components do look nice

very poor quality, poor remote controls, terrible dvd player

i purchased the entire reference 500 series system about six months ago. it includes the avh-500d amp, casette deck, dvd player, and tuner. where do i start. looks can be very deceiving. the components look very nice but the quality just isn't there. the first casetted deck i received ate my
casette. so i sent it back to sound city which cross shipped me a new one. it wouldn't power up so i swapped the casette mechanism from the dead one into my original and got it to work. sound city's customer service did an outstanding job swapping out the units. next up the dvd player is defective. it often will not play new dvd's and during playback the aspect ratio changes at will. almost like it's zoomed in. next, the a/v amp doesn't have an optical digital input to play the dts from the dvd player it only has the five rca jack input for dolby digital. for the price it should at least have that. the most annoying problem is the remotes that come with the units. unless you point the remote straight at the component they simply do not work; and they are not backlit. also the a/v remote doesn't control a vcr or television. after all this frustration i finally put them back in the boxes and stuck them out in the garage. i've learned my lesson. only buy brand name stuff. for the price of the components they should have been first class. that's the first impression when looking at them. what surprises me the most is how the
audiophile magazines gave them high reviews. they would have laughed sony out of the building if they had produced a high end amp with no optical digital input. unfortunately the teac website doesn't show the back of the units only the front so you can't see all the inputs. definately don't buy these unless you have money to burn. at the present time
i'm waiting for sony to come out with a mini hi-fi component system which includes a dvd player. at the present time panasonic makes one similiar a sc-dv150 which i've seen for around $800 and it includes all the components.

Similar Products Used:

sony mhc-5500cd

looks, build quality, sound quality

remote control, no Dolby Digital Decoder, no optical outputs

For the price I paid, this was a steal for Teac 500 AV Amp. Improved clearity over my yamaha with smoother bass. Very competent amp for most people who enjoy good music and watching movies on the odd occasion. Minor quible, is the remote control that has to be pointed directly at the amp to work. Also, wish amp had built in dolby digital...but hey, for $185, I'll just spend the money I saved on an awesome DVD player

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha AV Amp

Pretty, well built

DVD player is absolute junk!

I picked the Reference 500 DVD player up from U-bid for $195.00. How bad could it be? It was small, had good reviews, and looked kind of cool. First mistake was confusing the 500 with the 550 DVD player. The 550 has more modern features. The really bad part was that this 500 series DVD player seems to be full of bugs or obsolete. The video trails the audio. It cannot detect some DVDs even if it played them previously. Searches for discs for a LONG time. Could not play CD-Rs. Jumpy menu functions.No component video outs.

I sent it back to TEAC in hopes that they would swap it for a 550. It was obviously old stock being dumped through Ubid. I think they know it is no good. How could one not know? To soil this lines reputation by not upgrading is a crime. If they send it back unfixed (sub with another of same model)I think I'll give it to my dog to play with. I wish I could get my hands on the 550 to see if it plays as good as it looks.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba, Pioneer, Creative Labs

Clear sound, separates channel for speakers, Better stereo receiver than Harman/Kardon, Nakamichi, Denon... , Powerful for is little( big ) 50watts RMS, enable biwiring, Champagne: Classic looks with blue lighted LCD,
Almost doubling is efficienty when passing to 4 ohm: 80Watts RMS

Clareté sonore distincte, Channel droit et gauche séparé, Conception de meilleure qualité qu'harman kardon, denon et nakamichi. Puissant pour un mince 50watts RMS, Capacité de Bi-cablage, Panneau Champagne: un look sans pareil + ACL bleu, Double presque sa capacité en 4 ohm : 80Watt RMS

May Need a LCD for the amplifier: just for look
Peut-être ajouter un ACL pour l'amplificateur, juste pour le look

I must say that I didn't buy this system yet
But can't wait to.

And That the price includes a pair of PARADIGM MONITOR 7 V.2(can. product) or CANTON NESTOR 603 (imported)
each pair of speakers from a different store

Just a few month ago, I wasn't knowing TEAC stuff, than my research in good stereo receiver brings me too the 500 series. They told me : With Harman Kardon, you cant be wrong.... and again with nakamichi and denon's stuff
BUT IS NOT WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR,

I Was looking for something different.
My first love was a Surround Technics receiver sada-10 CHAMPAGNE

I love this great looking champagne pannel

So, i finally saw these (500 series) and just knew that they were what i want...

As i just said up in weaknesses, they might built ah500 with a LCD just for the look.

I know that there is an integrated Ampli/tunner with LCD but it's less powerful and I want to justify the floorstanders . Canton and Paradigm are both floorstanders

Now, For the speakers, I heard both and they sound very well, each have a very clear sound with a good bass/mid/tweeter calibration...

First look, Nestor's speakers seem to punch a little better on bass but, the room was really smaller where I hear them.
The paradigm monitor was playing in a wide open area.

The thing that i'm a bit picky on it, is on speakers specifications, They say (Companies)

Paradigm 47hz - 20khz
BAss/midrange 2 X 6,5 inch
Dimension H/W/D = 38,5 x 7,6 x 14,4 inches

Canton 25hz - 20khz
Bass 7 inches
Midrange 7 inches
Dimension H/W/D = 33,5 x 8,7 x 9,8 inches

How can these Paradigm speakers dont go lower??

Well I think it will be the best price that will win

Thanks To you guys who submited reviews

_________________________________________________________

Je dois dire avant tout que je n'ai pas encore acheter mon systeme

le prix, 2200$ can, inclu une paire d'haut-parleurs
-Paradigm monitor 7 v.2 ou
-Canton Nestor 603
Une paire dans chaque magasin qui détient la série teac 500

Il y a de cela 1 mois, Je ne connaissais meme pas le matériel Teac.. Et mes recherches pour un bon recepteur m'y ont menés. Les vendeurs m'ont dit: Avec le Harman Kardon tu peux pas te tromper... de meme que pour denon et nakamichi... Mais ce n'était pas ce que je recherchais.

Je recherchais quelque chose qui se démarquait.
Mon premier amour fut le Sada-10 de technics.
Un recepteur Cinéma-maison Avec la finission Champagne.
Le matériel était très beau mais je perdais de la qualité stéréo pour le prix et ce n'était pas assez haut de gamme pour moi.

J'adore le look champagne.
Oh, au faite, je vais acheter le lecteur 7 cd que je trouve tres utile... comparé a 1 :0(

Et puis un jour, la Série 500 m'est apparue, et j'ai tout de suite su... elle devait être mienne, ce jour ou un autre.

Comme je le disais dans les faiblesses du systeme, il n'y a pas D'ACL pour l'amplificateur, ce qui le rend un peu banal mais dépourvu de pouvoir!!!

Je suis au courant que TEAC a construit un recepteur Ampli/tuner intégré AG-h500 seulement il perd un peu d'efficacité et de pouvoir... Surtout pour la réserve d'amplification qu'il se fait (ah500) en tombant en 4 ohm
Lautre reste stable.

Ah500 = 50watts Rms (8ohm)/ 80 watts Rms (4ohm)
Agh500 = 40/40 watts Rms

J'ai entendu les 2 haut-parleurs et les 2 ont une très bonne calibration BAss/mid/tweeter

Les haut-parleurs Canton m'ont semblé avoir un peu plus de punch sur la bass mais la piece était beaucoup plus petite, pourtant les composantes sont nécéssaires.
Voyez les specifications plus hauts.

Les paradigm jouaient tres bien (bass) dans le Wide-open-area ou nous étions.

Je me demandais simplement comment ce faisait-il que les paradigm ne déscendaient pas plus bas en fréquences...

Le prix le plus bas fait loi...
Celui qui me fait le meilleur obtiendra la vente.

Merci a tous ceux qui envoi des résumés et des opinions.

_________________________________________________________
Here's what i consult for making my choice
Voici une liste de compagnie et par les quelles j'ai passé pour arriver a ce choix.

sony, technics( sada 10), marantz, teac, klipsch( reference 3 ), energy( e:xl 26 ), jbl, Canton, Denon, Defenitive technology( bipolar ), Polk audio, Infinity, Nakamichi, Mordaunt short, Pionner( mini chaine ), Harman kardon ( ampli stéréo) , Sound dynamics, Mirage, Psb, Jamo, Kenwood,

Similar Products Used:

Denon - Nakamichi (receiver)
Canton-Energy-Mordaunt short (speakers)

Everything

None

This is one hell of a system. And this TEAC Reference series isn't really made by TEAC. It's made by a South Korean manufacturer called ANAM. Yes, all the reference systems are made by Anam and they are hell cheap in Korea.
Check it out at www.wassada.com ! You'll find the Reference series there with Anam on it. Anyway, it's really popular here in Korea. I'm using with my JBL HLS610 which is connected by Van de Hul Goldwater Cable. It's just so cool.
I used to have a cheap harman cardon amp but this thing sounds much better than H/C.

It's also built very well. Finishing touch is also excellent. At first, I couldn't believe it was made in KOREA. Anyway, it's one hell of a system! These things are better than some big old metal junk!

The only difference between TEAC and ANAM is the remote control. Anam remote control isn't so good...huhu

Treble is so soft and warm. Bass is tight enough.
I wish I had kept the receipt, i feel like i've stolen them!
It's so cheap!

Similar Products Used:

none at this range

I love my amp, it is the best amp that i have used. I am pushing 2 denon 10' subs and i am the envy of my friends.

excelent detail, build and style

sound stage, remote

I have the A-H500 amp and CD player connected to a pair of Mission 781's (Cyrus). There is also a Yamaha DSP-E492 in the sytem to provide Dolby Prologic decoding. Looks and size were the main influences on my decision to buy the TEAC components. Actually, while they are about 11 inches wide, they are rather tall and deep making their volume about the same as some standard sized (17 inch W) components. Hence, I belive they should be tested as full size components. The fact that they were tested as mini's probably explains the undeserved praise that they got from some British reviewers. These components do provide plenty of sound detail, tight enough bass, and enough power for a small to medium sized room. They handle music transients well. However, their sound stage is deficient, which is typical of amplifiers in this price range. I was not able to hear any 3 dimensional effects described by another reviewer, and location of instruments was smeared. Maybe my 12 y.o. Cyrus speakers need to be replaced. I also considered NAD C430(discontinued) that had a much better sound stage but was full sized and ugly. Anyway, I am still glad to have the TEAC's and recommend them to anyone looking for small attractive components capable of good sound.

Similar Products Used:

HK's, Yamahas but not mini's

Great seperation that you would expect from a quality full size system.

Crap Remote, useless speaker connects for center and rear speakers and their isn't a CD direct button on the AV version

When I bought the teac I wanted quality but also something classy to look at and it is both of these things it has a great brushed aluminium facia and well machine controls that make it feel alot more expensive it also has a very smooth and clear sound and you a=can turn it up very loud with little distortion. I recomend spending some money on good speaker cable and interconnects as this does make a considerable difference (QED silver aniversary speaker cable and entry level Van Den Hul interconects)If you are looking to buy for a second system or as your main system you will not be disapointed

Excellent build and sound quality

None

I have been enjoying the TEAC Ref-500 for the last two
months. For the size of room I use the system the B&W
602 S2 speakers are providing the perfect match. Having
also a quite expensive separate system, I honestly consider
TEAC's ref-500 system a real bargain. A truly excellent
mini(?) system with maxi capabilities.

I bought the Teac T-H500 tuner for my secondary system at work, where most people would settle for a boombox. The system includes JBL HLS610 bookshelf speakers and a cheap Philips CDC 735 CD changer.
I selected the T-H500 because of the rave in Stereo Review, which said it would receive many more stations, both AM and FM, than most. I am getting more stations than with my old Fisher tuner, but this isn’t a scientific comparison because I’m using different antennae in a different part of the room. The T-H500 comes with an unusually large AM hoop antenna and a dipole FM antenna. It can automatically preset the 30 strongest local stations.

My biggest quibble: The only way I’ve found to play noisy stations in mono is to press the stereo/mono button on the fascia. It can’t be done with the remote. Unlike the Sony ES receiver I have at home, there seems to be no way to set the presets to mono.

I would also prefer an FM signal strength indicator. On the other hand, the clock is a bonus. It is intended for time-shifting with the 500 system’s tape deck, which I don’t have. Incidentally, I had it unplugged for a week or two, and when I plugged it back in, it still had the correct time. That’s a powerful backup battery.

I soon matched the tuner with the AV-H500 integrated amplifier, the Pro-Logic model, choosing it over the A-H500, even though I’m listening only in two channel stereo. For $30 more, I got more power, but gave up the A-H500’s phono input and AC socket on the rear apron.

The remote’s 20dB mute button and the headphone jack are convenient for office use. It doesn’t get very warm, which is supposed to be a sign of good engineering.
.
The excellent controls are intuitive on the faceplates and on the remote. Both units have an expensive, retro look and feel with large metallic knobs and windows, faux gold finish on the front, matte taupe on the sides and top. The remote comes with the amplifier. It also has the most expensive look and feel I’ve encountered, and is nicely color coordinated. Strangely, the two AAA batteries were not included.

As you may have gathered, I love these units.