Review and Measurements of Teac AX-501 Amplifier

[filo97s]

I've repaired a lot of stuff where that cheap brand has failed. Designed by engineers, finished by the penny pinchers of the economy department. Every failed unit is a lost customer. I don't get it. How hard can it be to install quality caps in a power supply?

i have its big brother, the AMS 1000 which should be their flagship amp, the board is currently sold at 379€ cables included. It sounds really well for my ears, but i've noticed again the use of cheap capacitors, especially on the power supply, from a brand named "Jianghai"

I've noticed also that they used capacitors rated at 200V for 230V usage, presumably a series of two pairs of capacitors in parallel. This should be avoided, IMO.
Film capacitors is again from another brand called "Carli" which seems another poor quality one.
Here's a full res 24mpx shot of the board: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_Z_a7UaWzGos-10qRktBu5sTowLq03XD/view?usp=sharing

 

[MRC01]

How does it do on the 50 mV output SINAD headphone test? Do you keep a running comparison graph of the various devices in that test?

 

[anmpr1]

As a former owner of both their X-10R and X-1000 tape recorders, I am happy to see TEAC still alive, and kind of kicking. Not happy that a little table top integrated sporting 3 line inputs costs a thousand dollars. TEAC markets a 'high end' line called Esoteric--preamps selling for 10 grand, 9 thousand dollar phono stages, etc. If they made this SOA for the dollars they are asking, how could they justify their Esoteric line? I mean, there's only so much pace and front to back depth you can put into one of these things for a grand.

 

[airs]

As a former owner of both their X-10R and X-1000 tape recorders, I am happy to see TEAC still alive, and kind of kicking. Not happy that a little table top integrated sporting 3 line inputs costs a thousand dollars. TEAC markets a 'high end' line called Esoteric--preamps selling for 10 grand, 9 thousand dollar phono stages, etc. If they made this SOA for the dollars they are asking, how could they justify their Esoteric line? I mean, there's only so much pace and front to back depth you can put into one of these things for a grand.

FWIW, I got this unit years ago for $600 AR (there was a $150 rebate back then).

 

[hira]

Thank you Amir.
I used the same amp.
It helps to confirm the value of the equipment.

AX-501 UV Meter's LED is fragile.
When I used it, one of them was broken. It is safer to turn it off.
I often see only one of the LED off when I look at the store display.

TEAC assembles products using ICEPOWER, NCORE and Anaview modules.

I think that AX-505 is using NC122MP.
Perhaps the only change to the PCB was to replace the film capacitor.
source http://my-hiend.com/wp/
http://my-hiend.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/SGH_1411tt.jpg

Power amplifier AP-505 will be released soon.
The classic appearance is good but expensive. (AX-505,AP-505 over $1200)

AI-301 using ICEPOWER 50ASX2-SE modules.
This is an attractive price for products that use ICE modules, except DIY.
USB DAC function, subwoofer out, headphone out, etc. It is about $ 270 in Japan.

I am using a translation, and I am sorry if it is a strange word.

 

[amirm]

Good data @hira. Thanks for posting. The translation was fine.

 

[NTomokawa]

Aaand of course we have yet another thousand-dollar piece of equipment without a safety cert (UL/ETL/CSA/ENEC/TUV...) of any sort.

Esoteric

The name says it all... Might as well name it "Snakoil".

 

[restorer-john]

Thanks for the link @hira.

I'll have two of whatever she's selling...

 

[restorer-john]

Another truly wonderful brand of capacitor. Not.

Suscon. Always be suspicious of these condensers (capacitors).

The entire board is riddled with them.

 

[NTomokawa]

Another truly wonderful brand of capacitor. Not.

Suscon. Always be suspicious of these condensers (capacitors).

No ELNA? Nichicon? Nippon Chemi-con?

Amazing.

 

[Sparky]

I've got the NT505 but the shipping to and from you would be costly as I'm from the great white north. I've been considering the AX-505 though and would love to see if they've done a good job with the nCore's.

Hi.

I'm considering the NT-505 and wondered if you could explain its ease of use and, in particular, it's "sound" with those twin separated DACs.

It's certainly a good looking thing and it would tick a lot of boxes but it carries a hefty price tag which is making me really think about this purchase.

It would be used in a 2 channel set up consisting of an Arcam SR250 paired with Spendor A7 speakers.

 

[Gradius]

Another truly wonderful brand of capacitor. Not.

Suscon. Always be suspicious of these condensers (capacitors).

View attachment 26359

The entire board is riddled with them.

You can always have fun by modding them with better ones. ;-)

 

[Sparky]

Hi.

I'm considering the NT-505 and wondered if you could explain its ease of use and, in particular, it's "sound" with those twin separated DACs.

It's certainly a good looking thing and it would tick a lot of boxes but it carries a hefty price tag which is making me really think about this purchase.

It would be used in a 2 channel set up consisting of an Arcam SR250 paired with Spendor A7 speakers.

I ended up buying the RME ADI-2 DAC. Haven't looked back. Awesome DAC.

 

[JJB70]

I was thinking about one of these if I replace my old Sony ES gear. I have an annual bonus and although I was looking to replace it with a system speaker there are a few good deals on very good passive speakers. This amplifier is available new for £399 and at that price it is probably priced about right all things considered. However, for little over £100 more I can get the Yamaha AS801 or Rotel A14, both of which perform well, come with good DACs and are nice enough to come with some pride of ownership. I don't want to spend an awful lot on an amplifier, but equally I'd rather spend a bit more on something I like. The Yamaha and Rotel have sufficient power for me, a good feature set and nice build for £540 - 560 (on offer), given that even at £399 the TEAC doesn't look a particularly great deal.

 

[BillG]

For about half the money, I'd probably buy this instead - what one loses on balanced inputs, one makes up for in coaxial and optical ones:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32834564523.html

 

[JJB70]

For about half the money, I'd probably buy this instead - what one loses on balanced inputs, one makes up for in coaxial and optical ones:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32834564523.html

That looks like an excellent specification, but by the time I pay 20% VAT, shipping, VAT handling charge etc it comes out as similar in price to the Rotel A14 or Yamaha AS801 from UK dealers and a lot more than the TEAC AX501 (admittedly at discount) which come with UK consumer rights and warranty. The Yamaha and Rotel options have more than sufficient power for my needs and a good DAC and both are manufacturers with excellent provenance in audio.

 

[Descartes]

Do you think the TEAC AX-505 performance would be better since it has Ncore module by Hypex!

https://eu.teac-audio.com/en-GLOBAL...plifiers/ax-505-integrated-amplifier/p/244709

 

[Barry_Sound]

It's very cute looking.

Here is a closeup of the smps/amplifier PCB section. Of serious concern are the CapXon capacitors which in my experience are one of the absolute worst for venting and premature catastrophic failure. It shocks me that a respected manufacturer would consider using such poor quality capacitors.

A couple years in, I have searched for any reports of broken AX-501 amps but didnt find any.