Stereoplay E 250 04 2009e

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Complete review in Stereoplay magazine (Germany), Issue 4/2009

Accuphase Integrated Amplifier E-250
by Johannes Maier

The Little Prince
With the E-250 Accuphase is presenting the new integrated youngster.
Explosive power may not be expected by hi-fi fans, but perhaps all the more a sterling sound?
Actually, the new amp from Accuphase should not merely be called E-250 but should rather be decorated - next to its type designation - with a title of nobility. After all, which other integrated amplifier can proudly look back onto such an impressive gallery of ancestral portraits, i.e. from the vintage E-202 of 1975 via -203, -205, -206,
-210, -211, -212 till E-213, which was reviewed in Stereoplay July 2005.
Consequently, the E-250's manner of appearance is rather conservative. The customary meters on the front panel will always tell you the transferred power by their majestically waving indicators. And once again, this Accuphase amp will have faith in every knowing and experienced audiophile to make responsible use of the loudness compensator, tone controls and tape monitor switch provided. It's nice to see that - like in the past - one can choose between speaker output A and B, which are to be connected to some hefty terminals. It's also prime to have the input selector knob engaging altogether six high-level inputs plus an additional input to be realised by two alternative boards optionally available from Accuphase as DAC-20 or AD-20
for vinyl aficionados.
Last but not least, the new Accuphase can be connected to a CD player via a dedicated XLR input, yet not necessarily so, because the signal becomes unbalanced right after the input, whereby at this spot some common amplifier ICs are used rather than the more sophisticated, special instrumentation amps employed in its bigger brothers.
On the other hand, much more than by history and features, the E-250 is to excel by its electronic volume control now dubbed AAVA-II (see insert "Loud and Wise") which can also be found in the preamplifier C-2110. Quite unlike conventional methods of volume control this one was made to refrain from decreasing the signal-to-noise ratio and hence the dynamics in music. And whilst one could consider the previous AAVA
circuitries providing more or less a grave for ICs, Accuphase managed to straighten the circuitry layout in the E-250.
Strong input amplifiers, custom-made precision metal-film resistors with odd values as well as an array of meticulously operating switching ICs: a certain complexity is evident yet this complexity seems to remain within reason. Well,
perhaps only so far that in the foreseeable future similar circuitries might appear in the amplifiers of various competitors. We at Stereoplay could make a bet on that!
Owing to the solid preparatory work of the AAVA-II circuitry, a dualconstruction of the input circuits for the power section, as can still be found in the predecessor E-213, does no longer make sense. Instead, Accuphase has
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implemented an even more elaborate layout of current feedback. Now, before this feedback is to take corrective action in the input circuit, a specially processed portion of the input signal is added. Indeed a technical delicacy from which an engineer can easily read out the possibilities of a particularly subtle optimisation with respect to distortions.