Unveiled in a world premiere at Accuphase’s headquarters in Yokohama, as you may have seen in our widely shared videos on social media, Accuphase’s benchmark line preamplifier becomes the C-3900S.
Like the E-800 and A-48 before it, and soon to be followed by the replacement for the DP-570 SACD player, the letter S appears in the names of all the new models, marking a return to a catalog renewal technique used by the manufacturer in the previous century. As such, these are not just partial improvements, but entirely new devices.
However, Accuphase had already gone so far in its technological perfectionism with the C-3900, that this time, the brand seems to be making just a few improvements with the C-3900S. As we heard when comparing it to the old model, the new one is even purer, thanks in particular to the optimization and changes to certain components on the AAVA dual symmetrical circuit, with feedback control by the ANCC noise cancellation circuit, which has been made even more reliable. As a result, operating noise is reduced by 15% compared to the C-3900, but since the latter was already at 1.07 μV at the -18 dB volume position, the C-3900S reaches an even more infinitesimal level of 0.91 μV.
The overall structure is even more rigid, with a total weight of 25.3 kg, compared to 24.6 kg on the previous model. This is due to the internal panels in a large solid aluminum block to separate each part, as well as the two enormous toroidal transformers, which would not look out of place in a powerful power amplifier, and six filter capacitors of 10,000 μF each per channel, in a fully dual-mono end-to-end architecture.
The control panel, which is still as easy to slide open by pressing the hatch button (removable version only available on the C-2900 preamplifier), has changed very little, offering the same options for managing gain, outputs, left-right balance, and compensation. The front panel also remains very similar to the previous model, although the indicators under the LEDs are more clearly marked as they are now placed under the glass plate rather than inside it.
On the rear panel, the plethora of balanced and unbalanced inputs and outputs have only changed in that their circuits have sometimes been improved in terms of internal components, while the wood cabinet retains its two ventilation grilles on the top. Based on what we heard in the Accuphase auditorium, we can confirm that the C-3900S goes even further than the C-3900, without urging you, except for the purists among you, to invest in the new model if you already have the recent one. On the other hand, if you were hesitant to purchase the C-3900, the C-3900S will dispel all your doubts.
22/10/2025
