Not really sure what those numbers mean ... taken at face value then the MSB Reference is at 100 so does that mean the Select cannot possibly be any better? I'm just not sure how to think about these numbers ...
George
ACCUPHASE DP-720 SACD
PW15.02.2016
Digital sources
Accuphase engineers further expanded on the features that had made their DP-900/DC-900 transport/DAC combo so phenomenal - the result is the one-box DP-720. This player is built with almost fanatical attention to detail. The casework is exquisite, smooth and luxurious and so is the sound. To highlight how special the DP-720 is Accuphase used mirror gloss dark wood side panels, something that we loved so much with heritage players of Sony, Pioneer or Kenwood fame.
100% reference
Function and form
95%
Ease of use
94%
Sound
100%
Appearance
Working with the DP-720 will be not unfamiliar to those who are used to a turntable operation. Everything takes time - getting from stand-by takes few seconds and switching off runs series of control checks before the machine is unpowered. There is something almost aristocratic in the smooth way the SACD player operates.
The controls of the DP-720 are simple and intuitive. To make sure that everyone really understands Accuphase provides a very detailed idiot-proof manual with tons of illustrations. The target burgeois may not be perhaps as technically knowledgeable as we are. I found the whole DP-720 concept flawless in use with one exception - with previous Accuphase's players I liked the A-B repeat function that was priceless for reviewing. Other that that the DP-720 is only about superlatives.
Accuphase's proprietary drive is very rigid and very heavy. It floats via viscous dampers on an 8mm thick metal plate and travels on a super-quiet traverse mechanism. Accuphase even paid attention to a disc's wobbling by developing special neodymium magnet yoke to stabilize the rotations. The whole assembly is buried in a thick shielded aluminum sarcophagus. The fact that the mechanic part of any player playes extremely important role in its performance is out of question - Accuphase had proved it with their DP-900 transport already.
The DP-720 employs highly advanced MDSD D/A conversion with 8 (!) high-performance 32-bit Hyperstream™ DAC chips (ES9018 from ESS Technology Inc.) driven in parallel. With MDSD, multiple DSD signals are delayed and then processed by the D/A converters - after D/A conversion, summation of the multiple data results in a moving-average filter circuit with double-speed accuracy. The MDSD principle is independent of signal frequency and signal level and output signal noise at very low levels is also minimized, which is very difficult to achieve with conventional delta-sigma converters. By locating a dedicated quartz oscillator very close to each ES9018 chip and driving the D/A converter as a master clock in asynchronous mode, jitter is also significantly reduced. The DP-720 also boasts of 119dB signal-to-noise ratio.
The player provides RCA and XLR outputs as well as usual optical and coaxial digital outputs. Plus there is a company's RJ-45 HS-Link connection (ideal for connecting the DP-720 with other Accuphase equipment to exclude signal conversions(, plus there is an USB (480Mbps) port.The DACs handle 32 kHz, 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, 192 kHz and native DSD 2.8224 MHz/1bit.
Bass management
Weight
92
Slam
90
Articulation
90
I have never heard better bass with a digital component. It is very deep, very articulated, very resolved and very dynamic. It goes so deep that when you feel it is really low it surprises you in the next moment by going even deeper. It is almost
seismical in its nature. WIth stand mount monitors or usual speakers one cannot notice that (then you'll probably savour remarkable mids instead), but on full-range speakers the Accuphase DP-720 is about understanding how analogue like the presentation of a digital equipment can be.
Clarity & delicacy
Detail
90
Air
91
Transparency
91
During my listening sessions occassionally I had a feeling that I'd like to hear more highlighted detail, more air, more brilliancy, you name it - a typical audiophile fever that has been ignited by the modern digital audio. Fortunately, there is a remedy. Go and listen to a live orchestra or band - standing just two meters from an acoustic bass where are all those audiophile sounds? I am sorry but often we are chasing phantoms without paying attention to what the reality is. The DP-720 provided me with the natural and
real sound of wonderful liquidity and impeccable purity.
Tonal accuracy
Timbre
92
Dynamics
92
Temporal resolution
92
Tonality is one of the biggest strengths of Accuphase components. Harmonic envelopes and aliquotes of instruments and voices are amazing through the DP-720. The tranzient attacks are fast and dynamic, the sonic bloom is there, the trailing off is there, the pitch black background is there. Textures are among the best achieveable from a digital and the details, though not pronounced, are like under an electron microscope. The DP-720 is a gifted player - it never sounds like a player, it is much closer to very expensive turntable in its presentation.
I mentioned the unusually high S/N ratio and I could hear it. Orchestral crescendos, in contrast to soft parts, were like detonations. Especially in the SACD mode the DP-720 excelled with macro and microdynamic contrasts that that were unparalleled in the digital player world.
Spatial resolution
Holography
92
Soundstage width
92
Soundstage depth
92
The soundstage of the DP-720 is luxurious and spacious. There is nothing like layering - the transitions in its holographic soundstage are totally smooth and seamless. The DP-720 passed all my usual checks for soundstaging accuracy with aplomb.
It is actually cheap. If you anchor its value properly, of course. In the past decade or two we witnessed the Accuphase's pricing steeply and systematically rising, like 20% surcharge for every model upgrade. Yet, before the brand could turn into an elithistic niche in Europe the latest models have been downpriced to the more accesible range (strong yen helped, of course). Framed by the boom of ultraexpensive audio from East and West, the Accuphase devices appear to be actually in a mid-tier segment, I would say a golden ratio of the price vs performance positioning. I know, the flagship models are still beyond reach for many, yet they have become more reachable than before.
