Teac USB-DAC Amplifier DTV Converter Black (AI101DAB)

Ordered two, each powering one pair on in-ceiling speakers. Both started suffering from the same problem 15 months later, and the unit only has a 12 month warranty. Volume will randomly just spike loud and then suddenly drop back down. Strange that 2 amps in two places, with different operators, have the exact problem

This is a great little amp. It is small and doesn't get much above room temperature, and I've listened to it at fairly high levels - that's the efficiency of class D. If you're looking for an amp for bookshelf speakers for your office or whatever, this would work great.They warn you about this in the manual, but take heed: If you turn it up using the knob and then turn it down with the remote, touching the knob again will instantly revert back to the knob audio level you had set previously. You've been warned! Best to use just the knobs or just the remote, not switch between them. There's an "RC" light on the front that indicates when you've used the remote (and thereby warning you of what I'm talking about), but it is blue like the rest of them and easy to miss.The reason it has 4 stars and not 5 is that there's no way to tell if "Loudness" is on or not other than cycling the loudness button on the remote and listening, OR watching the RC light to see if it blinks once or twice. Either way, you can't tell the state at a glance, you have to toggle loudness to tell.

[Updated to 5 stars. Please see update 2.] If you plan on connecting this to your PC via USB, then don't get the Teac AI-101DA-B. I don't know if this is the hardware or the device driver, but this unit goes to static very often and requires rebooting the device or resetting the playback device to get it working again. I got around this problem by connecting via line-in and optical before settling with the Bluetooth option, which has been working without any problems.Update: I tested this with a Mac OS X machine via USB and it doesn't go to static.Update2: Do not install the driver from their website. On Windows 10, the MLC3700 USB Audio 2.0 is automatically installed and does not exhibit the static problem.

Great lil Amplifier produces great sound, heats up after a bit of use but cools right down if you put a fan on it for a few minutes. also saved a lot of space on my desk as it replaced a home theater receiver.

There were no reviews when I purchased this unit but it had most of the features I was looking for. I needed a small, compact amp to run a 2.1 system to be used on my older plasma Panasonic. I wanted a LFE out, which this has. After running it for a few hours I am fairly impressed. The power is sufficient to run a couple of SVS prime satellites at a level more than what I need. The unit isn't as heavy as what I thought it should be.My reason for only 4 stars is two-fold: The Bluetooth does not have much range and even at close range still occasionally stutters. The other issue I have may be a tech problem on my end, who knows, but when playing an over the air broadcast on my tv (I have it connected via toslink) it is not a PCM signal (which this unit requires) and so no sound. I believe it is an AC3 signal. When listening via a roku and watching Netflix or something the sound is fine. So I don't know if this is a limitation for all compact amps in this category or just my dumb luck with my Panny, and no, there is no setting in my Panny to change this.I look forward to hooking this up via the usb to my computer also and giving the DAC a whirl, but as of yet I have not done so.The last time I dealt with the Teac brand was a long time ago so it will be interesting to see how this unit holds up to everyday use. I feel like it is a bit overpriced, but that seems to be the trend in compact amps right now, but compared to the Denon pma-50 and the NAD options, this was on the lower priced end.

This may not satisfy the high end audiophiles but it sure is a great solution for those wanting to access the amazing quantity and quality of music now available on line. After two weeks of use, I have checked out many of my favorite tracks from Tidal and HDTracks using the USB, Bluetooth and Toslink interfaces, using Monitor Audio Bronze speakers. I have tried the optical inputs direct from a Macbook and from an Apple TV3 - the differences can easily be heard but the Apple TV connection is sure convenient. Everything works as advertised and the sound levels are more than adequate for our 15' x 30' space. My only suggestions for improvements would be a wireless remote (in place of the IR), dimming indicator LED's and larger lettering on the front panel. For some reason, the Toslink sockets do not grip tightly on any of my cables.PRO: Great performance, high build quality, small size, a reasonable cost and great features.CON: Lack of truly wireless remote, marginal grip on toslink connectors.

Sounds good but defective. I had to return it. Volume randomly turns off from "RC" mode to "Knob mode", meaning, if the remote is set LOW and the knob is set HIGH, when "RC" randomly turns off the volume will go high out of nowhere and wake the neighbors, scare the cats, give grandma a heart attack, etc...Yes, it does sound good, so if you want to risk getting one that isn't defective, go for it; however, bear in mind I have read multiple reviews online on other sites where it was fine for months then this very problem started occurring.So, to sum it up: sounds good, looks good, but high chance of defect.

Bought one of these off massdrop. Worked well for a while. Great speaker amp at this price point, alright for headphones. However, after a few months I started having some very frustrating intermittent volume issues (will randomly jump to full blast without touching the volume) caused by a bad volume dial. Sent several emails to support but never heard anything back. Gave them a call and got a hold of them once; they said they'd call me back and I never heard from them again. Luckily I have an electrical engineer friend who helped me replace it with a Hall Effect rotary sensor, but I found quite a few forum posts with people having the same issues. Looks like the OEM part was a pretty cheap one.