STEREO 01/2015
What is so special about this?
Alright, one doesn't have to be an insider to recognize the C-2120 and P-4200 as Accuphase amps. But what makes the amps from Japan's noble forge so special? Stereo took a closer look.
Stupid question Mr. Böde, no? After all one can tell the origins of this Pre- and Power Amp combination on first sight: thick champagne colored front plates with very fine brushed surfaces, the classic structure of input selector and volume control, distinctive meter on the power amp as well as a perfect construction of course, this can only be an Accuphase.
Indeed! And still there is much more here, that the Japanese do differently than everyone else,
and which earned them not only a specific identity but also a special place in the market. With consistency and sometimes even against the going trend which prescribes audiophiles and especially high-end products a strict minimalism. Comfort costs sound is the essence of this dictate.
Accuphase doesn't care for such things and hence the pre-amp C-2120 offers many features.
Within those are many things which one can hardly find anywhere else: an always-practical mono-switch, loudness, inverse phase, a tape-selector with & even a natural tone control with two selectable turnover frequencies.
That high-end customers dislike such things doesn't bother the Japanese. And did you notice how few power amps still offer a headphone connection? The C-2120 has one and it sounds excellent.
For the pre-outputs can be switched off, and are partially available in duplicates of RCA and
XLR.
Furthermore there is an entire armada of plugs for larger equipment. No question, this is a case of hifi opulence instead of abstinence.
AAVA-typical Accuphase
In spite of all this variety, to avoid ruining the conservative nobel price winning performance,
the Accuhpase Pre-amp hides the majority of its operating elements behind a wide flap, which glides softly down upon pressing a button. Red LEDs in the display indicate the chosen function and in contrast to its predecessor the C-2110, the C-2020 received the numerical level meter of the manufacturer's more expensive Pre-amps. The level meter is up to the 10th
Dezibel accurate our laboratory checked very carefully.
Extreme precision is anyway the goal of the AAVA named volume control, which was introduced a couple of years back and in the meantime can be found in various stages of complexity in all pre- and integrated amps. The abbreviation stands for Accuphase Analog
Vari-gain Amplifier . During this process the music signal is weighted individually for each channel by a voltage and current transformer in 16 steps.
Out of the similarly variable selection results a well-portioned total volume; no one else does it this way. Next to extremely low noise and distortion as well as effective channel separation,
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what the measurements can attest to, Accuphase demonstrates long term stability as advantage of the AAVA. Especial attention deserves the three level GAIN switch, with which one can adjust the ground amplification. It also defines the sound character of the C-2120 and validates simultaneously the HiFi wisdom, which warns from little accentuation. Then the
Pre-amp only offers in the 12 dB position maximum, roomy, light and fanned out sound patterns. Already at 18 dB it sounds a little tighter and more compact, what can be exciting with pop music, but doesn't transfer as exhilarating and airy as before, furthermore the mid tones gain a little more severe diction.
24 dB might allow to enhance consumptively pale sources such as Portis, but the C-2120 in
