Following our article on the brand’s new E4000 amplifier (VUmètre 46), some people asked us why choose a class A/B amplifier from this range when the famous Japanese brand has a pure class A E650 in its catalogue. So we came up with the idea of producing a comparison – to our knowledge unavailable in any other magazine at the moment – between the manufacturer’s two biggest integrated amplifiers, the Accuphase E5000, rated at 240W under 8 ohms in class A/B, and the Accuphase E800, capable of reaching 50W under 8 ohms in class A.
As yet unreviewed in our magazine, the E5000 and E800 are two very high-level integrateds, instantly recognisable by their champagne colour, their meters and, compared with other Accuphase models, their height. The larger of the two models, the E800 was introduced at the end of 2019 and measures 23.9 cm in height, making it slightly less well-proportioned than the smaller E650 or E4000, but giving it a massive character apt to forestall its impressive power.
At 28 mm shorter, the E5000 (21.1 cm high) looks more classy, especially as, like all the Yokohama company’s class A/B units, it has two handsome analogue needle-type meters, whereas those on class A amps are digital with LEDs.
Class A versus Class A/B
When you open the cover, an Accuphase is still an Accuphase, and at first glance it’s hard to tell why one is Class A and the other Class A/B. The E5000, which appeared in 2022 as one of the products to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the brand created by the Naikachi brothers and Jiro Kasuga, uses the same components and architecture as the E800, apart from a few details.
In both cases, a huge thorium transformer is placed in the centre of the device, just behind two massive filter capacitors, firmly held together by a copper plate. With a capacitance of 60,000 μF each on the E800, the capacitors offer a filtering capacity of just 40,000 μF on the E5000, while both benefit from a major improvement in the damping factor, up to 1000 on both models.
Two large heat sinks are incorporated around the chassis, on the left and right, to house the power circuits, and this is where the difference between the two devices lies. Four in number on the E4000, the bipolar push-pull transistors rated at 15 A These transistors are controlled in class A/B to develop 240 W at 8 ohms and 320 W at 4 ohms, phenomenal figures when you consider that most stereo amplifiers are in the region of 50 or 80 W.
On the E800, on the other hand, we find the class A structure of the A-48, this time with a structure defined by six parallel MOS-FET push-pull transistors of 33 A each. As a result, the power developed is no longer diluted between class A and B, but only delivered in class A to reach values of 50 W at 8 ohms and 100 W at 4 ohms, less impressive values but in reality just as enormous.
AAVA preamplification and balanced volume control
On the preamplification side, both devices benefit from the best advances made by the brand, already described recently with the E4000. We find the well-known AAVA volume management system in its symmetrical version, even more advanced on the E5000 than on the E800 because it has benefited from improvements found by engineers between 2019 and 2021.
In both cases, purely separate between the left and right channels, the Accuphase Analog Vari-gain Amplifier circuit eliminates the solution of variable relays and resistors in the signal path. This circuit is integrated into a gold-plated PCB plate, with a sequence of current-to-voltage and then voltage-to-current converters, and before that an input amplifier with current feedback. The volume knob is controlled by a DC motor when the remote control is used, firmly mounted on a large aluminium plate produced by a CNC machine.
Once again slightly reworked recently, the most recent remote control is that of the E5000, the RC-250, while the E800 has to make do with the RC-240, but the differences are minimal and if you already own an Accuphase device less than 2 years old, you can be sure that all the remotes will allow you to manage all the products in your system.
As far as inputs and outputs are concerned, as well as the sound adjustments available, everything remains identical or almost identical to all the brand’s integrated units, which means you can vary the balance, treble and bass, or choose between one or two pairs of speakers, or even bi-wire the speakers if they allow it, for the benefit of both the ductility of the amplifier and the structure of the message returned by the speakers.
At the rear, there are two card slots, with the option of integrating the DAC-60 digital-to-analogue conversion card or the brand new AC-60 phono card, presented at the end of May at the same time as the new C-2300 preamplifier. Five RCA inputs allow you to connect all the sources you want, even if we recommend that you use XLR inputs on these balanced devices, two pairs on the E5000 and three on the E800; all the inputs can be selected using the left-hand dial on the front panel.
The set up
A handful of shops in France stock both the E5000 and the E800, but to carry out our comparative listening of Accuphase’s finest integrateds, it seemed obvious to go to the brand’s historic dealer, Music Hall, which has the widest range of the manufacturer’s products. What’s more, it was here, in the very centre of Paris, that we had the opportunity a week earlier to meet the entire management team of the Japanese company, including its current president, Jim S. Saito.
To maximise the reliability of the source quality, we chose the best with the Accuphase transport SACD-DAC DP-1000 & DC-1000 pair, followed by the Aurender N30SA for dematerialised music. However, the real difference came with the loudspeakers, because the results were not at all the same with the Sonus Faber Olympica Nova III as with the Wilson Audio Sabrina X, admittedly twice as expensive, but also much more capable of bringing out all the sound components of the two amplifiers, without either of them ever being faulted for their power.
The sound
Connected first to Sonus Faber Olympica Nova III loudspeakers (€13,000) in a similar price range to the amplifiers, the E5000 and E800 express their full character in a matter of seconds, each with enormous, well-contained power and a fluidity that is just as impressive in class AB as in class A. With the E5000, the sound is a little less rounded, but the fact that it is the latest to be released and in class AB ensures that noise is reduced even further than with the class A, for an extremely dark soundstage, which frees up the speakers in particular and unleashes sounds to superb levels.
We might prefer a warmer effect from the E800, but when it comes to precision, the E5000 wins (on the margin, since both units are so good), with details that benefit particularly from the extra sharpness to compensate for a certain freedom of the loudspeakers. On more complex music such as Mozart’s Requiem (Bernstein, DG) or electro music such as Lombard Street’s ‘Play my Tune’, the extra power of the attacks favours the E5000, even if the width of the soundstage is even more remarkable with the E800 (€1,500 more expensive than its counterpart).
With a network player that’s among the best in the world, used as much as possible with its internal hard drive, still superior to Qobuz Hi Res playback, and above all connected to Wilson Audio’s Sabrina X American speakers (€27,900), all plugged into the mains on the new Accuphase PS-1250 conditioner, the musical result goes up another notch.
And here, it’s clearly in favour of the E800, because while our (bad) habit of listening to the best systems in the world leads us to seek out the purest possible scenes (again in favour of the E-5000 in this configuration), this time the E800 really takes things further in terms of realism, as well as being the most perfect in terms of timbre. Far from demeriting, the E5000 shows a rare flexibility for a class AB, very comfortable with its 320 W per channel under 4 ohms, but it remains a little tenser than the E800.
Faced with the excellent spectral balance of the Wilson Audio, the quality of detail promulgated by the Accuphase amplifiers never lets anything spill over, and we find truly splendid detailing of voices and most elements. In terms of depth, the E5000 goes a long way, but the E800 and its 100 W in class A at 4 ohms gains even more in volume and airiness, for a stage that expands, transporting us to the Jesus-Christus Kirsche with Karajan for Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (1962, DG), or in front of Nicola Benedetti for Wynton Marsalis’ Concerto in D (2019, Decca), heard more finely on this hi-fi system than live the day before at the Philharmonie de Paris!
Our conclusion
Accuphase’s best integrated amplifiers at this level of hi-fi, the E800 and E5000 achieve sonic heights that can only be surpassed today by very high-end separate amplifier-preamplifier pairs. The E5000’s power of attack and finesse of detail and purity are very impressive, and it can compensate for all the shortcomings or accentuations of many sources and loudspeakers in its range. It also has the advantage of consuming less power and heating less, a real bonus given the ecological constraints and the summers we now experience every year. Even clearer when it comes to reducing noise, it is perfectly convincing in its range and will satisfy a large number of listeners, especially those who are looking for precision above all else.
Even livelier and rounder, the E800 uses Class A and its 50 W or 100 W power to create even more shimmer and clarity in timbre. At a slightly higher price point, it also performs even better when paired with components of twice the range, for both sources and speakers. So, if you’re prepared to pay this substantial sum with a view to keeping these devices for several decades, as there’s little risk of them becoming obsolete for many years to come, you should make the comparison! But if you want to buy with your eyes shut, then the E800 is the more attractive of the two.
Auhtor: Vincent Guillemin
Technical sheet: Accuphase E5000
- Origin: Japan
- Price : €13,490
- Dimensions : 465 x 211 x 502 mm
- Weight : 33,8 kg
- Amplification type : Class A/B
- Power rating :
- 2 x 240 W at 8 ohms
- 2 x 320 W at 4 ohms
- Harmonic distortion (THD ): 0.05
- Frequency response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz (+/-0.5 dB)
- Signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ): 104 dB
- Analogue connections:
- Inputs: 5 x RCA; 2 x XLR; 1 x RCA Main In; 1 x XLR Main In; 2 x slots (optional)
- Outputs: 1 x RCA Pre Out; 1 x XLR Pre Out
Technical sheet: Accuphase E800
- Origin: Japan
- Price : €14,990
- Dimensions : 465 x 239 x 502 mm
- Weight : 36 kg
- Amplification type : Class A
- Power rating :
- 2 x 50 W at 8 ohms
- 2 x 100 W at 4 ohms
- Harmonic distortion (THD ): 0.05
- Frequency response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz (+/-0.5 dB)
- Signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ): 104 dB
- Analogue connections:
- Inputs: 5 x RCA; 3 x XLR; 1 x RCA Main In; 1 x XLR Main In; 2 x slots (optional)
- Outputs: 1 x RCA Pre Out; 1 x XLR Pre Out
