on a higher level than the Denon but i’m still curious about this flagship model as it has some interesting features.


First contender is the one I’m leaning towards at roughly $5000

Accuphase Laboratory, Inc.　E-4000

www.accuphase.com www.accuphase.com

Second is the Accuphase E5000 at $8000:

Accuphase Laboratory, Inc.　E-5000

www.accuphase.com www.accuphase.com

Third, the odd duck at $6000

Denon公式 | PMA-SX1 LIMITEDの仕様・特長 | プリメインアンプ

PMA-SX1 LIMITEDの製品詳細ページです。サウンドマネージャー”山内慎一”が4年の歳月をかけて作り上げた新世代のフラッグシッププリメインアンプ。
www.denon.jp www.denon.jp
Click to expand...
I'd go with the Accuphase given it's your heart's desire. Their certainly elegant works of craftsmanship that offer great pride of ownership. Which one depends on power: the E5000 offers a few more dB of output but the E4000 might be fine.

To be sure, if all you want is great sound, a pair of Topping LA90s as @NiagaraPete suggests would be rather better for much less money. But anywhere near the pride of ownership? Hardly.
 
Last edited:
Gorgonzola said:
I'd go with the Accuphase give it's your heart's desire. Their certainly elegant works of craftsmanship that offer great pride of ownership. Which one depends on power: the E5000 offers a few more dB of output but the E4000 might be fine.

To be sure, if all you want is great sound, a pair of Topping LA90s as @NiagaraPete suggests would be rather better for much less money. But anywhere near the pride of ownership? Hardly.
Click to expand...
I guess if I were buying for looks maybe this.

L-509X | INTEGRATED AMPLIFIERS | PRODUCTS | LUXMAN | Seeking higher sound quality

www.luxman.com www.luxman.com

Or looks and investment maybe something like this.

www.mcintoshlabs.com

McIntosh MA9500 Integrated Amplifier

Music simply comes to life with the MA9500 Integrated Amplifier and its 300 Watts per channel of clean, effortless power.
www.mcintoshlabs.com www.mcintoshlabs.com
 
Pick the one you think looks nicest. For me that would be the Denon, because meters on amplifiers really annoy me. I'm old school, so for me, the he only place meters are needed is in studio monitoring or recording devices.
 
NiagaraPete said:
Or looks and investment maybe something like this.

www.mcintoshlabs.com

McIntosh MA9500 Integrated Amplifier

Music simply comes to life with the MA9500 Integrated Amplifier and its 300 Watts per channel of clean, effortless power.
www.mcintoshlabs.com www.mcintoshlabs.com
Click to expand...

Ah yes, if I were a self-indulgent plutocrat it would be McIntosh. The look of McIntosh are matter of taste, but I love it.

I'd probably go for a MAC C22 for preamp and MC312 for power ...

c22-mk-v-front-top.jpg


... Or better than the current C22 MkV I might try to find a C22 60th Anniversary Edition with the more classic McIntosh looks ...

6177440741_5fafee9d47_b.jpg
 
These all are beautiful amps but... just take a look at Rotel Michi X3 (and you won't need an external DAC at the same time)
www.rotel.com

X3

The Michi X3 Integrated Amplifier delivers uncompromised audio performance conveniently packaged in an elegant industrial design. The X3 delivers 350 Watts of Class AB output power into 4 ohm loads maintaining musical accuracy with exceptional acoustic detail from the Analog, Digital, PC-USB...
www.rotel.com www.rotel.com

Well, because all Michis are very good amplifiers, X3 distortions for different loads for example (black - 8 Ohm load, red - 4 Ohm, blue - 2 Ohm, green - 1 Ohm):

521rotel.lab1.jpg

(c) https://www.hifinews.com/content/rotel-michi-x3-integrated-amplifier-lab-report

X3 is withing your budget now.
X3 series 2 is better/newer but more expensive (not dramatically, but...).

Anyway, all these machines, from Accuphase or from Denon or from Rotel are really great.
 
notsodeadlizard said:
These all are beautiful amps but... just take a look at Rotel Michi X3 (and you won't need an external DAC at the same time)
www.rotel.com

X3

The Michi X3 Integrated Amplifier delivers uncompromised audio performance conveniently packaged in an elegant industrial design. The X3 delivers 350 Watts of Class AB output power into 4 ohm loads maintaining musical accuracy with exceptional acoustic detail from the Analog, Digital, PC-USB...
www.rotel.com www.rotel.com

Well, because all Michis are very good amplifiers, X3 distortions for different loads for example (black - 8 Ohm load, red - 4 Ohm, blue - 2 Ohm, green - 1 Ohm):

521rotel.lab1.jpg

(c) https://www.hifinews.com/content/rotel-michi-x3-integrated-amplifier-lab-report

X3 is withing your budget now.
X3 series 2 is better/newer but more expensive (not dramatically, but...).

Anyway, all these machines, from Accuphase or from Denon or from Rotel are really great.
Click to expand...
But the Topping out performs them all at a fraction of the price. But ahh looks.
 
Gorgonzola said:
Ah yes, if I were a self-indulgent plutocrat it would be McIntosh. The look of McIntosh are matter of taste, but I love it.

I'd probably go for a MAC C22 for preamp and MC312 for power ...

c22-mk-v-front-top.jpg


... Or better than the current C22 MkV I might try to find a C22 60th Anniversary Edition with the more classic McIntosh looks ...

6177440741_5fafee9d47_b.jpg
Click to expand...
You forgot RC,x-over,etc:

www.mcintoshlabs.com

McIntosh MEN220 Room Correction System

The MEN220 delivers a potent suite of Room Correction, Custom-EQ and 2-Way Crossover capabilities in one easy-to-use stereo component. While any single feature of the MEN220 has the power to optimize the sonic characteristics of the highest quality audio systems, combining all the features can...
www.mcintoshlabs.com www.mcintoshlabs.com
 
You made up your mind already from the get go. Not sure what else you want. Get the Accuphase. (You now know there are cheaper and better amps, but hey, buy what has all the features and what makes you happy).
 
I wouldn't dream of buying any of them - so am unable to answer.
 
End game means different things to different people. The law of diminishing returns is one of my important evaluation tools. While waiting for my Eversolo DMP A6 to arrive, I just ordered the end game amp that fits my budget - the Hypex Nilai stereo 500. I'll use the Eversolo as my pre-amp to start, but I'm going to need a proper pre-amp to handle analogue inputs from a turntable and dvd player etc. Considered the Topping Pre90 and Schiit Freya S. I will probably choose the Schiit in silver over the Topping, purely for aesthetic reasons
 
You could do worse than Accuphase.

I told my friend that there are two types of Japanese hi-fi companies. First are the engineering focused ones - like Sony, Denon, Technics, Pioneer, TEAC, Esoteric, Rotel, and Accuphase. They are a bit boring because they are more similar than different, but at least they measure well, are well designed and built, and reliable.

Then there are those that trade heavily on mysticism. Some old hermit with a long white beard and long eyebrows who lives in the mountains carrying on a 2,000 year old tradition of hand-winding transformers whilst reciting Shinto incantations. Companies like this: Koetsu, Kondo, Miyajima, 47 Labs, Shindo. Japanese people love their mystical craftsmen who undergo ridiculously long apprenticeships before they are allowed to do anything. Look at Jiro (Sushi Jiro fame) - his son is 50 years old and he's still not allowed to touch fish. And I watched a video on Japanese ceramics where the apprentice has to spend 10 years shovelling clay before he is allowed to add water to it.

I wouldn't touch the latter companies with a 10 foot pole, the whiff of BS is too strong with those.
 
JRR said:
Of these three amps? And why? Not Benchmark or Purify or whatever you have at home. RTFQ, ATFQ.
Click to expand...
Can you sneak Purifi modules into one of these chassis?
 
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