Teac AG-D9320 5.1 Channels Receiver
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- Surround Sound: Dolby Digital® DTS®
- THX Certification: No
- Number of Channels: 5.1 Channels
- Type: Receiver
- Surround Mode Power: 100 Watt @ 8 ohm, THD: 0.5%
- Stereo Mode Power: 130 Watt @ 8 ohm, THD: 0.09%
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Not bad, if you can stand the heat
Pros
Well featured, cheap price
Cons
Runs hotter than the female cast of Baywatch
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Good value. Good performance. I am a happy customer.
[Update: Feb '01] - After a few months of ownership, I am actually respecting this unit more and more. This thing can really keep the juice flowing even when the load starts to get tough. Mahler Symphony 1 at full volume? No problemo. It keeps on giving and never clips. Heat is still an issue, though. But I must say, although this could be purely psychological, I think this amp actually delivers a better kick when it's hot. I am one satisfied customer.
Some people claim to be able to differentiate sonic differences among different audio amplifiers. They would say that amp A is "warmer", amp B is "more neutral", while amp C is.... oh, you get the idea.
Maybe it's the hearing damages I suffered in my youth, when I was overly enthusiastic about Bon Jovi, but I cannot tell audio amps apart sonically even if my life depends on it. To me, either an amp can deliver the juice to the speaker without clipping, or it can't. Either it works, or it doesn't.
From this perspective, I am happy to report that the Teac AG-D9320 works quite well. Power, as claimed by the manufacturer, is 130 per channel in stereo, and 100 per channel in 5.1 surround. Since every CD I own sounds as good now as before (this unit replaces a Carver HR-722 receiver), I guess I have no reason to doubt it.
There is, however, one thing about sonic quality I want to point out, although it may strictly be the placebo effect talking. I think music from CDs sounds better when it's fed to the receiver digitally (from a DVD player, of course) as compared to good-ol' analog connections. Perhaps the receiver has a better DAC than my CD player (an ancient Technic). But like I said, this could be the placebo effect talking.
Now that the question of sonic quality is out of the way, what else do you get for your $499 Cdn ($340US) other than a working amp? Well, quite a bit really. This receiver has virtually all the features one would expect from a mid-tier home theatre receiver. 3 Digital inputs (1 coax, 2 optical), DTS, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Prologic decoding, S-video switching, 4 surround modes, midnight theatre, and more audio inputs/output than you have fingers.
Control interface is not easy to understand, but not exactly rocket science. It does require studying the manual a bit. So if you are illiterate (why would you be reading this review if you are. ^o^), be perpared to take some reading classes. But I suppose A/V receivers are all like that these days. These things are inherently complex, and therefore requires a bit of study to fully utilize the functions they offer.
The remote control, believe it or not, isn't that hard to use. Yes, it has more buttons than the starship Enterprise, but most of them you don't have to concern yourself with unless you own other Teac components. The only goodies are on the top 2 rows and bottom 3 rows.
The construction, while not exactly Fort Knox like, isn't too shabby. Yes,the faceplate is plastic, but it's good plastic. Swtiches don't have that "I AM EXPENSIVE" feel, but then again, it doesn't feel cheap either. The case is thin steel shell, with rows of venting ports on top. Not heavy duty stuff, but I guess rigid enough to last.
There is, however, one thing might affect its longevity. This thing runs hotter than Anna Nicole Smith wearing a bikini. So hot, as a matter of fact, I could swear it provides ample heat for an area in a three meter radius. Therefore, I must question whether or not the components can outlive, oh say, a puppy. I definitely do not recommend stacking other components on top of this receiver.
So far, I've gotten Dolby Digital to work, although not DTS. I cannot find a single DTS disc among the 15 or so DVDs that I own. I can't believe the stuff is this hard to find, but I suppose DTS is still a nice capability to have. Some music publishers (such as Telarc) are releasing DTS discs as their surround music format. If SACD or DVD-Audio don't take off, then DTS music discs could be the future of music.
In conclusion. Good value for the money. Well featured, decent power, and not very hard to use. There are concerns about its logevity, but only time will tell. Should you decide to get one, you need only to walk to your local Costco. But let me assure you, there is no need to run.
Some people claim to be able to differentiate sonic differences among different audio amplifiers. They would say that amp A is "warmer", amp B is "more neutral", while amp C is.... oh, you get the idea.
Maybe it's the hearing damages I suffered in my youth, when I was overly enthusiastic about Bon Jovi, but I cannot tell audio amps apart sonically even if my life depends on it. To me, either an amp can deliver the juice to the speaker without clipping, or it can't. Either it works, or it doesn't.
From this perspective, I am happy to report that the Teac AG-D9320 works quite well. Power, as claimed by the manufacturer, is 130 per channel in stereo, and 100 per channel in 5.1 surround. Since every CD I own sounds as good now as before (this unit replaces a Carver HR-722 receiver), I guess I have no reason to doubt it.
There is, however, one thing about sonic quality I want to point out, although it may strictly be the placebo effect talking. I think music from CDs sounds better when it's fed to the receiver digitally (from a DVD player, of course) as compared to good-ol' analog connections. Perhaps the receiver has a better DAC than my CD player (an ancient Technic). But like I said, this could be the placebo effect talking.
Now that the question of sonic quality is out of the way, what else do you get for your $499 Cdn ($340US) other than a working amp? Well, quite a bit really. This receiver has virtually all the features one would expect from a mid-tier home theatre receiver. 3 Digital inputs (1 coax, 2 optical), DTS, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Prologic decoding, S-video switching, 4 surround modes, midnight theatre, and more audio inputs/output than you have fingers.
Control interface is not easy to understand, but not exactly rocket science. It does require studying the manual a bit. So if you are illiterate (why would you be reading this review if you are. ^o^), be perpared to take some reading classes. But I suppose A/V receivers are all like that these days. These things are inherently complex, and therefore requires a bit of study to fully utilize the functions they offer.
The remote control, believe it or not, isn't that hard to use. Yes, it has more buttons than the starship Enterprise, but most of them you don't have to concern yourself with unless you own other Teac components. The only goodies are on the top 2 rows and bottom 3 rows.
The construction, while not exactly Fort Knox like, isn't too shabby. Yes,the faceplate is plastic, but it's good plastic. Swtiches don't have that "I AM EXPENSIVE" feel, but then again, it doesn't feel cheap either. The case is thin steel shell, with rows of venting ports on top. Not heavy duty stuff, but I guess rigid enough to last.
There is, however, one thing might affect its longevity. This thing runs hotter than Anna Nicole Smith wearing a bikini. So hot, as a matter of fact, I could swear it provides ample heat for an area in a three meter radius. Therefore, I must question whether or not the components can outlive, oh say, a puppy. I definitely do not recommend stacking other components on top of this receiver.
So far, I've gotten Dolby Digital to work, although not DTS. I cannot find a single DTS disc among the 15 or so DVDs that I own. I can't believe the stuff is this hard to find, but I suppose DTS is still a nice capability to have. Some music publishers (such as Telarc) are releasing DTS discs as their surround music format. If SACD or DVD-Audio don't take off, then DTS music discs could be the future of music.
In conclusion. Good value for the money. Well featured, decent power, and not very hard to use. There are concerns about its logevity, but only time will tell. Should you decide to get one, you need only to walk to your local Costco. But let me assure you, there is no need to run.
