Having recently launched the C-2300 preamplifier, replacing two series of preamplifiers in its own right, Yokohama manufacturer Accuphase is now renewing its power amplifiers, and at the same time presenting a new class A and a new class AB, both more robust than the previous series.
P-4600
Launched in July 2018, the P-4500 succeeded 2013’s P-4200, boasting 2 x 90 W at 8 Ω in class AB. Five months later, the A-75 was announced with 2 x 60 W into 8 Ω in pure Class A. Since then, integrated amplifiers have continued to grow, culminating in the E-800 (2 x 50W in class A) and E-5000 (2 x 240 W in class AB). So Accuphase needs to demonstrate a new interest to prefer separate components, which must inevitably move upmarket. The successors to the A-75 and P-4500 take 5 W respectively with the A-80 and 60 W with the P-4600, the latter peaking at 450 W under 2 Ω, compared with 360 W previously for the P-4500. Based on six parallel output stages per channel, the P-4600 also boasts an 18% noise reduction for a signal-to-noise ratio of up to 125 dB. Fully symmetrical, it improves its damping factor by 100, from 700 to 800.
A-80
For its part, the A-80 gains 5 W at 8 Ω, 10 W at 4 Ω and 20 W at 2 Ω. Also perfectly dual-mono, it reduces its noise by 7% compared with the previous generation, reaching a level of 16.1 μV, still 3.4 μV lower than the P-4600. Its damping factor is guaranteed to be on a par with that of the big A-300 mono block and the E-800, i.e. at least 1000, while power is developed by 10 MOS-FET output stages per channel in parallel. Numerous other improvements have been made to both products, and our first glimpse of the P-4600 impresses us with its contained power, which was higher than that of the E-5000 in our first musical impressions, despite the lower advertised data.
We hope to be able to tell you more about it in our next test drives!
