1[English Translation Test Accuphase E-5000 / LP 02/2023]

The Power
With the presentation of the Accuphase E-800 they could just as well havedeclared the end of the development road for the integrated amplifier – fromthere any further improvement is hardly imaginable.But maybe a slightly moresuitable solution for special needs?

Hierarchical Stats
We may breathe again: the E-800 (currently 15,500 EUR) is still and remains thebiggest integrated amplifier Accuphase has ever built. And with its peerless smoothand intense reproduction, it stands like no other as a symbol for how far one can get if
you know how to dose the class-A mode so finely like the engineers from Yokohama.
Although the E-800 will not seriously threaten to surrender to any speaker load,
Accuphase pursues a two-way strategy with both their power and integrated amplifiers.
There are sound transducers out there which can be handled in a better way with alittle less quiescent current and higher output power. In order to put an adequate device
from the class-AB domain next to the jubilee class-A modell E-800, likewise still underthe 50th anniversary flag, here comes now the E-5000 for 13,900 EUR.
Class Distinctions
And this one is a real blockbuster, that much I can already tell you. De facto we seehere the most powerful integrated amplifier the Japanese have ever designed. As to
its power specifications, one exercises discreet restraint as usual, but ourmeasurements speak for themselves: 250 watts of continuous power into eight and
400 watts into four ohms – this is quite a statement for an integrated amp. And it hasconsequences for the physique of the apparatus: with 211 millimeters of design heightthe E-5000 surpasses the previous AB top-of-the-line model E-480 by 30 millimetersin height and only has to subordinate to the E-800 in this respect – by 28 millimeters.
And yes, I’m very sure that this well visible gradation is not just due to technicalcircumstances, but purely intentional.
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In the brochure of the unit I am sorely missing the block diagram that’s otherwise
customary with Accuphase. From a technical viewpoint, no other manufacturer has
dared in the past to drop their pants so low like the Japanese. And still there’s no lackof detailed information: rumour has it that the power amp section is based on the mighty
P-7300 stereo power amplifier which, interestingly, boasts a lower nominal output
power into “normal“ speaker impedances and is said to have an edge withunrealistically low-impedance loads only.
Operation
In terms of operation and features the newbie follows, what else would you expect, theAccuphase tradition which has stood the test of time for so many years. As always it’snuances where newly developed appliances differ from their predecessors, the E-5000
doesn’t make any difference here. It’s such little details like the now golden glossy“collars“ around the volume control and the input selector switch that impart a touch ofeven more luxury. Or the brand-new pointer instruments which allow an even better
reading of low-level output values than in the past. An interesting detail in this context:
when setting the output power of the amp to exactly one watt into an eight-ohm load
(our Audio Precision Analyzer is incorruptible here), both instruments of the E-5000
will show one watt. Precisely. This doesn’t matter in practical use, but gives me thatimmensely reassuring feeling of precision down to the smallest detail as it can only befound with Accuphase. Big Accuphase amplifiers have always been known as highly
qualified partners for handling large equipment parks. In the case of the E-5000 thismeans: nine source devices (two of which balanced) plus one recording device can beconnected. Of course, there are connections for the preamp outs and the power ampins. Balanced and unbalanced – sure thing. And all the things which might interferewith the wonderfully clear front panel are stashed, of course, under the smoothly
opening cover cover flap: tone controls, speaker selector switch, every imaginable
mode selection as well as the parameterization for the optional input modules: currently
the AD-50 phono module, the DAC-60 D/A converter and the AD-10 line module areavailable. And, very clear, there is also a remote control that fits perfectly in the handand allows to command from your armchair a large part of what is provided. All of thisis on an equal footing with what the E-800 has to offer.

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Technical Details
Also in technical terms there are parallels between the two devices: both feature analmost completely balanced circuit design and rely on very similar circuit topologies.
Right after the input switching (of course directly on the spot via high-grade relays) a
discrete instrument amplifier assembly prepares the way for the uniquely elaborate
electronic AAVA volume control which is even used twice here. That’s why it also
generates balanced output signals in one go which are then passed on to the (naturallydefeatable) tone control network, a buffer amp and finally the power amp section withthe well-known, fully discrete dual-channel layout. Each of the modules forms acompact unit with its heatsink and is equipped with ten bi-polar power transistors whichhave no problem whatsoever to deliver the requested output powers. The requiredenergies are provided by an absolutely noiseless toroidal transformer that’s been
potted with a dampening substance; two impressive 40,000-microfarad electrolytic
capacitors take care of the filtering and smoothing of the operating voltages.
Behind the front sits the abundantly space-consuming volume control, doing its job well
protected from all possible noise sources there. Under the volume control knob we findthe probably most sophisticated rotary encoder the hi-fi world has ever seen. But
its ”rotary feel“ is also very unique indeed.
With their power amplifiers the Accuphase engineers have always attached great
importance to a maximum damping factor. And they come up with a lot of ideas for that.
In the E-5000, too, there are no more relays in the protective circuit; tiny SMD MosFets
have been used for some time to switch the output signal. In their latest version theirinternal resistance is now only a petty 1.9 milliohms.
So the big revolution in circuit design is not happening here, but it wasn’t necessary,either. It’s rather the sum of many small improvements which are supposed to lift theE-5000 to the top rank in its category.
SoundIf there is one loudspeaker which requires an amplifier with such performance
specifications, it will be the time-honored Dynaudio Consequence from the early 1980s.
The passive 5-way design with two 12” woofers in a compound configuration isregarded as probably the most power-hungry construction produced by the market
back then. As luck would have it, a pair of these challenges was at our disposal, andcertainly the E-5000 had to demonstrate if it could fire up the Danish ladies adequately.

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The result was nothing less than a shock. After all of what I had found in the house forcomparison hardly produced more than academic boredom, the E-5000 was like ahighly dosed shot of adrenaline. I’d never had guessed how incredibly forcefully andenergetically this woofer alignment can get down to bass business. What a superb
authenticity legendary double bass player Ray Brown can unleash with his friends of
LA4 via this arrangement – hats off. Rumbling, mighty, solid, but still fluent and delicate,
I’ve never heard this performance in a much more compelling way.
Stage. The second major conspicuity the E-5000 is capable of producing. To a degree
that it is imposing itself even without using the meticulous ”inner folding ruler“. Authority
in all room dimensions, perfect detachment from the speaker plain – the big Accuphase
does it with no sweat. At the same time the sound image always remains tonallyprecise, sovereign and straightforward. Firmly convinced that the whole thing would
topple with high-efficiency transducers, I connected a pair of 2-way field coilloudspeakers with 15“ woofers by Wolf von Langa. Topple? No way. Until today I havenever gotten so much energy, perseverance and vividness in all its colours out of this96-decibel speaker. For the horn tweeter, which is faltering a little with top-end level
weakness, the vigorous E-5000 was just the right means, as I have learned since.
Good to know that with the E-5000 there is now a tool available for those where things
don’t work out perfectly with the incomparably smooth and open E-800.
Holger Barske4