Accuphase A-70

Alpinist said:
Wow, what a price difference between Japan and USA. That's a lot of amp for $8,000!

Ken
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The US pricing of Accuphase is a complete rip off (putting it mildly). This is relative to their pricing in Japan. The products are absolutely wonderful (I own an Accuphase E-450 integrated, which I enjoy listening to on a regular basis)
 
Hi Everyone,

Long time lurker first time poster on this great forum.

I was hoping to get some advice re: the A70's suitability for my speakers (TAD CE-1). I'm looking at making the move to separates from my beloved Accuphase E460 integrated. Given my familiarity and admiration of the brand I've decided to stick with Accuphase when looking at pre/power options.

I've decided on an Accuphase C2820 preamp and am now looking at which power-amp to invest in. As much as I'd like a pair of A200 mono-blocks I'm afraid I can't quite stretch the budget that far. As such I'm looking at Accuphase's stereo amplifier offerings, namely the Accuphase P7300 or A70, specs below:

P7300
Stereo operation 800 watts per channel into 1 ohm​
(both channels driven) 500 watts per channel into 2 ohms​
250 watts per channel into 4 ohms​
125 watts per channel into 8 ohms
Damping Factor 1,000

A70​
Stereo operation 480 watts per channel into 1 ohm​
(both channels driven) 240 watts per channel into 2 ohms​
120 watts per channel into 4 ohms​
60 watts per channel into 8 ohms
Damping Factor 800

My preference is to go with the A70 as I've always wanted to try an Accuphase class A amplifier however I'm worried that my speakers would be a poor match and that at moderate to above average listening levels I'll drive the amp to clip. The specs of my speakers are as follows:

TAD CE-1
3 Way Bass Reflex
Frequency response: 34Hz to 100kHz
Crossover frequencies: 250Hz, 2kHz
Maximum input: 200W
Sensitivity: 85dB (2.83V, 1m)
Nominal impedance: 4?

We're knocking down and rebuilding a new home this year, which means I'll get my first dedicated listening room ever. Unfortunately the room is relatively small i.e. 3.0M x 3.5M. I was hoping a combination of a small room plus the legendarily underrated Accuphase power specifications would mean going with an A70 run as a stereo amp would be enough. However I'm worried that the CE-1's will drive the A70 to clipping territory.

Cheers,
GS
 
Welcome to the forum GS, from Australia (?), thank you for joining.

Looks to me like you are looking at double the power at 4 ohms with the P7300 vs the A70. Do you like to play your music loud? I think the TADs may be low efficiency but fairly easy to drive. I know for myself that the A70 would be enough, but I have to recommend the P7300, in your case, mainly because you are having some doubts and the P7300 will give a little more headroom.
 
Hi Joe - Thanks for the welcome! Yes, I'm from Australia :)

Thanks for taking the time to reply. For the life of me I can't seem to find an impendence curve for the CE-1 however I've found one for the CR-1, specifically the Stereophile review linked HERE from which I've extracted the quote below:

The CR1 is specified as being a 4 ohm load, but the speaker's impedance remains above 7.5 ohms throughout the upper midrange and treble, dropping to 4 ohms only between 40 and 225Hz (fig.1). Though there are some swings in the value of the electrical phase angle, the extreme values occur, as usual, when the magnitude is high, mitigating the effect of the increased current demand. There is one exception, at 34Hz, where there is a value of 5 ohms and –48° capacitive phase angle, which will put strain on an amplifier with limited current delivery.

I listen to my music relatively loudly on occasion, however I hope that the opportunity to listen relatively loudly presents itself more often given I will be moving into my own room/listening space. I've been assured by my dealer that the A70's high dampening factor (800) means that the A70 should be able to handle the CE-1's with ease. I'm just concerned at spending that much on an amplifier only for it to fall short. For the price of two A70's I could get a pair of A200's. Unfortunately a stereo A70 is at the limits of my budget. It appears the risk averse option is to get a P7300 all though I'd hate to play it safe here and miss out on the chance to own the A70.
 
I'm sure that the A70 is probably ballsy enough, but I totally understand. I have an A36 and absolutely love it, but my speakers are more efficient. I've had TAD CR-1's and they actually were pretty easy to drive leading me to think the A70 would be enough. If pricing of Accuphase in the USA was "normal", I'd own a full system based on what I'm hearing from my little A36. It definitely feels more powerful and basslier than it has a right to. I've been using it for the past few weeks on my JBLs and love that little thing.
 
A-70 on 4ohm speakers in that size of room should be fine. Personally, if I owned those speakers, I would give Ayre or Vitus a listen. Good luck with your search and thank you for joining! We have lots of Aussies here.
 
joeinid said:
I'm sure that the A70 is probably ballsy enough, but I totally understand. I have an A36 and absolutely love it, but my speakers are more efficient. I've had TAD CR-1's and they actually were pretty easy to drive leading me to think the A70 would be enough. If pricing of Accuphase in the USA was "normal", I'd own a full system based on what I'm hearing from my little A36. It definitely feels more powerful and basslier than it has a right to. I've been using it for the past few weeks on my JBLs and love that little thing.
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Well, some success! Who says mindlessly scrolling through google image searches is a waste of time! :)

The link below takes you to a page which shows what looks like a Japanese Audiophile Club gathering to listen to a TAD & Accuphase system. It looks like there are representatives from both Accuphase & TAD on hand to present their products. As it happens the components they are using are the same ones I'll have in situ! This has given me a lot of confidence and dispelled much of the doubts I have i.e. neither company would be prepared to compromise their respective products by partnering with the other, as such I'd imagine there'd be some level of synergy. Unfortunate Google's translate function has left me clutching at a few straws when reading the "english translation". I'll try see if I can reach out to my network and get it translated. The room also looks much bigger than the room my components will be located in.

Mike said:
A-70 on 4ohm speakers in that size of room should be fine. Personally, if I owned those speakers, I would give Ayre or Vitus a listen. Good luck with your search and thank you for joining! We have lots of Aussies here.
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Thankyou Mike! Funny you should mentioned Ayre. When I was looking at moving on from my Accuphase integrated it came down to a choice between the C2820 & A70 system vs an Ayre KX-R & MX-R (not twenty series). In the end my existing bias won out and I chose Accuphase however i'm confident I would have been very happy with the Ayre system had I gone down that path.
 
Hi Galactic
My room is only slightly larger than yours(3x4.2 meters).
The A-35 can drive SF guanerri evo very well, but less so with Raidho X1, which works better with the 300w ML 532H.
So, maybe a70 is already too much for your small room?
Why not consider a-47? Unless you are planning to move to a larger room soon.
 
I suggest to use this calculator to see what watt is needed for a given level with given distance and speakers. Remember to add 12-20 dB for headroom and musical peaks.!’ I find a listening level of 84 and+20 =104 dB suitable in my 4x5m room . I use Accuphase A-36 ( 30 watt class A 60 watt AB) with 95db speakers that is just sufficient for me since I do not listen at concert or party levels..I bought my A-36 from a guy that felt it was too weak for his Sonus Fabers with 90dB/2.83volt he bought a A-45 and plan for 2 A45s
http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-efficiency.htm
By this A-70 seem a bit low at 60 a/131 Abb watt
 
A70 is a much better amp than both A36 and A47. It is not only about power.

BTW - I know a local guy who is selling A200 monos in the correct voltage (240V). I may check them out for you if you want. Those amps run hot though, so I would be concerned about heat issue in such a small room.
 
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