![]() ![]() ![]() The Sennheiser’s 50-ohm impedance makes it an easy headphone for many amp designs to drive, and I sensed plenty of power on tap from the Class A/B headphone amp that TEAC specs at 2 x 50 milliwatts (32 ohms, 0.1 percent THD). Transferring the AI-503 to the desktop, I plugged in my headphones and leaned back to listen to the same tracks. There was also a degree of warmth to the overall sound that was a pleasant surprise. The standup bass on this track in particular caught my attention due to the crisp quality of the plucked strings and the powerful resonance of the instrument’s hollow body. Cymbals were rich and detailed, while both the piano and the guitar came through with a clear, natural tone. My final living-room listening test was to play the jazz supergroup Hudson’s take on Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock.” Here again, the TEAC presented a finely layered and expansive soundstage. I’ll be interested to read the measurements once the AI-503 exits our test bench. Still, it was my sense during listening tests that the TEAC is rated conservatively at 2 x 30 watts. And though I was able to push the volume to relatively high levels in my largish living room and not hear strain, I didn’t get the sense that there was a tremendous amount of headroom. However, I again felt that the bass lacked some of the weight in the bottom octaves I get with my regular amp. Synths and samples were meticulously rendered, with fine layering, and bass was potent. I continued to be impressed by the compact TEAC’s clarity and power when I played an electronic track, “LA Trance” by Four Tet. That said, while the bass guitar sounded taut and detailed, it did lack some of the extension I’m used to hearing with my regular, more powerful amp. I was also impressed by the orchestral flourishes, which had a dynamic impact I normally wouldn’t expect to get from a modestly powered integrated amp. The track’s dry vocals, meanwhile, sounded upfront and present enough that it seemed as if Waters was poking his head into my room. As I listened, a guitar emerged from an impossibly distant point beyond the speakers. Listened to through the Elac, both instruments tended to blend more in the mix.Īnother song, “Is This the Life We Really Want?” by Roger Waters, provided an even better demonstration of the TEAC’s ability to render a detailed, expansive soundstage. For example, when I played a familiar track, Mazzy Star’s “Flowers in December,” the violin stood distinctly behind the acoustic guitar. With the AI-503 handling decoding, there was also a clearer presentation of instruments in space. Jriver media center 21 review driver#The AI-503’s manual states that a Windows driver is available on TEAC’s website, but it hadn’t been posted yet for download in the site’s support section during my evaluation, so I wasn’t able to test Windows compatibility.Ĭomparing the performance of the Elac Discovery’s analog and digital outputs connected to the corresponding inputs on the AI-503, I sensed that the TEAC’s DAC was slightly better at revealing nuances in tracks with vocals. Jriver media center 21 review pro#For computer input, I used a MacBook Pro running JRiver Media Center 21. The speakers I used for the test were GoldenEar Technology Triton Five towers to evaluate the headphone amp, I tapped Sennheiser’s HD 598. I placed the AI-503 in my hi-fi rack and connected it to an Elac Discovery music server with built-in DAC (see review in our February/March 2018 issue) running Roon Essentials music library software. ![]()
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