John Darko
Of the high-end Japanese amplifier manufacturers – Marantz, Esoteric, Luxman – the Western world probably has the least exposure to Accuphase who this week has announced a new integrated amplifier.
A successor to the E-650, the E-700 is a no-frills/purist’s box. On the back panel, we note five single-ended RCA socket sets and two balanced XLR. There are also balanced XLR and single-ended RCA pre-amplifier outputs, single-ended RCA and balanced XLR inputs (to run the E-700 as a power amplifier) and, playing its old-school hand to the fullest, a tape loop.
However, the E-700 contains no DAC and no phono stage. For those not wanting to go BYO with D/A conversion and phono pre-amplification, the E-700 is compatible with Accuphase’s DAC-60 and AD-60 add-on modules.
To ensure a smooth and satisfying feeling when turning the volume knob, Accuphase has equipped the E-700 with an in-house developed heavy-duty volume sensor and ‘Balanced AAVA’ volume control. That’s Accuphase talk for ‘Accuphase Analogue Vari-gain Amplifier’ where two balanced circuits aim to lower noise and level match the left and right channels with superior accuracy.
Accuphase’s engineering team has also reportedly optimised the pre-amplifier board’s performance with better component placement, board pattern and ground layout. A noise- and distortion-cancelling circuit has also been fitted to the current-voltage conversion circuit.
According to the Japanese company, the same level of fastidiousness with parts selection has been applied to the E-700’s power amplifier section where an “advanced MCS+ (Multiple Circuit Summing-up +) circuit” and a current feedback amplification circuit run the show for a damping factor of 1000.
Now we get to the meat of the story.
The E-700 promises 35wpc into 8 Ohms, 70wpc into 4 Ohms, 140wpc into 2 Ohms and 160wpc into 1 Ohm. Each channel is driven by four MOSFETs running in a push-pull configuration. The Class A operation of those MOSFETs means that they are always on to see the E-700 pull 178 Watts from the wall whether playing music or not. When not driving loudspeakers, those 178 Watts are dissipated as heat.
And to put that 178 Watt mains power draw into context, a 32″ LED TV pulls around 50 Watts from the wall, a MacBook Pro pulls 85 – 100 Watts when re-charging, a chest freezer pulls 600 Watts and a kettle anything between 1200 and 1500 Watts. It’s probably best not to leave this Accuphase integrated running 24/7, especially if you aren’t prepared for a higher electricity bill.
The E-700 will begin shipping in April in Japan for ยฅ860,000 + tax which, at the time of writing, converts toย โฌ5300.
Further information: Accuphase
