Well, Martin, if there are such big differences between each generation, then one can infer that just 4 or 5 generations ago Accuphase gear would have sound almost broken
Also, Accuphase in his literature for gear (both the brochures and the "technical" papers) never mentions other audible characteristic other than noise:
http://www.accuphase.com/technical_i...nformation.pdf (the other small changes are mainly mechanical and ergonomic ones). Until early '90s they also included THD graph, but they became so perfect to almost be irrelevant, compared to the much bigger distorsions room and speakers give to the sound.
So I never fully understood how "different" the sound could be from the wonderful C-3800 to the even more wonderful C-3850, other than a tiny bit lower noise floor (the % seems big, but is is from astonishing small to incredible small
).
I don't think the presentation, for example a "more forward midrange" or something like that could change. If it were, then either the original or the newer model would be really flawed and not the "precision preamplifier" it is. And clearly is not the case.
Regarding room, speakers, etc. I fully agree: a 10cm changement of the speakers position probably would have a bigger impact on sound
But I am not here to say there are no differences. I simply don't ear them, even in direct fast comparison (both with speakers and with headphones). What I think I can say for sure is that they are surely not "big"
Frohe Ostern, Martin