Vintage Accuphase

bobschneider

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I recently assembled a vintage Accuphase stack: C-260 preamp, T-108 tuner, DP-60 CD player and P-102 power amp. All pieces are from around 1990. The power amp is Accuphase’s first dedicated Class A amp, at 50W/Ch into 8 ohms.

I bought all the components from Japan, except the tuner came from Europe since I wasn’t sure if I could convert a Japanese market tuner to the US 88-108 MHz FM band. All components were easy to convert to US 120 VAC - they each had multi primary power transformers and well marked terminal strips to do the conversion. The only tricky part was converting the tuner to US 75uS deemphasis. Accuphase, of course, doesn’t publish service information, but I was able to determine which capacitors to change from the data sheet for the multiplex IC. There were also diodes marked on the PCB to convert the tuner from European to US station spacing (it also has an alternative for Japan, but I haven’t tried that to see if it switches to their 76-95 MHz band).

Most importantly, it sounds excellent - quiet, clean and very transparent. Except for the power transformer wiring and the 2 caps I switched in the tuner, it all appears to be stock and original inside, a testimonial to Accuphase build quality. I do miss having a preamp remote, but that’s not that big a deal, and the CD and tuner do have remotes.

AF45C320-51E4-4DC3-9971-776A2A520423.jpeg
 
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Very nice, Accuphase makes very nice high end gear, would love to try one of there older DAC's. Build quality is over the top from the pictures I've seen of anything they build.
I bet that sounds awesome.

BillWojo
 
Very nice system indeed! I am interested in a similar venture....have just acquired an Accuphase E305 integrated-220v converted to 110....and have been thinking of a CD transport like the DP80L..and possibly the matching DAC.....though prices seem to be really high for late Accuphase 80’s CD players....do you think they still hold up well...as I haven’t heard one yet myself....any thoughts on your CD player would be great.

Thanks in advance,
 
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The DP-60 sounded great, and didn’t give me any problems when I had it. But I ended up selling it to buy a more recent Accuphase which also handles SACD.

If you’re looking at an older CD player (any make), before buying you should find out what model laser head it uses and whether replacements are still available. Accuphase usually used Sony lasers, and some models of those are basically unobtainable, while others aren’t that hard to track down. There’s a good list at http://www.dutchaudioclassics.nl/the_complete_d_a_dac_converter_list/
 
Good God, what a beautiful Accuphase stack. There's something you don't see every day.

And thanks for the Accuphase-related intelligence & assistance you provide around the forum.
 
The DP-60 sounded great, and didn’t give me any problems when I had it. But I ended up selling it to buy a more recent Accuphase which also handles SACD.

If you’re looking at an older CD player (any make), before buying you should find out what model laser head it uses and whether replacements are still available. Accuphase usually used Sony lasers, and some models of those are basically unobtainable, while others aren’t that hard to track down. There’s a good list at http://www.dutchaudioclassics.nl/the_complete_d_a_dac_converter_list/
Thanks Bob...your old DP-60....and the DP80L both use the Sony KSS 190a.....1 for sale NOS 1000.00 CAD.... maybe I’ll look for something a little newer....and currently discussing a P500l with a seller....May tie up the stereo funds for a bit...thanks again for your input and advice...much appreciated!
 
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