The Teac AI-501DA is an attractive amplifier & DAC, made more attractive by a heavily discounted price.
AMAZON Link: http://amzn.to/1V8kwcA
Manuals & Specs: http://www.teac-audio.eu/en/products/…
Pocket Lint Review: http://www.pocket-lint.com/review/125…
What HiFi Review: http://www.whathifi.com/teac/ai-501da…
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Price: $500.00
Teac AI-501DA-S Integrated Amplifier with 192kHz USB Audio Input (Silver)
Integrated Class-D Amplifier by ABLETEC, Norway: High-Quality Sound, High Output Power, and Low Power Consumption Fully Digital Path via USB Cable allows 192kHz High-Res Audio Playback BurrBrown PCM5102 D/A Converter for a Variety of Digital Sources... (as of May 27, 2020 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Price: $442.89
Teac AI-301DA-BK Integrated Amplifier with Bluetooth USB and DAC (Black)
ICE power 50ASX2-SE Class-D power amp 60W + 60W (4 ohms) high output 2.8MHz/5.6MHz DSD native playback (via USB input) Bluetooth playback with apt codec Burr Brown PCM1795 digital-to-analog converter (as of May 27, 2020 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Price: $109.00
MAC 6321D-000-PM-501DA NSNP
NSFS – New Surplus Factory Sealed (OEM) NSMP – New Surplus Manufacturer Package (OEM) NSNP – New Surplus No Manufacturer Package (OEM) REMAN – Remanufactured Like New (OEM) UNMP – Used or Repaired (OEM) (as of May 27, 2020 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Price: $225.00
It’s a bit annoying that it defaults to USB input. If you never use USB then you’ll have to muck about every time you want to turn it on. It would be great if it remembered the last input that was selected.
Regarding the 120V, it looks like it’s just a jumper to change it to 240V. Which makes sense, they probably spec the one transformer and then have different taps for different markets.
It would be worth moving the jumper to avoid the need for a step-down converter. Besides the hassle of the step-down converter, it’s probably a guarantee that one day someone will plug it straight into 240V. And when that happens, big badda boom.
Thanks for the comprehensive review!
Great amp, but… It would have been Awesome, if it had a tape loop.
If I have to explain why it ruins the comment. (Hint, Graphic equalizer)…
You bought it for a friend? Can I be your friend?
That’s a very nice amp I was actually considering this one but I bought a Cambridge cxa60 and this amp is still 900 bucks on amazon but I’m a Cambridge fan boy all the way great looking amp but those VU meters look pretty lame hardly moving. That volume control is sweet tho
i got a Sony STR-DE495, which i bought for £35 about 2 years ago, now its got an issue where the right channel doesnt work until the amp has been on for a little bit and has warmed up, if you leave the amp on for a while without playing any audio, audio will stop working through the right channel until you turn the amp off and leave it alone for a few hours (about 5-8 hours)
does anyone know what could be causing this, most likely cause is prob one of the big capacitors is failing but does anyone one else have any idea whats wrong and if it could be user repairable
I have a Tascam (Teac) US122-MkII and it’s a stuttery, sloppy mess too. It works beautifully when it works, but it loses it’s fucking mind and needs to be disconnected and reconnected now and again.
I always thought Teac was pretty cheap and nasty but this unit actually seems decent. 🙂
Mmmm, “various sauces”.
That nixie tube calculator is awesome.
lol…..”and a green bit with little houses on it…”
Cool meters on that badboy
I always thought SACD didn’t permit digital output (other than via HDMI) for copy-protection reasons…?
You sound exactly like that dude in blacks books.
For 156$ shipping I hope they had a guy jump on an intercontinental flight and deliver it to your doorstep.
Your review of the inside of the amp was very informational. Thank you very much for that.
I have the DAC half of this combo in the form of the UD-H01. It’s a superb bit of kit, and is im my opinion of better quality than the amplifier section present here. Connected to a high end system, it performs admirably for its price.
That’s an awful lot of money for a measly 30/60 watts x 2 @ 4/8 ohms, especially when wattage is so cheap these days. For example, a Behringer iNUKE NU6000 is about $350 (1500/3000 watts x 2 @ 4/8 ohms), or you can get one with a built-in digital signal processor (NU6000DSP) which is reportedly quite good, for $400.
When you showed the insides, I just loved your description of what was in there! I would have been thinking along those lines, but you have managed to say it so eloquently! (and thank you spell checker for “eloquently”)
I bought some nice stuff for a friend, but my wife keeps finding the boxes in the bin!
the motorized volume control is pretty cool I agree.
what’s a quid? Is that like the thing you trade in a quid pro quo?
The Sony UDA-1 is a similair device. Also can be found much cheaper in the US or Canada.
those shipping costs really ain’t normal for such a small cheap device, just like shipping gear from uk to the netherlands, which ain’t gonna be better with Brexit
Can you please tell me, is there any backround noise from that device? Any humming at all?
this or marantz hd-dac1?