Complete review in STEREO magazine (Germany), Issue 06/2013

Accuphase Integrated Amplifier E-260

Boy, have you grown!
By Matthias Böde

The new E-260 is “small” only with respect to the ranking within Accuphase’sline-up of integrated amplifiers. Furthermore, it has long since outgrown theimage as premium “entry-level” amplifier.
It has always been considered the fairly reasonable entrance into the noble
world of high-end audio: the smallest integrated from Accuphase. This was neverbefore more true than with its most recent version E-260. It’s because never before
has the Yokohama-based maker implemented so much high-tech and sound quality
in its youngster, yet without having to increase the retail price at the same time. Well
this may also be attributed to the currently devaluated Yen towards Euro or Dollar.
Anyway, the new E-260 comes with coated side panels and a substantially more solidcase than its predecessor. And like its bigger brothers this 20-kg-beauty now also
features the numeric (dB) volume level display.
In order to make the E-260 a worthwhile investment for years to come – audiocomponents from Accuphase are famous for their longevity – the engineers in
Yokohama have employed only parts of the highest quality, like for instance gas-tight,
decently clicking relays and even for this “entry-level class” have avoided
conventional potentiometers as they might become susceptible to faults sometime in
the future. Instead, the E-260 comes equipped with the ingenious, microprocessorcontrolled “Accuphase Analog Vari-gain Amplifier”, in brief: AAVA, which by means ofvoltage-current amplifiers is to convert the incoming musical signal into 16 weighted
current stages which are then activated or de-activated by subsequent current
switches, depending on the position of the volume control knob. Thus, a sensitive
adjustment in fine gradations is achieved over the entire volume range. Besides thelong-term stability, Accuphase mentions lowest distortions and noise as well as
absolute channel balance even at low volume levels to be the essential advantagesof this AAVA concept, whereby the E-260 was to receive the most recentimplementation.

Next to the current feedback circuitry for utmost phase definition up to thehighest frequencies, the enhanced damping factor ought to be mentioned, which,when compared to the E-250, is to result in a much better and effective control of thespeakers. When playing “Wake me up…” by the duo Le Bang Bang from Munich(STEREO Listening Test CD VII) we were indeed startled whilst the E-260 hammered
the vehement and dry bass pulses into the woofers of DALI’s Epicon 6 speakers.
Never before had we heard any small integrated from Accuphase playing with such
verve and authority.

1Attack and Enthusiasm
The short intro of “Wake me up…” didn’t promise too much because the sometimes
plucked, sometimes stricken strings of the double bass in this song were vividly
rendered with lots of tautness and springy agility. Also the brief and fierce drum beatsin the subsequent “Attempo” played by the Antonio Forcione Quartet was displayedby the E-260 as if there would be a bunch of balloons just busting between thespeakers.
“Dynamics” has ever since been a highlight inherent in amplifiers fromAccuphase and this “small” newcomer is no exception. It has once again set abenchmark in this range – including a driving, straightforward pace of sheer music.
We had the bigger E-360 running alongside, which, well, played a tad more relaxed,smoother and with aplomb, yet its little brother was definitely on par with respect toattack and enthusiasm. In fact a performance that sounded much more powerful than
the spec sheet would tell us.
In order to sound like a big amp rendering music at a smoother pace, theE-260 needs a shake down for a certain time. This became evident when we listened
to a piece by the Norwegian choir SKRUK, which is also part of STEREO’s newlistening test CD. The singing usually comes over like a balmy breeze in summer but
the E-260 just out of the box put a kind of icy gleam over the voices. The same
happened with bowed strings and S-syllables. Well, no sweat! After some hours ofoperation these tonal restrictions are completely gone. Once played-in and switchedon, the E-260 is up and ready after a few minutes while never becoming gemütlich.
Accuphase’s “big little one” prefers to display voices as well as instruments ina very precise manner which is supporting the impression of three-dimensionality.
Furthermore, it defines the distance among the musicians on stage also in depth, likeon a drawing board. The rendered sound picture is not excessively widespread but
rather tends to the front edge of the stage and thus underlining its awesome
directness. Overall a fearnaught, yet very detailed, which is likely to drive the wax outof a listener’s ear.
Pretty big, that “little one”!
That very listener however will soon fall in love with an amp that knows how to take abull by the horn. He will also savour the smooth feel conveyed by the volume knob,
although he might be aware of the fact that there is merely a pulse transmitter behind.
Last but not least, he’ll enjoy the many operational features of the E-260 which in
today’s spirit of time are so often sacrificed to high-end purism. This integrated not
only offers quite a number of inputs but also comes with an excellent output forheadphones, tape in/out with monitor function and the sometimes oh so usefulbalance control and mono switch.
Another speciality is the option slot at the rear panel which looks forward toeither receive the optional high-class phono MM/MC module AD-20 or alternatively
the brilliant converter board DAC-30 (24 Bit/96 kHz & USB). Well, in view of the sonicperformance as well as the abundance of useful features this amp cannot be called
merely half-baked, but in fact adult and ambitious? Exactly! And therefore, with acheering smile at Accuphase’s youngest and smallest offspring, all we can say is:“Boy, have you grown!”2