Accuphase E-650 inbound

[Billion$Baby]

Don't worry Max...Most of us are crazy. Ive never heard a piece of gear before purchasing in my life. What kind of fun would THAT be....Roll the Dice Baby!! Glad to hear your happy with your new toy.

[MAXDOG923]

Thanks...I'm very impressed, more so every day, with the sound of this amplifier.

And grateful to all of those whose advice/comments/experiences with the Accuphase brand were crucial in taking the leap of faith required. Living away from major centers makes it difficult to hear components, and sites like this are a blessing!

And it DOES keep getting better...my face hurts from all the smiling!!..))

Again, thanks all!

[Masterlu]

Accuphase gear is addicting; right after I got my first piece, I couldn’t wait to get another.

[MAXDOG923]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

Accuphase gear is addicting; right after I got my first piece, I couldn’t wait to get another.

I think I had that same feeling when I was a teenager!!...
Just what I need at this stage in my life...Another Addiction!!!..

I'll have to work forever!!

[ganderoose]

Hello all, I'm new here!

And I have paid the price of admission - the E-650 sitting in my next room is about 72hrs old and I'm really loving it! And a first time Accuphaser...potentially a lifer now!

Just my initial impressions...it has delivered much more than I had expected.

I wasn't expecting this much of 'oomph' from a 30W Class A amp, thinking it is possibly designed just for those Norah Jones and Diana Krall kind of music (I got it to listen to Indian carnatic vocals and A R Rahman 'Bollywood' music). But it sort of transforms itself to to play the genre of music to it's fullest, be it fast paced music or slow vocals, it does a great job of both!

My speakers are Revel Performa F208 and my source is Auralic Aries G1 (Tidal & CD Rips via USB) playing via a rather modest but decent Audiolab M-DAC+. Interconnects are Wireworld (Oasis 8 I think?!) and speaker cables are Cardas (Quadlink 5C)

My prior amp was the Yamaha A-S2100 and I really liked that amp too, but is no comparison to the 650 (and not a fair comparison either)!

What surprises me is that I'm unable to crank up the volume beyond -45-40dB...and that is roughly between 1 & 2 of the volume knob graduations. This by itself if plenty loud! I just don't understand the logic of what a 30W means vs say the 90W of my Yamaha where I had to crank up the volume a lot higher to get these levels of SPL.


Now to all the 650 possessors out there, I have one help to ask of you...I find that my amp gets warmer one side (LHS) perceptible enough to feel the difference by putting your hand on top of the heat sinks (L&R). I would say it doesn't get uncomfortable to touch or anything, just warmer on the LHS vs slighly less warm on top the RHS heat sink. This is after about 30min of switching on the amp and this difference stays through the entire time the amp plays.

From a SQ perspective, I don't find any difference between the Left and Right channels. I did check all the speaker connections to see if there was any short or loose connections but nothing untoward. I removed and refitted the connections a couple of times as well but not change.

I've placed the amp on the top of a longish coffee table along with the DAC, G1, CDP by its side, so ventilation is not a problem.

Is this normal behaviour or should I expect both the sides to get equally warm and therefore be worried?

thank you all and great to be part of the community here!

[pabe12]

I don't think there's anything to worry about with regards to the left hand side a bit warmer than the right hand side.

An integrated amp like this E650 is not entirely symmetrical. On the left hand side of the amp you have the left heatsink; on the right hand side you have the cage housing the two slots for the expansion cards (AD-50 or DAC-50). The right heatsink is actually to the left of that, so not right at the edge. That's why the right side feels a little cooler. On the other hand, you may expect a little more heat to the left of that cage, so on top of the amplifier...

[ganderoose]

Thanks pabe12, appreciate it. I did notice that the entire unit internals are offset to the left making space for the optional modules.

I did consider this shift and noticed the difference in heat between the two heat sinks right on top of them.

I guess I'm being pedantic but will appreciate info on what the 650 owners are finding on their amps...

thanks again

[Higgens]

I’m an E-650 owner and just checked the heat on my amp. The left side is warmer than the right if you position your hands in the same relative location near the edge of the top.

However, if you hold your hand directly above the amp module on the right side then the two sides are equal.

[Masterlu]

ganderoose... Welcome to AA!

[ganderoose]

Thank you Ivan.

And thanks Gary for the feedback, much appreciated!