While in the mid-range of the hi-fi market, the question of removing the DAC from certain integrated amplifiers remains –as seen recently with Hegel’s purely analog version (A200) of its new H200– in the ultra-high-end segment, the opposite approach is being considered, as demonstrated today by TAD Labs with the TAD-A1000D.
It took until 2025 for the renowned Japanese brand to dare to launch its very first integrated amplifier, the TAD-A1000, incorporated into the Evolution series. Now, it offers a version with DAC, that remains fully balanced from the power supply stage all the way through to the digital-to-analog conversion stage.
This derivative of the A1000 still delivers 250 W into 4 Ω –though the power output into 8 Ω isn’t specified– and is compatible with all speakers rated between 4 and 16 Ω. It still weighs 29 kilograms. Its analog preamp stage has lost just one pair of balanced XLR inputs out of the four, leaving three, in addition to two pairs of RCA inputs. The flat amplifier located at this stage incorporates a high-performance monostable current-feedback amplifier, originally developed for the Reference series preamplifiers.
The DAC, meanwhile, is a derivative of the one found in the Reference series TAD-D700 CD/SACD player. It is equipped with the same ultra-precise quartz clock (UPCG), whose oscillator features an SC-cut crystal, which reduces phase noise, minimizes temperature drift during oscillation, and prevents thermal shocks to ensure perfectly smooth operation. The proprietary asynchronous USB transfer circuit is designed to minimize delays in the FPGA network’s operation. It supports files with sampling rates up to 11.2 MHz (DSD256) and 384 kHz in PCM. AES, coaxial RCA, and optical ports are also included.
Like the analog version, this new TAD-A1000D is available in silver (TAD-A1000D-S) or black (TAD-A1000D-K) and comes standard with a silver aluminum remote control. Its European price will be announced before its scheduled mid-November release, but it will inevitably be slightly higher than that of the analog version, which is priced at 25 990 €.
