Review: TEAC A-L700P - 30WPC Digital Amp

AsSiMiLaTeD

Before I get started, a little background infor. This is the 'little' Teac digital amplifier, rated at 30WPC, that has been talked about a few times on here. I don't fully understand the whole 'digital' amp thing and how everything works, so I'm not going technical at all with this review - I'm just describing what I've done and how it sounds to me

Here's a couple of threads where this amp has been discussed:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32553&highlight=Teac
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26346&highlight=Teac

A little background

I got this amp last Friday (thanks Hoosier for the quick shipment - shipped the thing even before he had the check). I bought this amp for a bedroom setup that I'm building. I expected that it would have decent sound, but I wasn't really expecting too much. The rest of the bedroom system is going to be OKAY, but nothing special - just looking for decent sound, not doing any critical listening in this area, hence my idea to put this amp in that system.

I don't yet have the speakers or preamp for this system. The preamp is going to be a passive (basically a volume knob and two sets of outputs, that's it) and the speakers are going to be some AR bookies.

So right now that just leaves me with this amp and a Toshiba DVD player for DVD and CD Duty (actually has surprisingly good CD playback, and has HCDC decoding). So I decided to bring the RTi70s from the HT system into the bedroom to give it a listen. This not only gives me a way to test the amp, but also lets me test the amp on speakers with which I'm very familiar, which is important. So at this point I have basically a full system in the bedroom that I can test on.

Test Setup and Material

Here's the setup:

Source - Toshiba SD-2300
Preamp - None - using volume controls on amp
Amp - Teac digital amp
Speakers - RTi70
Cables - AQ Copperhead ICs and AQ speaker wires, single run.

I used recordings that I'm very familiar with for testing:

Dave Matthews Band - Crash
Diana Krall - Live in Paris
Pat Metheny - Bright Size Life
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Sting - Sacred Love and Mercury Falling
Yo Yo Ma - Vivaldi's Cello
Dream Theater - Octavarium and Scenes From A Memory
Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs

Testing

I hooked everything up and gave a quick listen to get initial thoughts. Out of this box, this is a good amp, though a little bright for my tastes, especially with the RTi series. I didn't listen long, just a few moments. I'd been advised by Sean and others that this thing would require some break in - so I decided to do just that before giving a critical listen. I basically let it burn in some on Saturday and Sunday, and all day on Monday and Tuesday. In all, I've got about 50 hours on it.

So last night I decided to sit down and listen for a few minutes, to see if it had broken in any. I'm not big in to burn in and all that, don't really understand the idea behind it all the time, and never really had a strong opinion one way or the other on burn in, maybe because most of the geat I've bought has ben used. I'll tell you what though...

Mark me down as a believer!!!

Four days after my initial listen I'm hearing a different amp, simple as that. What started out as a few minute listening session last night ended up as me three hours later with a bunch of stuff scribbled on a notepad, CDs strewn across the bed, and my wife telling me it was time to go to bed.

I've never had speakers in the bedroom, so I spent the first half hour or so getting everything set up, speakers positioned, etc. I'd say I got a good 2 1/2 hours of good testing, swapping out CDs several times along the way.

Conclusion

This amp ROCKS! There will be the nay-sayers and they may smite me down with their vast knowledge and explain why there's no way this amp can be as good as the $1000 parasound I have sitting in the HT. But nonetheless, I am very impressed with this amp and would put it up against amps ten times it's price that I've heard.

This amp has a very natural sound. The brightness that I noticed at first is gone altogether. I'd still classify the sound of this amp as detailed. It's a bit more up front and detailed than the Parasound I have, which I consider to be a bit laid-back. It's not overly detailed though, not bright at all to my ears. With Parasound being on one end of the spectrum and something like Adcom being on the other end, I'd place this one in the middle, but maybe a little biut closer to the Adcom.

One cool thing is the quality at lower levels. Something I've always noticed with amps and receivers (and I've posted about it here before) is that it seems that you have to turn up the volume a bit to get the clarity and detail you want. Someone on here called it something (don't remember what) and mentioned that this is a product of SS technology, that tubes typically sound better at lower volumes (I've never really heard tubes so can't comment myself). Well, one thing I love about this amp is that I get the clarity and detail I want, even at lower volumes. I don't have to turn the volume up much at all to get good sound. This is something I've been trying to remedy for a long time and am excited to find this amp deals with that well.

The only negative I can find with the amp is a little lack of dynamics - I don't get the umph that I get with the Parasound. Being that this is only 30WPC, that's not surprising. The dynamics aren't bad, and are actually plenty good enough for music playback, for music I'm perfectly satisfied with what I'm getting and actually get as much with this amp as I do with the Parasound for MUSIC. Now HT, we'll that's a different story. HT typically has a lot more dynamics, and this amp falls a little short in going from 0 - 100 IMO.

In short, this is the best amp I've ever heard my music on, period. Now that statement comes with a couple of caveats of course. One, it's not like I've heard every brand of amp out there. I've heard maybe a dozen or so, so I'm not saying that this is the greatest thing ever built, just the best I've heard, again, for music. Two, the room acoustics in my bedroom are obviously different than those in my living area, so I'm willing to accept that some of the improvements I'm hearing are a result of that. I'm gonna bring the Parasound into the bedroom this weekend and see what happens.

Summary, Final Thoughts

I've never heard my music sound like this before. My experience so far is very exciting! I'm feeling the music again, very cool. I can't wait to start experimenting with different speakers!

This is the best amp I've heard for music, given the two caveats above.

This is not an HT amp, at least to me. While the dynamics are good for music, I feel like it's lacking some of the dynamics needed for movies.

If you have an extra $100 you can spare, I can't think of any reason you shouldn't pick this thing up.

That is all...

nadams

The amp had to break in? Hmm... I think that's the first time I've heard of that...

This would be an interesting amp for my office rig.

AsSiMiLaTeD

nadams wrote:

The amp had to break in? Hmm... I think that's the first time I've heard of that...

This is a well known feature of this amp. People that have reviewed it online and on here have all commented that it needs a good bit of break-in time. Several people have mentioned 100 hours, but after 50 for me, everything smoothed out, so maybe it'll get even better?!!

If you made that as a statement for amps in general, I think I've heard most people say their amps sound better, or at least different, after break in. I've never experienced that before, because I've always bought used stuff...

Danny Tse

Polkmaniac,

Thanks for the review. Did you get the amp from Dakmart?

AsSiMiLaTeD

Nope, I got it from Hoosier (Russ) here on CP.

Danny Tse

OK.

I think I better get one of these before they run out....J&R and Needle Doctor used to sell this amp and they are all sold out.

madmax

I'm afraid I am going to have to smite you down with my vast knowlege on the subject. Just kidding.

I also found the amp just as you described it. There is a characteristic sound to the amplifier which you have not picked up on yet. It's the sound that electrostatic speakers make. I can't really describe it. In my opinion it is a far better noise to have over standard SS equipment. Especially cheap SS equipment. Isn't it cool that in these days of $1K+ amplifiers that you can have something like this for $99? And, what you are hearing is not modified in any way. I understand it can get a lot better if you know what to do with it. Great review and I agree completely.
madmax

AsSiMiLaTeD

I''ve already ordered another one...

I'm thinking about doing the mods to turn each of these into mono amps - that would be good...

faster100

I wanna try one also, Have the sonic impact and like it, just want the same power but more of it.. was even kicking around the idea of making the passive pre im getting into a sonic impact integrated. stick in a SI board and some binding post on the back of it.. all able to be powered with 12 volts and totally portable. just add tuner and/or cd and speakers...

AsSiMiLaTeD

I think madmax has compared the teac and the T amp side by side, maybe he can comment on what his observations were. I think he liked the T amp better, but I could be mistaken.

I'm gonna look around this weekend and see if I can find one of those T amps and do a compare and see what I come up with...

faster100

here are mine, if you havent already seen em

ohskigod

where can you get that little teac?

AsSiMiLaTeD

There's a link somewhere in the first thread I linked to - think it's to Dakmart or some such...

RuSsMaN

Bring that over, if you want, when you pick up your goodies. I wouldn't mind hearing it on the line arrays (95db).

And quit (everyone) calling them 'digital' amps. They are 'chip' amps, not digital. New tech, yes, but a switching amp nonetheless.

fredv

Just ordered one from Dakmart, grand total $123.78. Haven't quite figured out how to use it yet :-) Speaker candidates are: Monitor 5B, 7C, B&W DM10, B&W DM110.
Everything else could be too much for it.

Here is the link: http://www.dakmart.com/website/ItemDetail.asp?ItemId=42161&cID=110

madmax

The little Sonic Impact sounds better but of course only has about 5wpc. I've used a pair of them on my SDA's and can get a listenable volume out of them. They are not common ground but with a pair they work. Should be awesome on efficient speakers. At the $30 mark they are one heck of a deal too.
madmax

heiney9

Polkmaniac wrote:

This is a well known feature of this amp. People that have reviewed it online and on here have all commented that it needs a good bit of break-in time. Several people have mentioned 100 hours, but after 50 for me, everything smoothed out, so maybe it'll get even better?!!

If you made that as a statement for amps in general, I think I've heard most people say their amps sound better, or at least different, after break in. I've never experienced that before, because I've always bought used stuff...

Many believe (including myself) that an amp also sounds better after it's been on for awhile either idling or in use. It gives the amplifier's bias, temp and general stability a chance to fall in place so to speak.

Great review PM....I love it when people take the time to articulate their experience and thanks for including the music you used. I own almost every single one you mention and that gives me an even better point of reference.

H9

madmax

Two things. Its been awhile since I looked at it but isn't there one board for L&R and another for C? If so you are better off using L and C and just not putting a load on the R channel. Each board has one amplifier chip with two channels. One channel on the C board is not populated with the rest of the parts. Since each board utilizes one amplifier chip it should be better to use only one channel per chip (both boards) rather than using two channels of one chip (one board) and removing the other board. You could eliminate the associated components for the R channel to eliminate any extra current use. This is all if I'm correct, of course.
madmax

BlueMDPicker

I have to add my name to the list of those in awe of this little amp. Right out of the box, it's an audio experience at a level I was not expecting. Mine (thanks Chuck!) only has a few hours on it, but is on and burning-in today. A really fun item to play with, and more than adequate for our MBR TV/DVD setup.

Mike

madmax

Mike,
If you really like the sound of that one then this is a must have. It will knock your socks off in the sound quality arena! And at $28 it is a must have toy at the least.

http://www.sjgreatdeals.com/sit5066.html

madmax

madmax

It is rated at 15wpc stereo. Depending on the load it can drop to 5wpc.
madmax

Schris22

wow interesting read...

I'm currently running a giant (in comparison) Onkyo Tx-8211. I wondered if I shuold've gone with an amp like this isntead for my computer....

I'll definatly have to look into it.

BlueMDPicker

madmax wrote:

Mike,
If you really like the sound of that one then this is a must have. It will knock your socks off in the sound quality arena! And at $28 it is a must have toy at the least.

I wish we would have had time to give it a go with the single driver enclosures when you were here. I drove it hard for a couple of hours last night using the Polk XM tuner and Shanling CDP as sources, with the GG pre, into the Abbys. The imaging and depth of soundstage are extraordinary. Transient response is blazing fast. Mids are on par with the SEOTL monoblocks. It rolls the highs off into the 8 ohm Fostex load a bit, but it's not glaring until you really drive it hard. Bass is dynamic and with tight punch but, again, suffers from a bit too much "bloom" at higher volume.

I'm going to move the Monitor 11s in to the same mix this evening. I suspect that the 6 ohm load, Peerless tweeters, and a PR may have a bit of magic with the sound signature of this amp.

Mike

madmax

Much of the sound is not there yet. Give it another 75 hours or so. As for driving the single driver enclosures, I really think the SI amp will give you a much better presentation. I know, you are liking the Teac and I'm sounding negative but the SI really does sound much nicer. Isn't that just amazing??!!! Glad you are having fun!
madmax

DarkHorror

How does the sound of those compair to digital receivers like the Panasonic XR55?

BlueMDPicker

madmax wrote:

Mike,
If you really like the sound of that one then this is a must have. It will knock your socks off in the sound quality arena! And at $28 it is a must have toy at the least.

http://www.sjgreatdeals.com/sit5066.html

madmax

Does the SI come with a wall wart? I can't tell from the ad in the link.

AsSiMiLaTeD

I've only heard the HK receivers along those lines, so I can't comment on the Panasonic. The Teac sounds superior to the HK to my ears. The HK sounds like what it is, a receiver. The HK sounds good, I just think the Teac sounds better.

The Sonic Impact is also nice. I actually still prefer the Teac over the SI, even at lower levels - but the SI isn't practical for my current application because I just can't get enough volume out of it.

madmax

BlueMDPicker wrote:

Does the SI come with a wall wart? I can't tell from the ad in the link.

No, it doesn't. Although faster believes an ac supply is ok I feel that DC operation is part of the beauty of the amp. An SLA batt for $20 to $30 is a real audiophile upgrade. Pretty much unlimited current capacity and zero noise component make a DC battery supply a no brainer.
madmax

BlueMDPicker

I finally got the A-L700P setup with the SDA 2As in the MBR. Outstanding SQ driven by the DVD/CD player! I backed both input pots off a bit so I wouldn't overdrive it. But, even when you do (as Chuck pointed out) it breaks up in a controlled way.

Instead of pulling the center channel board (as a lot of tweakers have done), I wired the ground of the center and right channel BPs together to get my common ground for the SDAs (thanks for the help and encouragement, Chuck.)

Very cool little amp, I can't wait to see where these chip amps go in the near future.