Integrated Amp Reviews

plus bonus CD player. But almost $20,000? I don't think this will make much of a dent in the receiver market.

Expensive but "everything" in one box even a CD transport and DAB+, as it can play SACD (DSD) files, it's a pity the transport couldn't have had SACD payability also or does it?
Did I miss it, or is there no reference to what amps are used inside, https://ibb.co/Qd1bwym be nice but don't look like it if they were my fav class-d, Hypex NC500's. They don't look like anything Purifi make either, which they used in their power amps.

Cheers George

I have a T+A Cala all-in-one receiver paired with Wharfedale Denton speakers, using it as an office/bedroom system. I stream Qobuz, play CDs, listen to FM radio, FM-HD radio, and occasionally Internet radio. FM-HD has proven a great source for late night listening when our local Claasical station broadcasts the WFMT Jazz Network on their HD-3 channel.

I’ve been in this audiophile hobby for 35 years, and the Cala may be the single most remarkable piece of kit I’ve had. The synergy with the Dentons boggles me. The Cala is also 1/3 the price of the 2500 R reviewed here. T+A builds great equipment, so I’m confident that the 2500 R with more power, features, and refinement is also a worthy piece of kit. It would likely serve as the centerpiece of a Big Rig. Even so, the Cala is so good that I suspect for most households it would suffice.

Nothing I could find says it an A/B amp, even better if it was, but most of their stuff these days is Class-D

From the T/A website, nothing about it being Class-A/B
"Power amplifier
Output power (RMS) per channel
250 watts @ 4 ohms
140 watts @ 8 ohms
Frequency response +0 /-3dB
0,5 Hz - 150 kHz
Slew rate
60 V / µS
Damping factor
> 65"

The only indication from those "manufacturer specs" if they are to be believed is the -3db at 150khz could make them Class-A/B, I don't know of any Class-D's that go that high
JA measured the power amp section of this at -3db at 98k so who knows.

Admittedly it does have a "sort of" Class-A/B 10khz square wave with just a slight telltale leading edge bump, thatcould also be left because of the Audio Precision's auxiliary AUX-0025 passive low-pass filter, which eliminates noise above 200kHz. Used in these measurements to eliminate all the switching noise ringing on the leading edge of the square wave at the speaker terminals.

Real Class-A/B square wave https://ibb.co/9hmqVnh

Class-D square wave (no AP test filter on the speaker output) https://ibb.co/zRx9nsD

Class-D square wave (with AP test filter on the speaker terminals) https://ibb.co/pdmkHT8

Cheers George

This article's specifications webpage mentions, "Warranty: 3 years after shipment from factory, limited."

... on the text readout of the display? "Music is through"

"Music is done - it is only equipment now."

/s

This is just what is written here. If JA or someone got it wrong I dont't what to say
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid state stereo receiver with HD Radio/FM tuner, optional phono preamp (MM or MC), on-board DAC/streamer, full-function preamp with analog bass/treble controls and stepped-resistor relay volume control, class-AB amplifier

Seems like a high-end "bargain" if you carefully choose speakers that aren't difficult to drive. SACD would be nice but I get it, kinda niche these days.

Nineteen grand is a lot of money for a little T+A, and twenty if you want to play records.

People who are in the market for one of these are not audiophile purists, and probably those short on space for whatever setup this is going into.

140 WPC @ 8ohms is acceptable, but sort of underwhelming, again, at this price point. So you’d think T+A would be hanging their hat on robust build quality, but at 30 lbs and with all these features and amplification incorporated in a decent sized chassis, this is a surprisingly and concerningly lightweight design.

One would think that it couldn’t cost too much extra for them to opt for an SACD capable transport in this thing. It would certainly broaden its appeal as a true one box solution. As it is, the exclusion of SACD just limits it, and for probably nominal cost savings.

I generally try not to disparage other users’ postings, but there is so much misinformation and so many unwarranted, conclusory opinions about the R 2500 R in this thread -- stated with such self-important authority! -- that I couldn’t let it all go unchallenged. I hope nobody takes personal offense b/c none is intended.

As an early purchaser of the R 2500 R, who has a half-century of audiophile credentials and a solid engineering background, I think I have the credibility to address the most misleading of these assertions, one by one.

To wit:

i) As John clarified, no, this isn’t a Class D amplifier, and that's stated right in the review and on the T+A Web site. My advice: Run from anyone who claims to know anything about this receiver (or T+A) but doesn't even realize that it incorporates an A/B topology.

ii) I take exception to the comment that this is not a product for audiophiles. My audiophile credentials go back to tube-rolling Dynaco kits & Quad monoblocks in the 1970s, I’ve restored ESLs by hand, and currently own a $50K+ system that includes tens of kilobucks worth of power conditioning and cabling. So I think I belong to the club. And to my ears, the R 2500 R's SQ is stunning for a sub-$20K component, the best I've experienced in my home, and even without the receiver’s extraordinary functionality, would easily justify its price tag. Period. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone familiar with T+A, one of the most respected manufacturers of high-end DACs, speakers, and amplifiers throughout most of Europe. The R 2500 R contains, among other things, a 2023 update to the company's outstanding $5-8000 dual-format DACs (DSD content gets its own signal path and format-specific processing), an only slightly compromised version of its $10K headphone amp, and the same sophisticated approach to amplifier design that underlies T+A's much pricier models. It’s preposterous to suggest that this is a mid-fi "lifestyle" product simply because it offers the features & connectivity necessary to make it a good choice for reproducing both stereo sources and multi-channel content like SACD, DVD, Blu-ray, and streaming 5.1. As companies like Trinnov demonstrated long ago, being home-theater-ready is hardly impossible for a true audiophile product.

iii) I thought Tom Fine gave short shrift to his evaluation unit (although I realize that it’s hard to evaluate EVERY feature offered by a box like this), but nonetheless, he did rave about its sound quality, comparing it favorably to his $20K+ reference DAC, and concluding that it delivered the type of performance you'd expect at a $19K price point. I personally think my unit sounds better than that through my Harbeth system, but I'm not gonna press the point; we all know that differences in room characteristics and system configurations always mean that YMMV. But I think you get the point.

iv) The fact that T+A packed so much functionality into a package weighing only 31 pounds is a feature, not a bug. Achieving this goal does NOT mean that the R 2500 R suffers from a compromised power supply or shoddy build quality. When I disassembled my unit (yeah, I’m an under-the-hood type guy), I was impressed by just how solidly it was built. High quality pots & switches, heavy-duty milled-aluminum chassis, excellent quality PCBs & circuitry (audiophile-grade passive components, ceramic SMF chips, etc.). Similar to what you'd expect from a 5-figure box sold by Levinson or McIntosh. And c’mon, T+A isn't the only company that's figured out how to package a 100+ wpc Class A/B amp into a sub-40lb box without compromising sound quality -- think Ayre, Benchmark, Bryston, Chord, etc. – although it is the first to combine this level of SQ, functionality, build, and connectivity in a box this light.

v) And, oh yeah, the R 2500 R’s power supply is hardly “compromised”. In fact, it’s one of the most sophisticated hybrid PSs on the market (at least in this price range), a point of great pride for the company and one of the R 2500 R’s strongest distinguishing factors. (Check out T+A’s summary at https://www.ta-hifi.de/en/audiosystems/r-series/r-2500-r-multi-source-receiver/, and you can find other, more technical, discussions online.) Even Tom noted the receiver’s “dead silent” output – no detectable switching noise – apparently due to the amp’s “intelligent” filtering and sinusoidal switching cycle.

vi) “140 wpc ... .is acceptable but underwhelming”?? “At this price point it should have an SACD player”?? No, no, I’m at a loss for words. Why in the world are these people piling on, and with such silly statements? Is someone at T+A running for President?

vii) “Caveat emptor – consider the warranty”?? Again, a terribly misleading comment posted by someone who apparently doesn’t know what they don’t know. Here’s my first-hand experience with T+A’s terrific support: My early production unit had a minor hardware problem (a circuit-board’s infant-mortality failure compromised two of its HDMI inputs. When I reported the problem through my dealer, the CEO himself emailed me, and kept in contact throughout, to make sure I was being taken care of. Despite my having been tardy in registering the unit, the company honored the warranty without question, quickly diagnosing this elusive issue, promptly drop-shipping from Germany a new board, cables, a torx screwdriver and spare anodized chassis screws, and even a spare remote (all just to be sure that the problem was with the board itself), and closely monitored my self-repair effort. When I opened up my unit, I found its internal layout seemingly designed to facilitate maintenance -- the entire repair required less time than it took to disconnect the unit from my rack. I’ve been told that T+A is quite liberal in its service policies, so any “limitations” on the warranty don’t concern me (again, my late registration did not affect my coverage). Best of all, the reps I worked with – even the CEO – all seemed genuinely concerned about restoring my unit to full functionality as quickly as possible. These guys were great.

So, speaking as an experienced owner who has extensive experience with high-end audio and a deep technical background, I can’t speak too highly of this component or of the company that produced it. People can whine about “too much global feedback” or even speculate whether T+A’s published specs “are to be believed” (talk about insulting!). But consider this: Those in this thread who speak most highly of T+A components are those who actually owned them.

In my educated opinion, this is a wonderful product, unique in the breadth of its connectivity and functionality, boasting outstanding sound quality and build quality, and incorporating envelope-pushing circuit design – a true audiophile amp/preamp/DAC/streamer/disc-transport/headphone amp/radio/etc./etc. -- and a friggin’ bargain at the price. $19K was almost triple what I’d budgeted for an integrated amp capable of doing dual duty as a mission-critical stereo system and as a high-quality driver for the FL, FR, & LFE speakers of a multichannel setup -- but I haven’t regretted this purchase for an instant.

That’s all I have to say.

You’re entitled to your opinion, but it certainly isn’t the only educated one here.

And the fact that you own one makes you biased in your opinion.

And just a a gentle correction to your statement about this product being “an audiophile product”. I never stated that it wasn’t an audiophile product. What I said was that it’s not a PURIST audiophile product. Since it’s an integrated amp and not separates, I stand by that statement. That doesn’t mean it sounds or performs poorly.

T+A has separate pre/power amp products in their lineup as well. And they’re not positioned lower in the lineup than the integrateds; their flagship designs are separates.