ACCUPHASE A-300
Power amplifiers
For Accuphase, the A-300 monoblock amplifier is considered a jewel in the crown. Although it is not the most powerful amp in their line-up – the P-7500 is with its 2x300W in Class AB – it is certainly the most powerful Class A device of the Japanese manufacturer. Recently, I have reviewed the A-80 stereo amp, which can be seen as a stereo version of the A-300. It is not. I was not ready for such a big performance gap between those two. While previously, model by model, Accuphase progressed in steps, now they have made a big jump.
Function and form
The A-300 once again uses MOS-FET devices, 20 in a parallel push-pull configuration, with 100,000μF of filtering capacity, providing the output 125W/250W/500W/1000W into 8/4/2/1 ohms. Accuphase always specifies a very conservative continuous musical output wattage; the dynamic power will probably be higher by around 50%. The A-70, which I had lived with for two years, was specified as 2x120W into 4 ohms, and it delivered about 2x200W in reality. So, make your calculation. If need be, the A-300 can be bridged for 500/1000/2000 watts of output.
The major difference between the A-300 and the A-250 is the position of the power transformer and filtering capacitors. The A-300 placed the power transformer away from the discrete input amplifier, which helped to minimize the influence of leakage flux from the power transformer. On top of that, the amplifier allows to select the gain level. You can leave it fully open, or choose lower settings -3dB, -6dB, and -12dB. The gain switching is achieved by controlling the gain of the input amplifier section rather than attenuating the input signal with an attenuator, so lower gain settings help achieve even lower noise floor. Accuphase specifies the signal-to-noise ratio as 130dB, which is an amazing value. I highly recommend using the A-300 in the -12dB gain mode, for the sound becomes more relaxed and the contrasts between music and silence are among the best I’ve ever heard. The A-300 is a super-quiet device.
The fit and finish is of usual Accuphase standards. This means state-of-the-art craftsmanship and a big attention to details. Most functions are hidden behind a metal flap on the front panel. There you can choose the mode of the display and metering including peak hold times, switch inputs (RCA/XLR), and choose the gain values. For the XLR input, there is a polarity switch on the rear panel too. The weight of 46kg for each monoblock also owes to a lot of aluminium and large heatsinks, that become quite warm during operation.
Bass management
For most of my critical listening, I used Chesky's The Guide To Critical Listening sampler, as there is minimum post-processing and David Chesky tried to capture live instruments and voices in their natural reverberant fields, with simple miking techniques. I also decreased the A-300’s gain by -12dB, and the final 16dB of gain allowed me to play into rather sensitive speakers directly from the Accuphase DP-770 SACD player with its digital output fully open digital output with no attenuation. This way, there was actually no volume control at all in the entire playback chain and the signal could flow in its purest form.
The resolution of the A-300 was otherworldly, and it was certainly mostly due to the aforementioned fantastic signal-to-noise ratio of both the amplifier and the player. Thus, I could hear nuances like quickly the felt settled on the holes of the saxophone's body as it was played, I could hear how the mouth and the wooden reed modulated the tone, and how the air rushed out of the instrument’s bell. Similar magic happened with the solo double bass. The A-300 conveyed an incredibly deep insight into how the sound of the double bass was initiated, from the fingers to the strings and fingerboard, to the massive wooden body and its resonances. But perhaps what I liked most was another detail – I could literally hear the finger bellies pulling on the taut strings and modulating this tension. I've never heard something like this with any high-end audio component. And it was highly addictive, and I knew right away that this was exactly how I wanted to hear it in my resident system too.
Clarity & delicacy
In the minimalistically recorded and gradually culminating drum solo, apart from many other nuances, imaging capabilities of the A-300 stood out. The A-300 placed the individual pieces of the drum kit accurately in all three axes of spatial perspective, which resulted into I had a live musician in front of me, and I could watch his hands with drumsticks moving through space.
When I switched to a chamber music piece, the Accuphase similarly sovereignly placed the ensemble at the front of the room, with all the pinpoint imaging and exuberant colours of the winds and strings. Once again, the contrast between silence and music was huge, and all the musical events emerged from superbly captured ambience of the recording, not from the background noise of the electronics. This type of noise usually remains unnoticed, until it is removed. And once it is removed, there is no way back and you cannot listen to your previous piece of equipment anymore. Noisewise, the A-300 is at the limit of what laboratory analytical equipment can do.
Tonal accuracy
I know Class-A power amps of Accuphase quite intimately as I owned some in the past. Despite all that they did well, they had some reserves. There was always certain elegant softening of sound, the one that made the sound luxurious but robbed the music of punch. This house-style was also present at the A-300, as it was present at the Accuphase DP-770 player that I wrote about in my recent review. For example, I would expect more initial energy from bowed violins, more of the ‘the bow hits strings’. I would also expect a bit more percussive transient of the hammer hitting piano’s strings. I would expect more bite from saxophones and trumpets, more punch from drums, and so on.
On the other hand, there are always trade-offs. If sound bites too much, we are unhappy, if it bites not enough, we are unhappy. Plus, it all depends on the recorded material, which is why I reached for the aforementioned Chesky sampler, as there I can be sure of what I'm listening to. Another important part of the game is the choice of loudspeakers. The Fyne Audio that I used, presented an exceptional synergy with Accuphase, especially thanks to its high sensitivity (94dB) and the concentric driver architecture. As a result, I didn't mind the softening, as everything else was so correct and so captivating. On audio forums, Accuphase owners speculate what if the Class-A power amplifier would be complemented by a Class-AB Accuphase in bi-amping configuration, to bring the punch back and not to lose the other strengths. I do not have a personal experience with such a set-up, but I don’t believe in such combinations.
However, I could compare head-to-head the A-300 monos with the A-80 stereo, which sits below the monos in the Accuphase’s hierarchy. My hope that these two will be just incrementally different died very fast. The A-300 monos are so much better, no matter which parameter you focus on. As I outlined before, in Accuphase they made a jump and opened the gap between the top model and the next in line.
Spatial resolution
Rebecca Pidgeon´s Spanish Harlem was superbly transparent and resolved through the Accuphase, with beautiful tonality of both Rebecca’s voice and instrumentation. In the world of fragrances, such the sound would be characterized as “the sound of a mature man who knows what he wants.” And although I had left Accuphase power amps years ago, I suddenly felt the urge to own a pair of the A-300s. Perhaps not as a primary system, but definitely as a secondary one so that I could savour the music and its inner beauty. The way the A-300 plays the music is unlike any other, and there is nothing wrong with having a Bentley in your garage next to your BMW. Just don’t use it for a rally.
Recommended resellers
Perfect Sound Group, Praha, tel. +420 722 960 690
Nisel SK, Bratislava, tel. +421 905 203 078
Manufacturer's website: http://www.accuphase.com
Associated components
- Sources: Accuphase DP-770 SACD
- Loudspeakers: KEF R-11 Meta, Fyne Audio F703SP
- Amplifiers: Accuphase A-80
- Interconnects and speaker cables: Nordost Heimdall, Nordost Tyr V2
- Power conditioning: IsoTek GII Optimum, IsoTek V5 Sigmas, Nordost Qb8, Nordost Tyr V2
ACCUPHASE A-300
For Accuphase, the A-300 monoblock amplifier is considered a jewel in the crown. Although it is not the most powerful amp in their line-up – the P-7500 is with its 2x300W in Class AB – it is certainly the most powerful Class A device ...
Recommended resellers
Perfect Sound Group, Praha, tel. +420 722 960 690
Nisel SK, Bratislava, tel. +421 905 203 078
ACCUPHASE A-65
The A-65 has a better bottom-end control and though it does not equal to the solidness of, let's say, Bryston or Plinius, the improvement has moved the new amp in the right direction. Overall, the Accuphase A-65 is more refined, ...
Recommended resellers
Nisel SK, Bratislava, tel. +421 905 203 078
ACCUPHASE A-80
Before any critical listening, let the amplifier warm up for an hour, as it does not do its best when cold. When I owned A-70, I never switched it off, although I acknowledge it was quite an expensive for the Class A drew over 200 ...
Recommended resellers
Perfect Sound Group, Praha, tel. +420 722 960 690
Nisel SK, Bratislava, tel. +421 905 203 078
APOLLON AUDIO PET 950
Eigentakt is the current last word in Class D amplifier technology. It marries Class D efficiency and clean output power, low impedance rating, and compact design to vanishingly low harmonic and intermodulation distortion, and ...
Recommended resellers
Apollon Audio direct webshop
ASR Emitter II Exclusive Blue
When mankind is eliminated by a gigantic volcano eruption, a tsunami or Godzilla, most parts of the Emitter will remain to exist as this amplifier is dustproof, waterproof and heatproof. The ASR's catalogue is far from complicated - ...
Recommended resellers
Audiostudio s.r.o., Olomouc, tel. +420 608 752 475
AUDIO RESEARCH Reference 80S
Audio Research is an amplifier legend. The brand had been expected to get a boost when it was acquired by Fine Sounds Group (now transformed into McIntosh Group), however, the lift off did not happen. Recently the brand has been ...
Recommended resellers
HI-FI studio TYKON, Ostrava, tel. +420 723 449 894
AUDIOLAB 8300MB
Bass is essential. Music is no fun without good fundaments, unless one prefers listening to flute recitals only. In a recording studio the bass, that is the drums and the bass guitar, are the first thing that has to be gotten right ...
Recommended resellers
Horn Distribution, Praha, +420 272 656 485