ACCUPHASE E-4000 + PS-1250
Integrated amplifiers
The E-4000 is a successor of E-480 that we have not reviewed, and the E-480 was the successor of E-470 that we have reviewed. Interestingly, the “400” range of Class AB integrated amplifiers of Accuphase can be tracked back to 80’s (!), when E-405 was introduced to the market. It took twelve generations of incremental improvements to arrive to the E-4000, which is the typical Accuphase’s working method: evolute rather than revolute.
Function and form
The evolutional elements of the E-4000 can be seen from outside too. The large knobs have now a gold-plated trims and large display area with analog VU meters have differently machined edges. Other than that, it is a through and through Accuphase, with its typical multi-control arrangement hidden under a large metal flap. There are many knobs and buttons that help you choose speakers (A/B) and balance them, invert phase, switch to mono, adjust bass and treble, apply loudness trim, control MM/MC and DAC, and many more. Some controls will only work if you have the appropriate option board installed. The option boards come as modules that slip into the slots in the rear panel and are available separately.
The E-4000 are actually two balanced monoblocks with a preamplifier in ne chassis. The amplifier uses MOS-FETs in a four-fold parallel push-pull configuration. The preamplifier employs the latest version of the AAVA volume control, now improved with ANCC (stands for Accuphase Noise and distortion Cancelling Circuit). The ANCC circuit detects components of noise and distortion at the input stage of the current to voltage converter and injects the cancelling current of reversed polarity. It is very simplified version of Accuphase’s clean power supply units. With the ANCC, the E-4000 improves in noise by 20% over its predecessor, the E-480. That’s the evolution the Accuphase way.
Bass management
The E-4000 is no exception to any Accuphase amplifier - it does not like when pushed over its optimum. Not that other brands do like when pushed too much, but there is always ‘a sweet range’ for an Accuphase. This may limit those who like listening really loud or those with bigger rooms. My experience with Accuphase tells me that the issue is not power related, so there must be something in how the Accuphase amps are designed. The E-4000 can deliver 2x 260W into 4Ω and 2x180W into 8Ω of continuous power, and its peak power is much higher. The good news is that the comfort zone of the E-4000 starts with the first watt – it can play soft, and it can play soft beautifully. The upper limit of the comfort zone will mostly depend on you speakers’ sensitivity, their impedance curve, and the room. With the speakers that I used, the optimum maximum was around the point when the needles of the VU meters danced at 10W mark. I mean of average power output, not occasional peaks. Then the amplifier gets slightly less free flowing in dynamics, as I experienced with Saint-Saens’ Danse Macabre (Decca) played back in near concert levels.
Clarity & delicacy
Compared to the E-5000, which I believe is still the best integrated amplifier that Accuphase have ever built, the E-4000 is less self-assured, as if always more on the safe side. The bass is a good example of it. The legendary bass line in Sade’s Ordinary Love is less weighty, less textured, and less enthusiastic. The E-5000 is firmer, has better grip on music, and is faster in transients too. It is 50% more expensive, however. In case you are the audio forum member that keeps asking questions sort of “What’s the best amplifier for heavy metal?”, ten skip the E-4000. Unless you want to savour the metal (and other rock music) at lower listening levels or through headphones. However, if you know how to appreciate excellent soundstaging of acoustic instruments and want to have their timbres right, then the E-4000 is an excellent choice.
Tonal accuracy
The ability to portray colours and shades is the E-4000’s strongest point. The tonality is flawless. The music that requires superb colour management in midrange, such as classical, blues, jazz and similar genres, will benefit from it. The colour and tone of violin were among the best I have ever heard from an amplifier, definitely among the TOP 10. Yet the Accuphase is a Japanese piece of electronics, so there is certain gracefulness and dignity its way of doing things. This brings along a strong sense of luxury and sophistication, while listening to your favourite piece of music. However, it is colour shading, not coloration, that makes the E-4000 so different from your grandfather’s Sony amplifier.
Spatial resolution
With the E-4000, I also tried the new PS-1250 clean power supply that has been introduced recently, together with its fewer-sockets sibling PS-550. It is a match from heaven and the cleaned power elevates the E-4000 significantly. Should you still believe that no filtering is better than any filtering as far as amplifiers are concerned, give the PS-1250 a try. The sound gets finer, events better delineated, outlines of instruments more vivid, and the experience more polished. To tell the truth, when I switched back (from the PS-1250 to Nordost’s Qb8 distributor) the voices in the a cappella piece (Gloucester Wassail, Loreena McKennitt) became dynamically flatter, a bit bleached, and two-dimensional. No matter how good the system was without the PS-1250, it was better with it. If you can afford it, don’t spend a minute on thinking about it and buy both the devices.
The PS-1250: It adopts power amplifier balanced output stage with 20 parallel bi-polar transistors. The waveform on its input is compared in real time vs Reference Signal Generator, and the correction voltage is generated, together with elimination of noise and distortion components. Accuphase guarantees that the THD of waveform distortion never exceeds 0.08%. Instead of the analog meter as found in the previous models, the front panel of the PS-1250 sports beautiful multifunctional (and high-contrast) LCD display that switches bewteen output power, input/output voltage, and input/output distortion. The rear panel of the European 230V version provides 8 Schuko sockets with total output capacity of 900VA.
Recommended resellers
CZ: Perfect Sound Group, Praha, tel. +420 722 960 690
SK: Nisel SK, Bratislava, tel. +421 905 203 078
Manufacturer's website: http://www.accuphase.com
Associated components
- Sources: Accuphase DP-450, XDuoo X10T II
- Amplifiers: Accuphase E-4000
- Loudspeakers: Fyne Audio Vintage Fifteen, KEF R7
- Interconnects and speaker cables: Nordost Valhalla V2, Nordost Tyr V2
- Power conditioning: Nordost Qb8, Accuphase PS-1250, Nordost Tyr V2, Nordost Frey
Gallery
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The E-4000 is a successor of E-480 that we have not reviewed, and the E-480 was the successor of E-470 that we have reviewed. Interestingly, the “400” range of Class AB integrated amplifiers of Accuphase can be tracked back to 80’s ...
Recommended resellers
CZ: Perfect Sound Group, Praha, tel. +420 722 960 690
SK: Nisel SK, Bratislava, tel. +421 905 203 078
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