Accuphase Laboratory, Inc. (originally known as Kensonic Laboratory, Inc.) is a Japanese,

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

-based

high-end audio High-end audio is a class of consumer home audio equipment marketed to audiophiles on the basis of high price or quality, and esoteric or novel sound reproduction technologies. The term can refer simply to the price, to the build quality of th ...

equipment manufacturer whose philosophy is to "enrich life through technology". Accuphase amplifiers, digital sources and tuners are well regarded for their sound, design and build by high-end audio enthusiasts throughout the world. The brand is relatively uncommon in the USA however. Accuphase was founded by former Kenwood

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

Jiro Kasuga in late 1972. Kasuga was not happy with the views of Kenwood relating to the follower of their High-End Supreme 1 unit (1967). He hired some engineers from other prominent brands (

Marantz Marantz is a company that develops and sells high-end audio products. The company was founded in New York, but is now based in California. The first Marantz audio product was designed and built by Saul Marantz in his home in Kew Gardens, Quee ...

, Luxman) and started Kensonic, with Kenwood as a part owner. Some other connections in the early years of Accuphase exist as well. If the parts used by Kenwood and Kensonic throughout the latter's early years are compared to each other, the similarities are easily noticeable: knobs, buttons, tuner dials and the general direction of the design. Accuphase's early PCBs are tagged KENSONIC, too, and the early units bore KENSONIC on their frontplates as well. Until the mid-1990s, Kenwood still owned part of Kensonic. It appears that Accuphase engineers may have had a hand in the engineering of Kenwood's last high-end series (L-A1, L-D1 and LVD-Z1). For example, the Accuphase E-405 and Kenwood L-A1 have very similar volume knobs, side panels, and remotes. Kensonic's first products were the P-300 amp(lifier), the C-200 preamp, and the T-100 tuner. The E-202 integrated amp and an up-versioned tuner (the T-101) were added soon after. All received very positive reviews in 1973 and 1974. While Kenwood has now abandoned all high-end audio activities, Kensonic carries on with the Accuphase series. Accuphase products are readily identified by their large champagne/gold colored faceplates and large dual analog power meters – which are similar to the respected

McIntosh Laboratory McIntosh Laboratory is an American manufacturer of handcrafted high-end audio equipment that is headquartered in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, New York (state), New York. It is a subsidiary of McIntosh Group, which in November 2024 was acquir ...

brand (McIntosh is famous for its unique faceplates, which are made of silk-screened glass and use large blue analog power meters). Accuphase explains the brand name as follows: Models remain available at least for several years, and sometimes up to a decade and Accuphase has a reputation for reliability, with units from the first series still in use. The Accuphase website explains the background and development of each of their products.

References

{{reflist

External links

Accuphase website
Electronics companies established in 1972 Audio amplifier manufacturers Audio equipment manufacturers of Japan Compact Disc player manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Yokohama Japanese companies established in 1972 Japanese brands