I listened to this unit at the Florida show couple months ago and it was very impressive. the r2500r unit was powering the T+A 420 speakers, streaming and a VPI TT with that DS optical cartridge and dedicated phono pre. Open and airy, powerful presence. Funny enough the one LP track that had everyone in the room speechless was Mary Robbins singing Born to Loose.
T+A's new R 2500 R integrated amp
**Not to be confused with earlier T+A products that have similar names.**
Does anybody have hands-on experience with this incredibly flexible integrated amp? It’s been shipping in the US for just a couple of months, & has not yet been reviewed in the Tier One audiophile press
It’s absolutely not possible for me to hear the R 2500 R before buying, and at nearly $19,000, I’m hesitant to pull the trigger blind. But it sure sounds impressive on paper, boasting one of T+A’s world-class DAC/streamers, several hundred Class AB wpc, 31-lb weight, discrete headphone amp, some of the most comprehensive connectivity on the market, firmware-upgradability, a friendly UI, and, of course, T+A’s reputation for impeccable sound quality. It even includes a CD transport & FM tuner, as well as HDMI w/ARC I/O for integration into a home theater. Whew.
I normally wouldn’t consider an embedded DAC/streamer, but, heck, this is T+A, the company that made its name throughout Europe for its no-holds-barred DAC technology. And I understand that the R 2500’s internal DAC is an updated (albeit "merely" 512DSD) version of the company’s highly regarded $7500 1-bit standalone model.
Given all that, I’d love to speak with anyone who managed to score one of the first batch (now sold out at many dealerships); or even to a golden ear who plans to audition this amp at AXPONA.
- ...
- 37 posts total
At the show probably the closest and similar priced unit would be Aurender AP20 streaming some good music. It was also a simple set up with just the AP20 and a pair of Wilson Sabrina's. These two rooms were perhaps the easiest listening rooms I encountered. Plus they appealed to me in their uncluttered appearence. |
@doyle3433 Really? I didn't know that Aurender made an integrated. ========== Looking at the specs, this does look like a great product, despite potentially being one of those "great sounding Class D amps" I referred to earlier. I do need an unbalanced subwoofer out, but there are ways around that when a component has both powered speaker outputs and a line-level XLR out. The dealbreaker for me, though, is the weight,. Because of a back injury, even a 40-pound box would be out of my league. And at $3-4K less expensive, with even more functionality and apparently similar sound, the T+A is still looking like the best fit. Thanks for the heads-up, though. The AP20 looks pretty terrific. |
@doyle3433 Being both a T+A and Aurender dealer, I would love to hear your early thoughts on the differences in the sonics of these two rooms. I was the first dealer to purchase the AP20 in the USA and recently wrote a really lengthy evaluation of it in another thread on this forum given my enthusiasm for its performance. I did hear the AP20 last year at AXPONA when it was revealed, also with the Sabrinas. I also own a plethora of T+A electronics (sadly not the R 2500 R) and the Solitaire S 530 speakers. My assumptions with the AP20/Wilson sound compared to the T+A amp/Solitaire speaker sound is that the AP20/Wilson would come off as more punchy and articulate, and the T+A stack to be more graceful and refined. Would that mirror your findings? If it were up to me, I would choose a different speaker than the Sabrinas to show off the AP20, perhaps Joseph Audio or Vivid. Having also owned Wilsons in the past, I felt the AP20/Wilson combo was a bit tippy when I heard it at AXPONA last year. I mean, really great sound for the total price, but Wilson plus Shunyata plus AP20 got just a bit more analytical than I prefer. This is why shows are so tough for evaluation for one component, as it all becomes part of an overall system where one never knows what is contributing to what. I apologize if this is hijacking the topic of this thread, but I would value from your insight! |
- 37 posts total