Reflections from the Silence
Can seemingly lifeless objects have a soothing effect on humans? Can anamplifier communicate tranquility and at the same time deliver a fascinatingmusic rendition?

”Reflections from the Silence“ (in the original: ”Tsurezuregusa“) is a little book withessayistic thoughts of Japanese officer, poet and Buddhist monk Yoshida Kenkō(1283–1350), which has survived the centuries as a canonical oeuvre of theJapanese society. In their standard work ”A History of Japan“, R.H.P. Mason and J.G.
Caiger outline that Kenkō is ”a wordly-wise gentleman with a distinctive sense ofwhat is beautiful in this world of change“. The folks of Accuphase Laboratory fromYokohama City also seem to have had this sense when designing their latest power
amplifier.
Following my test reports of the Carmel 2 speakers (image hifi 5/2015) and theAccuphase M-6200 mono power blocks (image hifi 6/2016), I now have the pleasure
to review yet another P.I.A. sales product, the P-7300. But this time the bar has been
set higher. Of course I didn’t have to do without the Accuphase reference chain oflast time – the DP-720 CD player, the C-2850 preamp and the PS-1230 power supply(which keeps amazing me in terms of power cleaning and the deceleration andsmoothing of the sound image that go with it), were once again at my disposal
including an XLR wiring. However, this time I had to transfer my previous Accuphaseknowledge to a different set of loudspeakers, because after nearly two years ofreference status at the image listening room, the YG Carmel 2 is now in private
service.
With four years of the development time for the P-7300 was shorter than the fiveyears usually required. Perhaps it was due to chief engineer Takahiro Koyano who is
only 30 years old and thus relatively young. But Accuphase’s confidence in him
proves that the company is open for fresh, new ideas and thinking ahead. After hisstudies, Koyano worked as a tester for semiconductor circuits at Yamaha. When hemade the acquaintance of an Accuphase engineer at an Accuphase dealer show, heurgently wanted to switch to this traditional enterprise from Yokohama, something hesucceeded to do so in 2013. Koyano-san is both an audiophile and a musician – heplays the violin. With the P-7300 he worked very hard to simplify the circuit layout ofthe power amp modules and their construction, especially with regard to thefeedback loop. As a result of his design work, the signal-to-noise ratio, the distortion
values and also the damping factor could be considerably improved, comparedagainst the previous model P-7100. Koyano himself is a little amused when herecalls the design work was so much fun that he didn’t sense the well over 50 kilos at
all when he was constantly lugging the P-7300 around.
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Talking about sensation. One of the biggest achievements of the entire topicalAccuphase amplifier series, and of the P-7300 in particular, is their almost incredibly
low noise. Following a hint from the distributor, and with the volume control fully
turned up, I carefully held my ear at the tweeter of the DeVore Gibbon X loudspeaker,
over which I was first checking the power amp prior to music listening. It’s not that I
really love doing such things, yet with Accuphase amps there is the safety that I will
still be able to hear something afterwards. But I didn’t hear a thing, absolutely nothing.
The power amp is so quiet that you’ll honestly need to check out if it’s been turned on
at all. Owing to this virtually total absence of a noise floor, one can undisturbedly
follow the most delicate dynamic ramifications like, for example, on the soundtrack ofThomas Riedelsheimer’s great movie ”Touch the sound“ (Normal N 267, CD 2004).
The film is about the almost completely deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie who,
together with the Japanese drum ensemble Ondekoza, unleashes an overwhelmingly
realistic drum firework on her percussion kit. How the heads of the relevant
instruments are ”hit“, i. e. the way in which we can witness how the mallet hits thedrums, evokes the wonderful film pictures in me again. On ”Nha Sibitchi“ on the CD
Navega by the Capverdian singer Mayra Andrade (Sony Jazz 88697105642, CD2007), Accuphase and the meanwhile connected Boenicke W11 SE+ are unfolding asoundscape which reminds me of a Kodachrome photograph: Almost more beautiful
than the original, it sounds breezy, fluffy, danceable, and I can’t imagine any listener
wondering if he’s just listening to canned music, not to mention to a CD. On Miles
Davis’ Kind of Blue (Columbia Legacy CK 64935, CD 1997, USA) I can quite easily
comprehend the often barely audible bass runs while I enjoy the calmness of thesound image, the striking three-dimensionality and that overall purity of thereproduction without the faintest trace of sterility. Time and again, the notion occurs
to me: ”This is ’true‘ high-end.“In principle, the P-7300 is to be understood as the stereo version of the M-6200
mono power amps. It’s the most powerful stereo power amp in the Accuphase class
A/B family which deviates from the pure class A path in favor of a higher output. Forcomparison: the A-70, the biggest class A stereo power amp in the portfolio, is rated
at 65 watts into 8 ohms, the P-7300 boasts a hefty 125 watts. Although exactly
identical in weight with its predecessor P-7100, the P-7300 is a little smaller andmore compact. The die-cast aluminum heatsinks on both sides, which hold theamplifier modules, provide a very efficient heat dissipation – the amp gets just about
lukewarm. Moreover, the frame profiles are screwed to the front panel and thechassis to form a super solid entity. The P-7300 is equipped with ten bipolar powertransistors working in parallel push-pull mode (thus 20 pieces per channel) – in theM-6200 monos there are eight of them. Among other things, they ensure a very highcurrent capability, even so they are not fully driven, but only run at about a quarter of
their potential performance yield. This is supposed to improve the synchronization,
extend the transistors’ life and reduce the noise even more – provided it was audibleat all before. Here it’s not only about the ear-evident practical utility of the missing
noise, but first and foremost about the freedom from undesired intermodulations,2hence, in the final conclusion, the clarity and precision of the reproduction. At 12 mV
the signal-to-noise ratio of the P-7300 lies on the same possibly record-breaking low
level as with the M-6200 monos (11 mV) – the value of the earlier P-7100 has thus
been halved. This is particularly remarkable, because such a value can’t be realized
as easily in the far more cramped environment of a stereo power amp as in mono
power amps. So you could use one or two – also mono bridgeable – P-7300s in ahigh-sensitivity (horn-loaded) multi-channel system without a hitch.
The acoustic eight-cylinder engine of the M-6200 monos has turned into a 10cylinder version which, metaphorically speaking, produces lightning-fast dynamic
jumps and whisper-quiet, subtlest information due to its enormous torque.
I can’t remember ever having seen such a huge mains transformer like the one in theP-7300: it weighs in at 14.6 kilograms [32.2 lbs.]. Why do people do such things?
Accuphase appreciates power reserves so that their amplifiers can be ”revved up“ ina laid-back way. It is flanked by two gigantic 56,000 mF power supply electrolytic
caps (actually designed for hybrid cars). Like the mains transformer, they have been
tuned for minimal vibrations. The simplified ground routing was borrowed from themono power amp sisters, just like the driver stage with its discrete differential
amplifier for fully balanced signal paths, as it can also be found in measurement
devices.
Sven Boenicke’s loudspeakers are equally some sort of measurement device foramplifiers. The W11 SE+ are different in character from the YG Carmel 2, but hardly
less fascinating. Concerning the amplifiers that are a good match for them, bothspeakers are similarly demanding. It’s not by chance that Sven Boenicke likes to dodemos at hi-fi shows using his own 400 watt class D power amps. With the P-7300
he would now have another fantastic option. This becomes particularly evident with
Thomas Newman’s soundtrack of the modern movie classic ”American
Beauty“ (DreamWorks Records 0044-50233-2, CD 2000). Newman’s music has
certainly influenced more (film) composers than any other in the past 20, 30 years –right up to pre-prime-time programs and ringtones. The spectacular extended
dynamic range of the recording has already brought quite a few loudspeakers andalso some amplifiers down to their knees. On the contrary, the Japanese-Swiss teamis sailing through all musical obstacles in such an unaffected, sovereign way –starting with ”Dead Already“ and its meanwhile famous Marimba theme – that I canonly marvel. Likewise I’m amazed at the seemingly endless room which is spreadingon Don Grolnick’s ”Pointing at the Moon“ on Hearts and Numbers (HipPocket HD 106,CD, US 1985). The build-up of suspense and every dynamic nuance can beexperienced like live at the studio. Steve Jordan’s drum power and the sound of his
cymbals are standing in the room with the same presence as the complex rhythmicalvariations in his interaction with Will Lee’s bass runs. With this amplifier-speakercombination, so it seems to me, probably any kind of music is bound to turn into asheer delight.
3For the synergy with the Boenicke the extremely high damping factor of the P-7300 isvery important. Of course, the value of at least 1000 represents merely a relative
quantity which becomes only effective in the interaction between amp and speaker.
But here this figure manifests itself pretty fast. As confidently as the M-6200 monos
were dealing with the highly demanding YG Carmel 2, as casually the P-7300 is nowdancing its tango with the Boenicke W11 SE+. Because, as was already indicatedabove, the Boenicke imposes comparably high requirements on amplifiers: they must
be voltage stable and show themselves unimpressed even by mean impedance dips.
Another very important ”sound factor“ is the sensitive feedback in the power amp,
referred to as ”Balanced Remote Sensing“ by Accuphase. It was refined once again
and, according to Accuphase, now almost behaves like a zero-feedback circuitry,
which is to benefit the fine, smooth sound – also because the distortions could befurther reduced. The overall gain is the same as in the P-7100, yet weighted
differently: in the input section it was increased threefold, whereas it was lowered in
the power section which, combined with the fully discrete input layout without any ICs
in the signal path, resulted in a further reduction of the noise floor. Yet all thesetechnical merits I’ve just listed would be nothing but hot air, despicable marketing
gossip, if devices like the P-7300 didn’t produce such a wonderfully infatuating soundthat is reminiscent of the very finest tube amplifiers for blending gentleness andstructure, control and airiness. Sometimes I really do feel that modern Accuphase
amplifiers are made for listeners who’d love to buy a tube amp, but don’t dare to gofor it.
Music shall once again serve as proof. On Gianmaria Testa’s possibly best album
Altre Latitudine (Le Chant du Monde 2741253, CD 2003) his voice was recordedslightly compressed. Over the Accuphase-Boenicke duet, however, it appears likerelieved. As if he had been kept in political imprisonment, singing to his admirersthrough the bars of his jail window so far, Testa is now stepping out into the open,
into the sun, finally able to unfold vocally. The muted trumpet is standing right in themiddle of the room; at the same time the guitar can present its individual sound andthe big drum its true size. This sounds so good that I want to continue listening
through the songs one by one. How softly am I touched by the ever so delicate blowof the saxophone on ”Solo Per Dirti Di No“, and how deeply is the music graduated inthe room by the brisk percussion! Did I ever really notice on ”Tuareg“ how the steel
strings of the second guitar are plucked?
Finally I lend my ear to Daniel Lanois’ Here is what is (Red Floor Records, CD 2008)
at a very low volume, and I witness the music with Accuphase and Boenicke likethrough an acoustic magnifying glass. It seems to me as if I were running through adark forest by night and had to adapt briefly to the contrasts, which stand out all themore clear-cut then. „Bladesteel“ merges Brian Blade’s rhythmically intricate secondline beat drumming with Lanois’ heavenly played pedal steel guitar and its flowing,
spherical wealth of overtones. On ”Sacred and Secular“ even the very highest notes
and their harmonics are utterly precisely defined in the low-level mode: soft, when4

played softly, hard, when hit hard. Thus it goes on and on. The gospelesque ”Joy“,once again with the unmistakeable grooves by Brian Blade, takes me to the old
Unterfahrt, to the Muffat Hall, into the Ampere, all of them Munich clubs and locations
where I saw and heard Lanois, Blade & co. several times during the past 30 years.
While I was dealing with the P-7300, a very special event came to my mind. After adocumentary on arte about Anne-Sophie Mutter early this year, I bought tickets forthe Salzburg Pentecost Festival – at 170 euros each my most expensive tickets ever.
But the concert was so fantastic that I will never forget this experience. Likewise, theP-7300 is an investment in comparable and even repeatable experiences.YoshidaKenkō writes: ”How deplorable I deem the idea that all things that constantly
surround us will survive us unaffectedly, as if nothing had happened.“ Is this reallydeplorable? My Accuphase components would be welcome to survive me, if only I
had any. And I’m sure, they would. The experiences which the P-7300 gave me andthe tranquility that goes with it, the silence that spreads out in me while I’m listening
to music, are by all means priceless.
Christian Bayer5