Teac a-h500

[Steve Eddy]

The 300 was a bit underpowered by comparison, needing careful speaker choice IMO.

The speakers I'd be using it with have a sensitivity of 95dB. 30 watts is plenty to get 'em rockin' in my rather smallish office.

I can't remember where these were made. It could have been China or Malaysia where labour and parts were cheaper..

Yeah. But they weren't exactly "cheap," so I was thinking that being sold under the "Reference" series banner, they might have been making them in Japan.

se

[Steve Eddy]

The gold looks a little too "gangsta pimp" for my tastes.

Hehehe. I'm ok with the more delicate "champagne gold." I fell in love with that long before a bunch of ghetto thugs with hideously gaudy jewelry gave gold a bad name.

se

[Seth=L]

All Teac Reference 500 series components come in one finish, champagne. Sometimes they appear to be silver because of the lighting conditions, and the stock photos are enhanced to appear more "gold" in color.

I'm love with my Teac A-H500 integrated. The performance is astounding in comparison to the AG-H500 (stereo receiver from the same series). The AG-H500 performs in league with the A-H300 integrated that I used to have. Honestly, every component in the Reference line is an afterthought of the A-H500 which spawned from the A-H400 (similar design, little different aesthetic approach).

Teac introduced the VRDS-9 compact CD player/transport and the A-H400 was meant to compliment it (this was 93'-94'?). Both were of excellent build quality. By the mid 90's Teac had decided to make an entire line of compact components by introducing the Reference 500 series. The Reference 300 and 100 series were released not long after. Closer to 2000 they released the 200 series and got rid of the 100 series.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hi Seth,
Welcome to the Art of Sound.
If you wouldn't mind posting an entry into the Welcome area for us, that would be great. This will give you a chance to tell us a little about yourself, your system and what music you like. That way, we can all find you to say hello!

Cheers

[Seth=L]

I saw a Teac A-H400 listed for sale somewhere in the UK, unfortunately I did not save the image of it. Teac also made a PD-H400 (essentially the same as the PD-H500). The PD-H400 was a single disc CD player. The foundation of the Reference series, as mentioned above, was the VRDS-9. The VRDS-9 came in two color options, black and champagne.

Here's the VRDS-9 in black finish.



Champagne...



It looks right at home with an A-H500 integrated. Comically enough, the CD player weighs more than the amp does at 9 kgs (19 lbs) vs. the amplifier's 6.9 kgs (15 lbs).

[Seth=L]

I figured I would do an internal comparison among the A-H300, AG-H500, and A-H500.


A Teac Reference A-H300 integrated amplifier with her cover removed (ooh, nudies!)...




Teac Reference AG-H500 stereo receiver insides...



And finally, the Teac Reference A-H500 integrated amplifier guts...



I hope you all enjoy!

[Techno Commander]

Thats a serious power supply for a little integrated.

[Reid Malenfant]

Thats a serious power supply for a little integrated.

Indeed, it's dual mono as well Not messing about are they

Kind of reminds me of some of the mini Aiwa components i have from the 80s, just a shame that the cassette deck is stuffed, it needs more belts than an orchestra The tuner, pre & power amp are all ok though & i found a nice Yamaha cassette deck that just about matches

[Seth=L]

Indeed, it's dual mono as well Not messing about are they

I like the isolation in the amplifier. The preamp section is also neatly tucked underneath the transformer in a Faraday cage.

[quote-Reid Malenfant]Kind of reminds me of some of the mini Aiwa components i have from the 80s...[/QUOTE]

Several manufacturers offered micro systems of parallel performance and design when Aiwa components arrived on the scene. Before Aiwa was part of electronics and entertainment giant, Sony, they had some excellent products that were before their time. Technics, Pioneer, Denon, Sony, Toshiba (Aurex) have all at one point made similar products in order to compete. Toshiba's Aurex is among my favorites.

[Alex_UK]

There's a definite Children's TV theme running tonight - that Tosh looks just like Mickey Mouse!