Accuphase E-203

[admin_exported]

Hi all,

New to high end audio. Indeed I havn't had a proper HI-FI for some 20 years...........

I've been offered a Accuphase E-203. From what I can gather it is a vintage amp. It also appears that it was well received at the time and is still sought after.

What I did notice is that the speaker cables are of 'clip on type' (see picture) instead of more modern type i.e. banana.

Being around 30 years old, is this a good buy and what price is reasonable?

Many thanks, Wadadli4Sun

 

[Anonymous]

As no replies I'll give an update.....

Well, yesterday I saw, heard and bought it!

I was also offered a Denon, but the Accuphase sounded absolutely fantastic! It was in very good condition (as far as my untrained eye could see!) and I am now the happy third owner.

My research also showed similar prices up towards £1000 over the last decade, one sold in Germany 2009 for 400 euro and another currently for sale by a dealer in Croatia for 500 euro. I also found out that Accuphase amps are build like 'tanks', they do not deteriorate and the wire clips are not a problem. That settled most of my concerns and as I mentioned, it appears to be in very good nick. It certainly weighs a ton!

I got a package price as I also bought a pair of one year old IPL S4tl Kevlar speakers (units: IPL/8/K Kevlar 8" and IPL/Fountek Cd3.0 Ribbon) made to good standard with all soldering done by a HIFI specialist. Also included was high quality cables. I had seen several post before regarding IPL. It intrigued me. The designer has made these for many years, as kits with high quality material and speakers at a very reasonable price. He keeps it as a one man show, but all posts mention his fantastic service and great sounding speakers! Well I am very new at this, but paired with the Accuphase they certainly sounded better than anything I have heard (which is a short list). I just hope to reproduce it in my living room!

The seller even gave a discount as I travelled some distance to see it, was not pushy at all, but took time to explain and answer my questions and also served a delicious dinner! A true gentleman! All in all I bought it for a similar price as the speakers cost new, which I find is very fair indeed.

Next is to add other items to the 'foundation', which might be a mix of new and vintage. I guess a CD player is first on the list. I had my eyes on a XTZ CD 100/11, but let it go as I wasn't sure if I would have anything to hook it up to!