Quote:
Originally Posted by meltemi
According to Accuphase homepage the C-280V was launched 1990.12. Integrated phono preamp, no DAC, no remote control. Thirty years until today is a long time.
Its successors were C-290 (1993.11) and C-290V (1998.12) considered to be the last analog preamp (Mr. Ishizuka from German importer PIA and cofounder of Accuphase: 'the future is digital').
But the future remained analog with the C-2800 (2002.07), the first preamp featuring the newly developed AAVA analog volume control.
The C-260X (2001.04) is a multichannel home theater preamp. Contrary to the C-280V, the C-260X features current feedback technology, first introduced on C-290V. And in Stereo mode 2x 3 preamp modules work in parallel thus improving sound quality.
In 1991 the C-280V was the flagship model, but development never stopped, and every step was clearly audible.
The P-360 (1991.03) was the unbalanced version of the fully balanced P-800 (1988.07).
I used C-280V / P-800 on B&W Matrix 801 (Series 2 and Series 3) from 1991 til 2011.
My advice: only go as far back as you absolutely need to. And if you buy vintage, you should take the cost of an eventually needed overhaul (e.g. capacitors) into consideration.
Martin
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Thanks for the information and advice, but do keep in mind even this old stuff was over 2k to over 3k USD which is already a lot to many including myself and all i can afford in the Accuphase brand. Are you suggesting then, to move on from Accuphase vintage and purchase new in the same price range of another brand because new would =more advanced and better?
I had no idea the P-360 was unbalanced. It sounds far better than the McIntosh over 10 years newer i owned so if there's a tier above, then id love to try Class A or a balanced Accuphase amp. C2800 was also another preamp i was looking at, but would require going for a less expensive power amp. It's just as i said, budget doesnt allow new Accuphase where each unit is in the 10-15k UDS range.