Accuphase C-2900 Precision Stereo Preamplifier

Accuphase C-2900 Precision Stereo Preamplifier

Balanced AAVA preamplifier with exquisite sound reproduction

The pre amplifier’s volume control is a vital component for maintaining vibrancy in the sound source. Since its founding, Accuphase has spent 50 years in pursuit of creating the ideal volume control circuitry. The C-2900’s Balanced AAVA system was designed using Accuphase’s original AAVA volume control  circuits to significantly improve sonic performance. The faithful reproduction of delicate musical  performances by the Accuphase C-2900 makes it the perfect pre amplifier for passionate audiophiles.

Balanced volume control, Balanced AAVA. Conventional pre amplifiers use variable resistors to adjust volume, which creates grit, causes contacts to deteriorate, and increases noise at normal volume levels. AAVA, however, produces multiple, widely varying signals from the input signal and controls volume by changing the combination of those signals. This achieves minimum noise levels at all volume levels without any grit. The Balanced AAVA principle utilises two balanced connection AAVA circuits and reduces noise levels in the C-2900 roughly 20 % over conventional pre amplifiers.

Quiet and smooth volume sensor design. The volume sensor detects the angular position of the volume knob and transmits it to the AAVA circuitry. Accuphase developed this volume sensor in house, using an aluminium block extrusion process to achieve an utterly smooth and solid operation feel and extremely accurate position detection. Operation sounds are minimal even when using the Remote Commander to ensure an extremely quiet and pleasant listening environment

Separate unit amplifiers for left and right. Music signal circuits like the AAVA contain six unit amplifiers for both the left and right channels. The unit amplifiers on the left and right are housed in 8mm thick hard aluminium frames to suppress electrical interference and prevent vibrations from adversely impacting sound quality.

Independent power supplies for left and right channels. The power source that drives the different circuits can greatly affect sound quality. Both the right and left channels feature a high-quality toroidal transformer inside a cast aluminium case equipped with heat dissipation fins. The two newly developed 10,000 μF high-capacity, high-quality filtering capacitors mounted in each channel supply plentiful power for unimpeded handling of load fluctuations.

Advanced Features

• Balanced AAVA volume control
• Logic-controlled relays for signal switching assure high sound quality and long-term reliability
• Printed circuit boards for signal transmission use glass cloth fluorocarbon resin with low dielectric constant and minimum loss
  along with gold-plating on copper foil surfaces
• Power supply circuits with separate toroidal transformers and filtering capacitors (10,000 μF × 4) for the left and right
• Newly developed volume sensor construction for a quiet and smooth operation feel
• Versatile arrangement of inputs and outputs, five line level inputs, two balanced inputs, two line level outputs, two balanced outputs
• Line level input and output connectors for a recorder
• Line level and balanced EXT PRE inputs for connection of an external pre amplifier
• Individual phase setting for each input
• Switchable overall gain (12 dB / 18 dB / 24 dB)
• Left / right balance control through Balanced AAVA
• Stereo signal can be switched to monophonic operation
• Volume attenuator to instantly reduce sound to as low as –20 dB
• Loudness compensator for correcting the perceived spectral balance
• Informative and easy to read input and volume level display with on/off switching
• Discretely configured, high quality headphone amplifier with parallel push pull output stages
• Subsonic filter that cuts off ultra low frequency noise from record warping
• Front panel switching function for using the optional AD-2900 phono stage, MC/MM switching, MC load impedance switching (10/30/100/200/300 ohms), Gain switching (MM: 34/40 dB, MC: 64/70 dB)
• Natural grain wood case with a mirror finish crafted by artisans using carefully selected virgin wood
• High carbon cast iron insulator feet with superior damping characteristics