Envision the inner workings of a factory that makes the best home audio amplifiers on Earth.
What do you see?
An enormous room with high ceilings and big machines? Hundreds of workers? Computer-controlled robots assembling circuit boards and cases? Upstairs offices for the decision makers?
Do you see everyone toiling at maximum pace to ensure maximum success?
Now that I’ve been there, I can tell you none of that is present at the Accuphase factory. Of course it’s hard to call anyone the “best” in this industry, but if you had to, you’d definitely consider them.
Japanese audio manufacturer Accuphase build legendary amplifiers, despite their unbelievably modest, calm, and focused methods.
I could feel it in the air before we arrived.
It began with a 50 minute train ride from Tokyo to Tama Plaza in Yokohama. There to meet us was Kohei Nishigawa, Accuphase’s head of international marketing. After a warm greeting, Nishigawa-San asked us to walk with him to the headquarters.
Through a peaceful suburb we went. Every single home was well-manicured and tidy. The architecture was fascinating. No matter where you looked, you found an unobtrusive calmness. But at the same time, if you looked close enough, you’d realise that great creativity and skill went into anything touched by human hands.
This really set the stage for what I expected from Accuphase. I already knew of their ethos. For them to operate in such surroundings felt poetic. It symbolised their refusal to keep up with trends, their insistence on plowing their own course, and their dedication to quality over everything else.
Soon enough, I’d see how this ethos was expressed in their work, too.
We arrived at the Accuphase factory, where Nishigawa san ushered us inside to the meeting room. There we met Takaya Inokuma, Director of Engineering, Masaomi Suzuki, the company’s president, and Shigemasa Saito, a corporate advisor and last remaining of the original founders.
Inside the meeting room there was this “museum” rack, which had one of each model Accuphase ever produced — right back to the first production model that launched their company.
As a group we moved into the next room: the R&D room.
Turns out, the 12 of us — a mix of people from the Audio Connection team as well as some of our partners — we were the largest tour group ever to visit Accuphase’s humble headquarters. I felt honoured.
The Accuphase headquarters and factory is quite unique. It’s a high-end audio facility dedicated 100% to craft — 0% to show.
There was nothing fancy about it. And yet, like the neighbor in which it resides, there was so much to appreciate.
Accuphase have dedicated staff for every conceivable area. There was a dedicated software tech. Dedicated faceplate designer. Even a dedicated volume knob designer — which is no surprise, given Accuphase are literally renowned for their volume pot performance and knob feel.
Most of the personnel at Accuphase have been there for decades. The “newest” member had just over 10 years of service.
It’s a classically Japanese story. An individual’s craft is their life’s purpose, and their path involves razor-sharp focus on one discipline at a time. Like the sushi chef who began his training by folding towels for a year: each activity is a ritual that teaches discipline, precision, and attention to detail. Only with time do they become a master.
At Accuphase, each team member is a master of what they do.
For efficiency, they had a small listening room for quality assurance next door to the R&D room. This allowed techs to tweak prototypes and test their performance quickly and easily, during the development phase.
After a brief listening sesh, we moved to the next room. The main event. The manufacturing hall.
This long room represents the path each Accuphase piece must travel before it’s ready for an end user. It begins in the very corner and by the time it gets to the end, it’s perfect.
At the first station, a tech plugs each unit into a test bench and checks all ins and outs for baseline performance.
Then we have a station with two ladies who build the faceplates. (We’re told they chose ladies on purpose, as females typically have better fine motor skills.)
Next is the faceplate finisher, who inspects carefully for dust or residue, and then fits buttons and knobs. As he tests them to confirm function, he brings them to his ear to see how they sound. We’re talking about the actual mechanical click of the buttons!
The next station is the shaker table. The fully assembled device is visibly shaken while plugged into an oscilloscope. Here the tech is looking for how performance is affected by vibrations, and paying attention to any significant performance loss or loose parts.
Finally the piece is finished and ready for a final listen.
But before we move to that phase, we meet someone who may be the most skilled individual of them all.
Accuphase are a dominant force within the amplifier market of Japan… and that’s saying something, given Japan is a country where craftsmanship and quality are ways of life.
This dominance is largely thanks to their unheard-of level of after-sales service and support.
And that, is thanks to the man in this photo:
He’s the Mr. Miyagi of Accuphase, Shibuya-san. He’s been on staff for four decades, and has an encyclopedic knowledge of every model they’ve ever produced, including how to bring it up to original spec.
Which is precisely what he does.
Any Accuphase owner can send their piece in to be 100% refurbished to its original condition — electronically and cosmetically — no matter how old it is.
There are some rare exceptions, where original parts are simply no longer obtainable. But the vast majority of models can still be brought back to original spec.
For instance, while we were there he had a 1972 C-200 amplifier on the bench.
In addition to renewing the internals, the front panel was showing signs of age, so they made a new one. With most manufacturers, it’s hard to get a replacement part for a current product… yet these guys made a one-off front panel for a 1973 unit!
Now we’re ready for a final listen.
Accuphase’s formal listening room is as efficient and effective as they come.
Since quality assurance has been done in another room, here they focus on quality control. That means making sure each piece is truly ready to go out into the world and serve its end user.
They spared no expense in the acoustics of the room. Vibrations from outside do not come in, and none can escape. The noise floor in the room was an astounding 27 dB — zero internal noise.
And the rack was ready with the existing production model of every component they currently produce. That way, when they bring a new piece in, they’re ready to compare it to the benchmark.
After our listening sesh, our tour was over. The team invited us to dinner at an incredible restaurant to cap the experience.
All up, it was eye-opening, and it fortified my appreciation for what Accuphase do. I’m even more grateful that we’re able to offer their exceptional products here in Australia.
If you’re keen to explore them, you can find them here.
For a video clip about this experience, check out our Instagram reel:
Thanks for reading!
