TAD-C2000 REFERENCE PRE-AMPLIFIER (INC. DAC)

Item Details

• Manufactured in 2013
• This item is in mint condition (10/10)
• Includes original packaging, remote control and owner's manual
• Serial Number: MDPK000017EP
• Finish: Satin Silver/Black
• Current retail price: £22,000

Description & Highlights

The TAD-C2000 is a superb preamplifier with a high-resolution DAC built in, from Technical Audio Devices Laboratories – the Japanese high-end specialist whose roots lie in professional studio monitoring. It combines a fully balanced analogue preamplifier with an asynchronous USB DAC in one beautifully engineered chassis, making it an ideal hub for a system that brings together analogue sources, CD transports and computer or network audio.

The design is fully symmetrical throughout, from the circuit topology to the circuit boards and internal wiring, with the analogue stage balanced from input to output. The digital section uses Burr-Brown PCM1794A converters in a twin differential configuration, clocked by TAD's Ultra-high-Precision Crystal Generator (UPCG) – the same ultra-low phase noise master clock developed for the flagship TAD-D600 disc player. TAD's own asynchronous USB transfer engine lets the C2000 control timing on the receiving end, removing jitter introduced by the computer and supporting files up to 24-bit/192kHz.

The digital and analogue sections have fully isolated circuitry and power supplies, fed by a high-capacity toroidal transformer, while 70µ copper foil circuit boards minimise losses in the board wiring. The result is a preamplifier that is highly revealing and detailed, yet open, natural and musically involving.

The C2000 is also a genuine piece of audio jewellery. Its dual-tone silver and black chassis is machined from solid aluminium blocks and stands on three cast-iron insulators for physical stability and vibration control, while the aluminium control knobs turn on high-precision ball bearings for a beautifully smooth, responsive feel. Connectivity includes two balanced and two unbalanced analogue inputs, AES/EBU and coaxial digital inputs, a USB input, and two balanced and two unbalanced outputs.

Reviews

In Hi-Fi News, John Bamford reviewed the TAD-C2000 alongside the M2500 power amplifier and D600 disc player, praising the considerable engineering finesse and exceptional sound quality of TAD's first consumer electronics. He found the combination highly revealing while remaining musically involving throughout, and urged readers to put it on their list of equipment to hear.

In Germany's AUDIO magazine (June 2012), Stefan Schickedanz was equally enthusiastic, singling out the system's extraordinary resolution down into the deepest bass, its stable and deep soundstage, and its precision and vast reserves, ranking it among the very best he had heard. (Both reviews are available from TAD – C2000 Preamplifier.)

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