2026 Awards – Integrated Amplifier £5k-£14k

A stellar example of a Class A amplifier, the Accuphase E-700 is a monoblock design rated at 35 watts into 8 ohms and replaces the old E-650. It comes into the Japanese brand’s lineup below the 50-watt E-800S, from which the power amplifier section borrows its push-pull configuration using four sets of MOSFETs, backed by a beefy power supply using a sizeable toroidal transformer and large 56,000uF 50V filtering capacitors. 

The preamp section, meanwhile, boasts a totally new AAVA volume control circuit that does away with the conventional variable resistor approach and supposedly improves noise performance drastically.

Japanese thoroughbred

Being a Japanese product, the E-700 isn’t short of facilities. Connectivity spans line-level RCA (five) and XLR (two) inputs, a monitor loop, balanced and unbalanced preamp ins and outs, and two sets of speaker binding posts, while the hinged flap under the central VU meters hides various controls, including those for speaker selection, tone and balance, plus those for when optional extra DAC and phono boards are integrated.

The E-700 takes little time to win over reviewer Chris Frankland, who calls it an “exceptional performer” and a “class act” as he listens to the Accuphase both in his own home system and that of his local retailer. “It has authority, power, dynamics, rhythmic energy and grip, while offering subtlety and inner detail where it is needed,” he notes. “No matter what I threw at the E-700, whether vocals from Randy Crawford, Luther Vandross, or John Mellencamp, rock from ZZ Top, or jazz from Miles Davis or Lee Ritenour, the amp took it all in its stride.”

Reviewed in Issue 243

Accuphase • accuphase.com

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Hegel hasn’t been light-handed in updating its H390 integrated amplifier for the succeeding H400, which is furnished with a new DAC and streamer (based on those found in the larger H600) and an improved power supply and preamp section, finished off by new knobs, slightly revised casework and a new app. The result? A well-made, easy-to-use and musically compelling network amplifier that deserves a spot on your shortlist if your budget is around the £6,000 mark.

The H400 is a dual-mono design that packs 250 watts of Class AB power into 8 ohms and shares many attributes with other models in the Norwegian brand’s arsenal, including the provision of separate voltage and current gain stages for each channel, individual power supplies for those stages (include the anaogue input stage, which includes two sets of single-ended and one balanced inputs), and the latest version of Hegel’s proprietary SoundEngine feed-forward error correction technology. 

Versatile in every which way

The equally carefully considered digital section feeds optical (three), coaxial and USB inputs, usefully features a BNC DAC loop that facilitates future external DAC upgrades, and even extends to a built-in network platform that supports AirPlay, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Roon Ready, Google Cast, and UPnP. Aside from the Hegel Control App’s omission of Qobuz integration, the user experience is exemplary.

That adjective can also be used to describe the H400’s sound. Playing Broad Daylight by jazz singer/songwriter/pianist Ben Sidran, reviewer Chris Frankland finds himself “immediately impressed by [the] Hegel’s balanced presentation, grip and effortless power”. That positive first impression never wavers throughout his testing either, as he switches from jazz to female vocalist, from the built-in streamer to a connected CD player. “An excellent purchase at this price,” Chris concludes.

Reviewed in Issue 242

Hegel • hegel.com

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As befits a statement product that sells for statement money, the purely analogue Model 10 integrated is an engineering tour de force. At the bottom of its triple-layer design (each layer separated from one another and shielded from the ground) are dual-mono Class D power amp modules (developed in conjunction with Purifi), with internal heatsinking and switched-mode power supplies. Up a level are separate sections for input, preamplification, gain control circuitry, and the phono module, along with the linear PSU and transformer for the preamp. At the top are the control units and headphone amplification. That’s all housed in a handsome anodised machined aluminium chassis that manages the by no means easy trick of looking minimal yet interesting, the latter adjective justified by the slightly concaved, textured front plate and the seemingly floating control panel above it.

Inputs run to two RCA and XLR apiece,
plus a MM/MC switchable phono input. There are both unbalanced and balanced outputs for use with external amps, a 6.3mm front-panel headphone socket, and the Model 10 offers bi-wiring.

Subtle and refined

The Model 10 is undemonstrative in the very best way – subtle and refined, though not shy to throw down hard when the music demands. It’s “deft, clean, stunningly detailed and impeccably organised,” says Simon Lucas in his review. Its large soundstage is spacious and well separated, yet not at the expense of cohesion, the midrange is explicit, and rhythms are expressed in a naturalistic and hip-shaking manner. Everything you want from an analogue integrated amp? More than likely.

Reviewed in Issue 250

Marantz • marantz.com

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