TEAC AI-3000 Pro Reviews

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.