DTS,6 CH direct,price,power,clarity,pre-outs,lots of I/O,sub on off switch,speaker connections,build quality,looks,F.T.C power rating,products last

little thin but very minor

Teac has been around for a very long time and my dad has a tape deck that is 25 years old that plays like a charm.They make very high end recording equipment and were the first.They have also done a very good job at building a high quality reciever for the budget conscious.It is future proof and has a lot of versatility.I really enjoy the home theatre in the reciever and that is what it is built for.The only other reciever I liked was the YAMAHA RXV596 and it was very expensive comared to this but if I had to pay full MSRP for it I would have chosen the YAMAHA because of 5 channel stereo.This is where my decision came from.

TEAC F.T.C Rating (front) 130 watts RMS per channel minimum,both channels driven into 8 ohms from 20hz to 20hz with no more than 0.09% THD.RMS Power(40HZ-20KHZ)
Surround output power(0.5% THD,1KHZ,8 ohms
100+100 watts (front) 100 watts (centre) 100+100 (rear)
THD 0.02% (at 120 watts,1KHZ)
YAMAHA
Minimum RMSoutput power 8ohm 20 HZ to 20HZ,0.015 THD 100+100
Maximum output power (EIAJ) (1KHZ,10% THD) 8ohm 145 watts
Dynamic power (IHF) 8ohm 140 watts
IEC output power (8ohm 1KHZ,0.015% THD)110 watts

I don't see much of a difference and this is more accurate than the human ears because everybodies ears are different.The only really major difference is the cost and also to be fair the 5 channel stereo.I like the YAMAHA and if they were the same price I would probably even choose it over the Teac but they aren't and I am comparing a reciever that is twice the price because it is so below the MSRP at costco.In it's price range it dominates and it's power measurments are done in RMS rather than peak power and if you look hard you will find that any reciever the same price or a bit above is measured at peak power.The DTS,DD and especially the prologic in this product will outperform the competition.I don't like the fact that it has a plastic front cover,no 5 channel stereo,remote stinks,but there isn't any better out their so if you want something better be prepared to spend an extra 300-500 dollars.Highly recommended product and demo before you buy.

Similar Products Used:

Sony STRDE945,JVC RX8000 and returned because malfunction and thank god because they are having financial trouble

Power, sound, price, inputs/outputs, versatility

remote only works with other teac products. small problem

I think this receiver is one of the best values out there and it performs extremely well with lots of inputs/outputs.
Value wise, you won't get a receiver at this price with the same amount of features. What sets this unit apart from other receivers in its price range and even others costing twice as much is that it delivers 130 watts per channel in stereo continuously, 100 watts continuously in 5 channels, component video switching, pre-outs for all channels including sub, 6-ch direct input, dd and dts decoders, and lots of other little bells and whistles that you can read all about on the teac website.
Sound wise, this piece of equipment is impressive, especially when watching movies. VHS or DVD sounds excellent. Make sure you have a subwoofer, otherwise you may be missing out on lots of bass with the movies. Music wise, the receiver does well also, but not as good as when watching movies. Like I stated above. This thing can pump out 130 watts RMS in stereo mode. You can't find too many receivers that can do that without giving away your life's savings. It can play lound music and still sound crisp and clear, but if you are like me, than 130 watts might not be enough. I have hooked up a carver tfm-35x amplifier to power my two main front speakers and it sounds pretty much the same as it does without it except for music at high volumes and that's when that extra power comes in to play and you can go that extra mile. However, I would be just as happy without the extra amplifier if I didn't have that super high volume urge every now and then. Overall music sound is also excellent, but not as impressive as the surround sound.
Construction wise, something you should know before buying this unit is that the face plate is made of plastic, but not too cheap looking. Small problem when you consider the big picture. Also, it runs a little hot,especially at high volumes. If you run a seperate amp for your front mains than this problem can be somewhat lessened. Overall though, the construction quality is adequate as long as you don't plan on abusing it.
Once again, Teac has made another great piece of electronics equipment. Teac products should get more credit than people give.

Similar Products Used:

carver and other teac products

Good power, Digital Outs, Ease of Installation.

Lack of Universal Remote...

This unit is fantastic. What a difference from Doly Pro Logic. Also, it's bottom end is great and there is lots of room for expansion especially in the sub $500 range. It's reasonably easy to hookup though, getting use to the controls and DTS is a bit tricky but a snap once you set it all up. All around a fantastic unit and COSCO's return policy if anything goes wrong, you just can't compete with. For the person that wants fantastic sound and still have money left over to buy DVD's; this unit is for you. The only unit that is reasonably close is the JVC-8000VBK however, it has more distortion in Surround sound mode.

Good sound... High rated power. Tons of connections available.

Controller mediocre. Plastic fascia.

Overall a very nice unit and I bought it at Costco as well and am very happy with the price I paid for this. Truly rocks when I play movies and music audio not bad at all compared to more expensive units :-). Was using in a 5.1 home theater system but now this baby is connected to Tannoy mX2's for the fronts only and music sounds great.

Anyone know if for analog audio this system ALWAYS converts to digital or can it bypass the digital phase and amplify simply in the analog domain (I'm thinking of inputting SACD audio into the 5.1 inputs).

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Kenwood 309, Yamaha models.

Warm Sound, Hits the highs and lows

None for this price

I bought the 9260 (same as this model, only 100w, not 130). This blows the Technics out of the water and for a lot cheaper. When I got this receiver for the 150.00 price, I could not say no. I have the CD player connected through Digital Optical Cable and the difference in tones and being able to hear things I didn't hear in analog is incredible. If you can get the 9260 for 150.00, you CANNOT go wrong. I'm giving it five stars because to get Dolby Digital, DTS, 3 digital inputs, three S-Video inputs, 100 watts of power, and the clarity this one gives for 150.00 is damn FINE.

Similar Products Used:

Technics SADX540 (ProLogic Only)

price,power,not rated at peak power,digital inputs and out,preouts,built fairly well

remote,theatre modes but who uses them

I really like this product because of all the features and the price point is amazing.Costco no longer sells them because they have a cheaper model now but I don't understand why they would discontinue this product.I like the fact that it is 130 watts RMS in stereo and it is not rated like other products from sony,jvc,pioneer and so on.They are rated at peak power output when this reciever is rated at continuos power output and that is a big difference.I had a pioneer D409 before this reciever I hated it and it wasn't even close to the sound of this reciever and the power was very low and it wasn't even tested for it's power output by regulations.I use this mostly as a HT reciever and then I have a Harmon power amp that runs my mains and it sounds great.I like the fact that it has preouts because I will slowly be able to afford a power amp for my rears and centre.I know yamaha has an amp that is a 3 channel amp and also NAD but they are two expensive.I don't use the phony modes and I don't even know why they put them in the reciever.I love this reciever and i would recommend it to anybody.It is great if you want to expand and I would recomend that you use power amps if you have power hungry speakers.Also TEAC should put a loudness control on it.

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Yamaha RX 596 which is my friends

Power,price,features and runs cool

none because no companies under 1000.00 offer a good remote

I wrote and earlier review and I hate to double post but I had a couple of things to add.If you didn't already know this reciever is an updated version of the 9100 and they have worked all of the kinks out.This reciever is so versatile and you can do just about anything with it including seperates.The Onkyo 575x couldn't do that for twice the price and they also had no digital outs for a CD Recorder.I had purchased a cambridge audio power amp to drive my main speakers and I had a little bit of problems with it but I was able to return it and get a new centre speaker and I am extremely happy with it and it is not even broken in yet.I purchased the centre speaker from Mark at the Audioshop and he was great.So that means that the 9320 is running my Axiom M80's (500 watts a piece) on A M3Ti's on B (175 watts a piece) VP 150 on the centre (500 watts) and it really is very clear at high volumes and the home theatre is excellent.The highs are great and I keep the bass at -3 and I love lots of base and it really amazes me that it runs these powerfull speakers with ease.I would deffinetly recommend this reciever to anyone and don't be a fool and go for the JVC,Sony, ect because they are more popular.It is so versatile and I will definetly be going with seperates some day.

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Onkyo 656

lots of features,digital output and POWER

none because it runs my 1000 watt 6om speakers on A speakers and my 350 watt 8om speakers on B at the same time.WOW

I really like this reciever more than the Onkyo 575x.It has 130 watts RMS and the Onkyo has 70 watts of high current and I would bet money the Teac has more power and less distortion at high volumes and the Teac with spit the money that you would have pissed away back up into your bladder.The Onkyo has overheating problems like the denons and denons are also known for the infamous fan squeeel.I will buy a japaneese heat seaker but not for anymore than I have to.The Teac doesn't have the best remote but if anybody thinks that the other companies under $1000.00 are better they are wrong.This reciever is built well and I really am amazed that it runs 1300 watts of speakers no problem and there is no audible distortion.I am not an audiophile nor would I hang around someone who pays $5000.00 to hear frequencies that you can't hear.You know,picture AC/DC with full treble and no bass at full power,squeeeeling given the dog a bone.If you want a good set of speakers and get what you pay for there is a little speaker company called Axiom and they make a speaker called the Axiom M3Ti and you can go to soundstage.com and read the awesome reviews from the professionals,not salesman.$300.00 canadian is what they cost and they will blow away the bose 501's and blow the money that you could have pissed away back into your pocket.Thanks for your time.

P.S. I hate audiophiles and you don't ever have to pay more than $3000.00 for a beautiful complete HT SYSTEM.


I have
Teac AG9320 $500.00
Pioneer 5 disc DVD C503 $400.00
Teac CD Recorder RW-D250 $400.00
Axiom M80's $767.00
Axiom M3TI $280.00

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Onkyo 656

Tons of connections for everything. Component video switching.

Awful remote. Sound quality lacking in all modes.

While shopping at Costco, I noticed the Teac 9320 in the Audio/Video department. I never really thought of looking at buying anything major electronics at Costco just because they never really get the "good stuff" there, However, I was quite curious to look at the Teac that was on display. I was already shopping for a Dolby Digital/DTS receiver for some time and had looked at all the usual suspects in the $1000.00 Canadian price range so when I saw the $399.99 price tag on the item at Costco, I had to look.

At first glance, the unit seemed a little on the plastic side and looked far too cluttered with buttons. I then picked it up and although I wasn't blown away by the weight, it was a bit heavier than I expected...a good sign. I then turned it around and looked at the connections. Holy cow. This thing had it all. Ins for all devices, 100 watts/channel, S-video switching, banana plugs for all speakers, pre-outs for all channels, 5.1 inputs, and even component video switching. As I stood there bewildered, I had to double check the price on the sign. I haven't been able to find all these features on one unit from anyone unless I spent at least $1000.00 can! Yep, the sign was right and I decided to take advantage of Costco's liberal return policy and bought the thing.

Once I got home with it, I set it up and fired in a movie on my Panasonic cv-51. First impression: remote really sucks. You can't control anything but Teac product. Big thumbs down for that. Second, both dolby digital and DTS seemed ok but didn't really have my heart pumping no matter how much I tinkered with the settings. I watched T2 on DTS, Saving Private Ryan on DTS, and Crouching Tiger in Dolby Digital. All these movies should be able to move me but I felt a little ho-hum. The real truth came out when I played music with the receiver. Simply, the response was flat. It really does not drive the speakers without distorting all over the place. At low volumes there is a notable hiss. At high volumes a shrill. In between there was no depth to the vocals, nor was there any detail. The instruments always sounded tinny and flat. The receiver was also very raucous when I ran it using Pro-logic.

I then decided on the receiver that I wanted and told myself, maybe it was me being too picky. Let me run my newly purchased Pioneer 709s right beside the Teac. I wasn't being picky. There was such a big difference in mere quality of sound, detail of the mids and highs, and the general ability to drive the speakers without distortion that I unfortunately had to part with the Teac. Too bad...it was and is a good deal for a person who may be not as picky as I am, but after sampling all the other gear out there, I knew it had to go back.

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Pioneer 709s, Onkyo 575x, Denon 2800, Yamaha 596

Lots of bells and whistles for the money.

Unified remote only works on Teac components. Weak DSP modes for music (ie Theatre,Hall, etc), Sub level is not memorized when switching modes. Heartbeat noise to sub when the unit is off.

Dave , Audio Enthusiast from Canada
This product's model year is 2000 and Dave has used it Less than 1 month
Date Reviewed: 4/16/00 10:23:32 PM

Strengths:
I just bought this unit at Costco for $469 CAN. I was hoping to find a receiver with a remote that controls all my other components. I hate having to use 3 or 4 remotes. This remote only controls Teac components. There is either a problem with the DSP modes for music, or I have a defective unit. The sound from my rear speakers, when in Disco, Theatre, Stadium, etc, is horrible. It sounds so raspy and digitized that it ruins the overall sound of the music. My old Pioneer Pro-logic receiver has better sound in the simulated modes. I was dissapointed. I wish the unit could remember the sub-level when switching modes. I like to keep my sub at +4 for the DVD player, but 0 for music. It has to be re-adjusted each time, which is easier when using the OSD than the front panel. I have one other problem. When the unit is off, there is a heartbeat noise that is being fed to my sub-woofer. I bought a new cable, same. If I unplug the sub cable, it stops. Overall the sound quality for Dolby Digital is very good. I am returning this unit to Costco, and am going to spend a few dollars more for either a Denon, or a Yamaha. "You get what you pay for" applies to this unit.
UPDATED SEPT 19: Have since purchased a Denon AVR-1800 and WOW, what an improvement. Better quality, sound and bells and whistles. No weird noises to my sub and the music modes are awesome on Denon. Spend the extra money, it was well worth it.

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Pioneer