STEREO E 480 03 2019 E

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Discover the
Possibilities!
Nothing's changed? As if! With every new amplifier Accuphase exhausts its possibilities further. We went on a discovery tour with the recently launched E480.
Groundhog Day! Another shibboleth, but on a serious note: whoever recalls the generations of Accuphase components  no matter what category  in one's mind's eye, may indeed get the impression that we see, at best, tiny variations of the verysame all the time. Undisputedly, the Japanese noble brand has always relied on evolution instead of revolution, yet has also succeeded each time to advance the performance of their products step by step.
And so it comes hardly as a surprise that we had once more a feeling of deja vu with the presentation of the new E-480 integrated amplifier. We know this one, right? Yes and no, because the well-known concept was modified in many places. And, please take a good look, it now has a LED bar which indicates a lot of functions: no longer in the dark contrasting field of the switchable VU meters, but below them in the champagne front panel which makes it appear even more noble than the previous model, the price of which it even undercuts by 250 euros. Apart from such cosmetic retouches, the developers have refined and optimized the basic design in many places and put virtually every part to the test by checking out alternatives. The quality fanatics from Yokohama have documented the quintessence of their futile efforts in a photograph (see page 36) in which they placed all checked, but discarded parts neatly packed in little plastic bags before and around the finished amp. Those who see it may have a better understanding why in particular Accuphase devices regularly leave the impression of masterpieces elaborately arranged by fine fingers and perfectly balanced in all of their properties. Among the most striking differences are the new MOS-FET power transistors, which allegedly have an even faster rise time and are also more potent than the previously used types. Six of them per channel sit in groups of three in a parallel push-pull layout on each of the two power amp blocks, which are arranged as usual on either side of the central power supply.
Lush & thrilling even at low volume
Earlier than the lab check where the E-480  a true-blue Accuphase here as well 
easily surpassed the already generous power specs given by the manufacturer, we learned that the new Accuphase (the perfectly crafted exterior of which would rather point to the dandy who prefers a gentle sound to a punchy one) has plenty of power and can dish out mercilessly, too. Thus it was huge fun, for instance, to connect
Burmester's new super turntable 175 to one of the two XLR inputs of the Japanese and let Kari Bremnes' ridiculously short and dry bass transients on her song
Spor  fire with a mighty volume level from the B&W 800D3s where it seemed indeed
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as if the amp was holding the Brit's large woofers in a vise grasp. The announcement fits in the picture that the damping factor of the E-480 could be increased once more,
which is why particularly the woofers of the connected loudspeakers should follow the amp's transients as precisely and vehemently as possible. At the same time the looming synthesizer clouds on this track could be heard floating lightly and lucid and also fully undisturbed by the superficial turmoil in the background, while the singer's high, clear voice appeared energetically dense and like pinned down between the speakers. The best and for everyday listening decisive fact is that even at low volume the amp didn't lose a bit of its thrilling fine and coarse dynamics and of its virile vividness. Discover the possibilities? Okay, we've understood. So for the moment we didn't do any more listening checks and explored instead the generous list of features.