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Picture courtesy of RO.
| Features | 10/10 |
|---|---|
| Value for Money | 7/10 |
| Reviewer Rating | 9/10 |
| Overall Rating | 8.3/10  |
| Plantronics E10 Amplifier |  | £92.94P&P: £4.99 |
Full review by
Peter Coolsma.
expert review 
on 2nd Jun 2002
User Rating : 9
Respect :
+5
Good Points: * Very analytical, clean and honest sound with great authority * Stunning visuals * Fully equipped; any function you'll ever need is there * Good resale value * Built like a tank; with very good inside-access for cleaning/maintenance * Abundance of inputs; among which 2 line and 2 tape. Phono MC-switch on front panel * Tone-controls with override-switch
Bad Points: * Some may find the sound a tad cold and sterile * Visuals: I love them, not everyone does * Quality of balance-potentiometer is below par * Be prepared to pay if something goes wrong -good parts supply though * Bando powertransformer: Not what you'd expect * MC-stage could be quieter; hiss is never audible during playback though
General comments: This beautifully built, champagne-gold integrated Accuphase E-206 amplifier is a dream come true for me: I saw it on the shelves in stores some 10 years ago and was in complete awe.
But then, I was happy with my Rotel 840 BX2 and only until weeks ago, I still was.
To cut a long story short; I realized my dream at the price of a serious, yet still not really spectacular new amp in the regions of a new upper-mid quality amp -for example from Marantz, Denon or Rotel. OK, the Accuphase is 10 years old but that's the -small- risk one takes.
Accustomed to 17 years of listening to my Rotel; I was prepared for a subtle, yet audible improvement.
That's not what I got: It simply blew the Rotel away.
Gifted with both a relatively laid-back character and a tremendous level of "slam" and authority, it painstakingly reveals details -and sometimes entire instruments in the recording- I had never heard before. This can work both ways though; in its unforgivingness, the amp can make "so-so" recordings sound appalling yet make "nice" recordings sound stunning.
My Rotel needed at least 24 hours to come into full sonic swing, the Accuphase immediately sounds great and doesn't further improve by being left "on".
No criticism then? Sure. Accuphase cunningly hide the fact -by mounting an extra bottom-plate underneath it- that they use the same relatively inexpensive power-transformer brand as used -coincidentally- in my old Rotel. Removing this plate reveals "Bando" while on top of the transformer, it proudly reads Accuphase Power Transformer...
The balance switch is better left at neutral because when used, it clearly degradates the sound-quality:
"Neutral" probably automatically overrides the circuitry.
I bought this amplifier pre-owned, because new Accuphase products are wildy expensive AND I like the more classic looks of this late '80's style better than their current line. The value-rating is for the old list-price, I'd give it a 9,5 considering the price I paid -roughly half of old list.
This amplifier -but for example the E-205 has legendary status as well, and can be found cheaper yet- is a worthy alternative if you're in the market for a relatively affordable amplifier; yet are reluctant to buy something "everyone" else already owns.
Peter Coolsma.'s review and ratings | 472 words | 6 comments added.
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