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In Reply to: RE: Decent low-end integrated with XLR's? posted by Duster on May 15, 2016 at 13:33:57
This is VERY appealing! Thank you very much for the referral!
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I have not heard it but the Teac, while feature-packed, is a Class D amplifier design. That is one reason why the price is so low.
You might like the way the Teac sounds, who knows? But based upon my limited experience with Class D amps, I would probably choose a cheap Class A/B amp with single-ended inputs over a cheap Class D one with balanced inputs.
In my main system, I replaced a Musical Fidelity A5 integrated with a Wyred4Sound STI-500 which is Class D. While it's the only Class D I've ever heard, I don't feel that I downgraded sound quality by going from the A5 to the STI-500. The sound is perhaps a bit unnuanced compared to the A5, but this unit has in spades what I found lacking in the A5: amazing rhythmic sense and excellent imaging. So, I don't hate Class D.
It's unfortunate, though, that the audiophile press has virtually no interest in integrateds in the TEAC's price range. Like the veritable slew of similarly-priced Onkyos, Cambridges, Music Halls, Yamahas, Marantzs and the like, this TEAC can't buy itself a review beyond one in Amazon that, frankly, was tough for me to parse. Since I can't hear the thing before I buy it, I'd prefer some guidance from an actual listener to a complete pig in a poke.
I note that the used PS Audio that also is recommended in this thread also is a Class D design. However, it's an older one in a constantly-evolving field. I suspect that newer Class D designs are better, given that a few of them -- NAD and NuPrime to name two -- have gotten pretty good marks from the press in the last year or so.
So, yes, I know what you are saying, but I am taking a chance here in any event. It's not as though I can gain much useful information about the competitive Class A/B designs, so it's a bullet biting exercise in any case.
Here's a link to a European review of the TEAC AX-501, replete with a ponderous Google translation:
That translation is priceless! When it comes to audio, is "fluffy" a good thing or a bad one?
Thanks for digging that up. It seems a generally positive review, once you parse.
Good luck, and please post about your experiences with the Teac. I'd love to know if there really is such a thing as a good sounding, sub-$1000, differential balanced, Class D amp!
Thanks! I certainly will post if I do go that route. (I sent some questions to the shop that advertised the demo unit in the pic. I will see where the answers lead me.)
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