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DrPhilGoode
39
May 9, 2017
Welp… at the 11th hour I joined the drop for the Teac AI-301DA. I had previously “picked up on the drop” (see what I did there?) on it’s sister unit, the AI-101DA and was pleasantly surprised, so… I bought another amp! Huzzah! Mo’ amps!
But immediately after clicking the “JOIN” button I had a thought that others here might have had; “Dafuq did I just buy?!” Admittedly, in-depth info on this unit is a little thin. So, I’ve gathered a few links to help people who may have purchased or are considering purchasing the same product.
First, I’m not including a link to the Teac website. That’s too easy. If you found your way here, you can find your way there. However, I thought the following links might provide a little more insight:
Try this somewhat informative review: http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/news/article/teac-ai-301da--pound;400/20532 And also this: http://www.the-ear.net/review-hardware/desktop-usb-amplifiers-usb-amplifiers
One caveat to the aforementioned review, it lists the power output of the AI-301DA as 15w into 8Ω. Nope. This opinion is soundly trounced by the data provided by both Teac and the manufacturer of the amp unit, ICEPower of Denmark. Info for the amp unit employed, the ICEpower 50ASX2 SE, can be found here: http://www.icepower.bang-olufsen.com/files/solutions/icepower_asx_series_class_d_amplifier_oem.pdf and... http://www.icepower.bang-olufsen.com/en/solutions/speaker/ASX_SERIES
Admittedly, output could be effected by how the amp unit is configured or implemented, but as the reviewer did not specify whether they performed actual output measurement, I’d take the word of the manufacturer.
Lastly, if you’d like a good look under the unit’s bonnet, go here and scroll through the pix: http://www.my-hiend.com/vbb/showthread.php?7941
There. That should be sufficient info to put off any buyer’s remorse or assist a more informed decision. Cheers! And...
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larsv
38
Nov 4, 2017
DrPhilGoodeA late thank you for your very informative post. A note on power rating - from spec charts in the pdf you linked to, it looks like the 50ASX2 SE is fairly clean <0.01% THD up to 22W in 8 ohms, so 15W is actually not completely off. Above 22W THD climbs rapidly. At about 28W the THD reaches 1%.
Oh - found this in a Teac doc: Maximum output 40W + 40W(4 ohms, 1kHz, THD 10%, JEITA) 20W + 20W (8 ohms, 1kHz, THD 10%, JEITA) Effective output 28W + 28W (4 ohms, 1kHz, THD 1%, JEITA) 15W + 15W (8 ohms, 1kHz, THD 1%, JEITA) http://www.teac-audio.eu/downloads/2/6/8/3/7/TEAC_AI-301DA_product_information_EN.pdf
Seems like Teac's power rating is quite a bit more conservative than ICEpower, who makes the amp module.
Then again, this Teac page shows a different power rating - and is probably more up to date. http://www.teac.com/product/ai-301da/specifications/
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