Review in STEREOPLAY magazine (Germany), November 2004
Accuphase Integrated Amplifier E-308
In the best of tradition: Accuphase by Dalibor Beric
For more than 30 years Accuphase have been building amplifiers with excellent craftsmanship and best sound. The new E-308 however can be considered one of the best solid-state amplifiers of all times.
Only very few audio manufacturers have been maintaining their independence and market presence for decades. Accuphase is one of them, yet it goes without saying that their success in Germany cannot be solely attributed to the excellent distributorship and perfect service of P.I.A. No, devices from Accuphase possess their own particular fascination which for years has made them rest at ease in view of the many "shooting stars" coming and going.
Certainly, one reason for this is the proverbial craftsmanship with which the new integrated amplifier E-308 is shining also. Already the honey-drop-like, smooth downward movement of the massive flap that hides the lesser used buttons and switches is impressing not only the aficionados of this brand. Or the decent, noble-distinguished overall appearance with (switchable) output power meters. All this is greatly appreciated by the connoisseur and thus every Accuphase stands up from the crowd of most audio components, which more and more look alike and sometimes are even "faceless". Who is then to turn the smoothly rotating volume potentiometer or to switch the input selector with sonorously clicking relays &.well,
only despisers of quality can withdraw themselves from this fascination.
Yet the phenomenon "Accuphase" can only partly be explained by its craftsmanship and brilliant appearance. A high sonic quality and technical perfection are as well essential reasons for the fact that even 31 years after the company's foundation these products are playing in the premium league. With respect to the E-308 the high-tech approach is already recognized in the input circuitry where it becomes evident that the numbers of transistors had been doubled. A good yet quite elaborate trick to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. If transistors are operating in parallel configuration their inherent noise is eliminated nearly to zero. This so-called "Faulkner Circuitry" has already been tried and tested in many MC input stages. Accuphase however went a step further ahead by not merely paralleling single transistors but, with a second set of electronic parts, the entire input stage! Of course this measure yielded doubled cost but, according to some researches done by Accuphase, has significantly improved the sonic precision nevertheless.
It's however understandable that the E-308 was not to be designed with a fullybalanced circuitry like in its bigger and almost twice as expensive brother E-530 (stereoplay
02/03, score 57 points). The latter has got separate amplifier stages for the inverted and noninverted signals. For the E-308 this would have meant to double once more the number of electronic parts and components, i.e. four times as many as in a normal amplifier. In the
E-308 the Accuphase-typical balanced (XLR) inputs have been realised by employing socalled IC-amplifiers.
1
In the E-308 too the power supply plays an important role in the function topology and in combination with the high-current, bipolar transistors from Sanken a more than sufficient pulse stability is guaranteed. Known from other Accuphase amplifiers we tested in the past there is the possibility to increase the number of high-level inputs through option slots. Or to enhance the sonic rendition of aged or lesser expensive CD players by means of the optional digital board DAC-10. In this respect we carried out a comparison with the NAD S500 and
Arcam's reasonably priced 72T. Well, there were indeed some stunning sonic advantages audible in favour of the DAC-10 and we therefore would strongly advise every E-308-owner
