T+A DAC 200/A 200 DAC/Preamp & Power Amp Lab Report

Lab Report

Rated at 125W/8ohm, the A 200 romps home with 145W/8ohm and 285W/4ohm although, as the dynamic profile illustrates [Graph 1], there's a jump in distortion from a very low 0.0005%/1kHz at 1W-110W to 0.3%/115W, 0.5%/120W and finally 1% THD at 145W. The Class D architecture dictates that continuous and dynamic power is almost identical – 146W, 289W, 290W and 152W into 8, 4, 2 and 1ohm loads, respectively, limited to ~12A into low impedances. Distortion also increases with frequency although a figure of 0.01%/20kHz (re. 10W) is still low – all courtesy of the Purifi Eigentakt Class D modules [see NAD M33, HFN Aug '20]. This advanced amplifier module also delivers the load-independent ±0.15dB/20Hz-20kHz frequency response and wide 88.4dB A-wtd S/N ratio (re. 0dBW) that sets the A 200, and other 'Eigentakt adoptees', above the standard Class D pack. The switchable DF (damping factor/output impedance) is a T+A 'feature' however – from 0.023ohm (low) to 0.12ohm (high).

Meanwhile, the DAC 200 – sharing its digital 'heart' with the HA 200 [HFN Aug '20] – offers a huge 15.2V max. output (XLR), albeit achieved at '–2' on the volume scale with a peak level 0dBFs input (the output is clipped at higher volume). The A-wtd S/N ratio reaches 116dB here, with distortion peaking at 0.0029-0.0034% (20Hz-20kHz) before falling back to a minimum of 0.00012-0.00035% over the top 20dB of its dynamic range [see Graph 2]. Low-level linearity holds good to within ±0.1dB over a full 110dB dynamic range while jitter, with the 'local oscillator' engaged, is fully suppressed to ~10psec across all inputs and sample rates. I discuss the impact of the six digital filter modes on time domain and frequency response in our Consonant Coefficients sidebar. PM

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Dynamic power output versus distortion into 8ohm (black trace), 4ohm (red), 2ohm (blue) and 1ohm (green) speaker loads. Max. current is 12.3A

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Distortion versus 24-bit digital signal level over a 120dB range (1kHz, black; 20kHz, blue)

Continuous power (<1% THD, 8/4ohm) 145W / 285W
Dynamic power (<1% THD, 8/4/2/1ohm) 146W / 289W / 290W / 152W
Output imp. (20Hz–20kHz, Pre/Amp) 22ohm / 0.023-0.024ohm
Freq. resp. (20Hz–20kHz/100kHz) +0.0 to –0.15dB/–12.2dB
Digital jitter (USB / S/PDIF) 11psec / 10psec (48kHz/24-bit)
A-wtd S/N ratio (DAC/Amp) 116.1dB (0dBFs) / 88.4dB (0dBW)
Distortion (DAC, 0dBFs/Amp, 0dBW) 0.0009-0.001%/0.0005-0.0025%
Power consumption (Preamp/Amp) 20W / 280W (20W idle)
Dimensions (WHD) 320x100x340mm (each)
Price £4990 (DAC 200)/£3490 (A 200)

COMPANY INFO
T+A elektroakustik GmbH & Co. KG
Germany
Supplied by: The Audio Business Ltd, Wilts, UK
01225 704669
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