Teac Ax 3000

[Tammara Freimark]

Didyou know that TEAC still made home theater gear? Well, apparently, they do. The last thing we bought from the company was either a VHS or CD-R product. But, back in the day, they were one of the big names. In 1987, TEAC launched the high-end audio brand, Esoteric, and look to have borrowed a page out of their book with their new Distinction line of products. While the Esoteric brand seems to be in love with their silver components, the Distinction line will be distinct from them (but not everyone else) by offering black. Understand, however, that these are not just rebadges from the higher-end line. These seem to be completely unique products.

The AI-3000 from TEAC is the only integrated amp in the line to feature two XLR inputs. It also has dual 5-way binding posts for each channel (speakers A/B or bi-wiring since there are only two amps in the AI-3000). According to the press release, the AI-3000 will pump 360 watts per channel into 4 ohms (signal to noise ratio of 102 dB) and 200 watts into 8 ohms. We aren't sure if the 102 dB SNR rating is at full power, 8 ohms or at 1 watt. Most amplifier companies rate SNR at full power unless they state otherwise so if you scale that number back to one watt its roughly 79dB which is a decent rating, especially if its an un-weighted measurement.

Although the press release claims a power output of 360 watts into 4 ohms, the actual product spec sheet lists 300 watts into 4 ohms. Perhaps the 360 watt 4 ohm rating is with one channel driven while the 300 watt / channel rating is with two channels driven.

The rear of the unit features, in addition to the dual XLR inputs, four RCA inputs plus a phono input with a ground. There is a bypass inputs for...we don't know. Why would you want to bypass the internal amps of your integrated amp? Unless they are used to bypass the internal electronics and run the AI-3000 as a straight amp. That would make more sense. Since the AI-3000 and the other Distinction series components are not listed on the TEAC website yet (even though they started shipping last month), we'll have to wait to see. One pair of RCA outs can be used to add another amp or, perhaps to a second AI-3000 though the bypass (if that is how it works).

Glancing at the front, you'll find the traditionally spartan controls of a gear targeted at the high-end crowd. There is a knob for volume (sadly it doesn't appear to be backlit), a button for power, and a button for each input plus for selecting speakers A, B, or both. Your chosen input/speaker configuration will be illuminated. No word on a remote. Glancing inside,you can see a rather large E-core power transformer towards the front of the unit with six power supply capacitors spanning two columns. We suspect these caps are wired in parallel to reduce ESR over using two larger value caps. This is typically done in high end audio to reduce power supply ripple and increase performance. Both sides of the unit are flanked with heatsinks reminding us of some of those mega amps from Sim Audio and Krell. Teac claims this is an analog Class A/B design and from what we see, it looks like a lot of thought and good materials went into this bad boy.

The front of the AI-2000 has nearly all of the same controls as the AI-3000 except that the speaker selection is combined into a single button (which, presumably, toggles between the three possible options). There is a large volume knob centrally located with the input selection buttons on the right side. On the back you'll find a single set of XLR inputs but the same dual 5-way binding posts for each speaker. In fact, all of the RCA-style inputs and outputs (including the phone input and bypass/pre-out) are the same as the AI-3000.

The front of the AI-1000 looks just like the AI-2000 sans the speaker select button. On the back, there are a few more differences. The phono input has been replaced with a SACD one (without the ground) giving a total of five RCA inputs. The bypass and pre-outs are still present. There is a single pair of 5-way binding posts and no XLR inputs at all.

Although these new TEAC Distinction Line of Integrated amplifiers are a bit spartan to look at, they appear to offer a lot of good performance under the hood. Regardless of the stereotypical black color scheme, the brushed aluminum front plate looks to be very attractive and, dare we say it, distinctive in a sea of gloss black components. The no-frills operation hints toward high fidelity and ease of use. Teac is obviously going after performance over features to appeal to the "purist" and "audiophiles". They put in a nice meaty power supply and amp section, and plenty of heat sink area to ensure these amps can deliver plenty of stable power into 4 ohm loads.

The largest in the series, the AI-3000 is a bit pricey but for audiophiles demanding the best in performance it likely won't deter them from pursuing sonic nirvana. Consider the $1000 AI-1000 which looks like a nice solution for a budding audiophile's first two channel system. But without the full features and specs released, and without our bench tests, we'll have to reserve final judgement for now. Still, a hopeful line from TEAC and one that we'll be keeping an eye on.

As Associate Editor at Audioholics, Tom promises to the best of his ability to give each review the same amount of attention, consideration, and thoughtfulness as possible and keep his writings free from undue bias and preconceptions. Any indication, either internally or from another, that bias has entered into his review will be immediately investigated. Substantiation of mistakes or bias will be immediately corrected regardless of personal stake, feelings, or ego.

These were produced at about the same time as the Pioneer. This model was the mid range model of three the other being the AX5000 and the smaller one being the AX1000. The AX3000 was rebadged by Amber electronics and sold as an Amber 60i. I had one of these and it was not a patch on its predeccor being the 50b adn 50c but there were completely different things.

This Teac amp should be a nice sounding little amp but don't expect it to be a giant killer. I can't comment on Mt Jumbles' (aka Trevabek) claims about the parts. I had the 5000 and the 1000 and they were both pretty good with the 1000 probably sounding just a little better.

don't you love it when the only info you can find on google is a page the seller has quoted from .... and not credited.... making out it's his personal opinion or knowledge. One of my pet ebay hates.... that tradeontheweb guy does it shamelessly.... and jollyjumbles in another culprit. I reckon he actually doesn't have a clue and an old ad on trademe.co.nz is the source of the "TEAC AX3000 = Pioneer A400" assertion. I may be wrong....

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For cassette freaks, the great decks are defined as much by what they DON'T have as what they DO have. The 3-head design is obviously a must-have, while dual cassette wells, auto-reverse and track search are the must NOT haves. Of all the decks I have owned since the late '70's, the V-3000 is my personal favorite for both its excellent performance and its great aesthetics. I purchased mine new in 1991 and it is still my go-to deck for both recording and playback, not that I do much recording these days. This is a large unit by early 90's standards, more akin to the late 70's chassis, so it really has a tendency to stand out in your audio rack, which isn't a bad thing at all. The center-well design, amber lighting and the clean front panel look great, with a multi-mode tape counter and RTZ return to zero function that speeds up finding a specific point in the tape and determining remaining time. Bias fine tuning is another great feature, again if you're still making recordings, as I always found slight bias differences in the tape formulations of Denon, Fuji, TDK, and Maxell. These decks are hard to find, at least ones in mint condition at a reasonable price. If you do find one though, you won't be disappointed...very musical and reliable piece of equipment.

The DA-3000 is perfectly designed for stereo PCM/DSD recordings at high sampling frequencies suitable for archival masters. This magnificent unit is capable of recording analog and digital signals up to 192kHz PCM or 5.6MHz DSD. The unit records to both SDHC cards and UDMA supported CF cards

For example: Play a 48k file from the card, set the new sample rate to 88.2k in the menu, then change the clock source to Digital In or Word Clock. The unit is still in 48k mode, so you will see the clocking error message. If you press the home button then press record, the unit should switch to the new sample rate.

If that doesn't work, check the audio on the transmission side. For example, an older A/D converter may be set for "bit splitting mode" over two outputs, instead of "double speed" mode that the DA-3000 expects.

No, this feature isn't supported. You can't connect several DA-3000s and use them like a multitrack tape deck. You can start recording or playback on all of them at the same time. This gives you files that all start at the same time.

The DA-3000 can reformat a USB drive for better playback performance. You can use a USB flash drive as-is, but at higher sampling rates the media may not be able to play back fast enough and playback may stop.

All the amplifiers in the "Distinction Series" use discrete analog circuits and have multiple analog inputs for versatility. The beautifully sculpted aluminum panels give a quality presence. All the products are equipped with a headphone output as well a pre-out to drive an external sub-woofer or recorder.

The top of the line AI-3000 brings mammoth power, capable of driving even the lowest efficiency speakers with plenty of headroom. The AI-3000 will put out an enormous 360 watts per channel into 4 ohms with an amazing signal to noise ratio of 102 db. Two fully balanced analog inputs are available with the AI-3000. The side panels are tremendous aluminum heat sinks that run the full length of the amplifier. At over 20" high and 69 pounds, the AI-3000's imposing looks match the amplifier's muscular performance specifications.

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