The Technics SU-R1000 is the first integrated amplifier in the R Series. It derives very closely from the preamplifier-converter and impressive power block that, a few years ago, signalled the brand’s revival. The SE-R1 launched in 2014 incorporated original new technologies such as LAPC and JENO. In the meantime, the Japanese manufacturer has put the pressure back on the analogue turntable market with a rejuvenated and expanded range. So it’s hardly surprising that this new integrated has a phono input with a panoramic spectrum.
In this highly coveted high-end niche, most amplifiers are analogue. Their technologies are considered totally established, even conservative. Conversely, digital amplifiers still have great potential for development, as the rapid technical progress of recent years has enabled high-precision signal processing.
For all these reasons, the Japanese manufacturer, which has always been particularly pragmatic, has been dedicated to developing digital amplifier technology since 2014.
With the Technics SU-R1000, it is also looking to advance its technology, in particular with the ADCT (Active Distortion Cancelling Technology) process coupled with LAPC and JENO. This switching power supply system is used to extract and precisely eliminate distortion in the power stage caused by the counter-electromotive force of the loudspeakers and voltage drops in the power supply.
To do this, it can rely on a new Advanced Speed Silent Power Supply switching power supply system made up of four independent sections. The Technics SU-R1000 uses separate power supply units for the analogue and digital circuits in the preamplifier stage. It also adopts separate power supply units for the left and right channels in the power amplification stage, which require high electrical power. With four independent power supply units, the SU-R1000 prevents power line interference between circuit blocks and achieves a high S/N ratio.
Within the amplifier’s power stage, Technics uses a low-resistance GaN (gallium nitride) FET transistor driver stage. This makes it possible to build a power amplifier in a simple push-pull configuration, reducing the signal circuit and guaranteeing excellent linearity, whatever the sound level.
This reminds us of the AGD amplifiers we were able to test a few months ago.
And in order to offer a complete package, the SU-R1000 is equipped with an intelligent phono equaliser, which uses specially developed digital technology to obtain a precise equalisation curve and improve the crosstalk of the cartridge and the frequency response.
The set up
The Technics SU-R1000 is an unusually quiet amplifier, both on its multiple digital inputs and on the phono input.
The intelligent phono equaliser built into the SU-R1000 offers various functions that can be activated or deactivated according to the user’s preferences. The precise equalisation curve is obtained using a hybrid analogue-digital system. The high-gain low-pass filter (LPF) performs the analogue processing, and high frequencies are boosted after A/D conversion. The crosstalk canceller measures the cell’s crosstalk characteristic using the crosstalk measurement signal recorded on the calibration register supplied with the Technics SU-R1000. It then performs an inverse correction using the on-board DSP to achieve a significant improvement in the crosstalk characteristic. Finally, response optimisation measures the frequency characteristic of the cell using a TSP (Time Stretched Pulse) signal stored on the grouped calibration record, and corrects the characteristic disturbance. It attenuates the effect of impedance matching between the cartridge and the phono equaliser.
The sound
If we stick to pragmatic and modern technical criteria, this amplifier ticks all the boxes for success: a hyper-modern power supply with four different sections and a proprietary class D amplification scheme. Of course, this technology isn’t universally acclaimed, far from it. But it must be acknowledged that it is supreme in terms of efficiency and performance. And in this respect, the new Technics is a great success. It drives loudspeakers with astonishing mastery. We connected it to various transducers, from traditional electrodynamic loudspeakers to isodynamic panels, and each time it proved to us just how unsaturable and virtually impossible to fault it was. This sense of ease is also found in the bass register, which expresses itself with a strength and precision that are truly exceptional for the price. To be quite frank, we were expecting an even more lyrical outburst in this area. But the Technics has the good taste to remain under control at all times and doesn’t go overboard. This is a device that doesn’t try to offer spectacular listening. It is extremely dynamic, of course, but never overdoes it. Nonetheless, the low octaves are explored with unexpected application. In the extreme bass, we perceive information that is particularly tenuous in loaded messages, but which emerges with striking clarity. This is one of the great charms of this instrument: its ability to bring to light what others leave in the shadows. It’s in this area of subtlety and finesse that we can see just how much the Class D has progressed over time. The sound never seems monolithic or rigid. On the contrary, it’s full of variety. The more you alternate between different musical styles, the more interesting the facets delivered by an amplifier that offers a sound experience far more subtle than its aesthetic appearance might suggest. Of course, there’s raw power (totally controlled), but above all there’s an unusual openness and lightness. The timbres are completely natural, never tainted by the slightest coloration. As a result, the Technics SU-R1000 can be played with a very wide range of partners without ever putting its own stamp on them. When you try out its converter section, you discover the same kind of qualities in terms of both spatialisation and harmonic subtlety. The same can be said of the exceptional phono input, whose versatility is astonishing. We were able to carry out tests with different cells (Nagaoka MP-150, Dynavector DV XX2, Denon DL-A110, Audio Technica ART9 X). In each case, you get a fine tuning that allows you to take full advantage of the cell.
Our conclusion
When it comes down to it, this new integrated amplifier offers a lot of quality for a relatively low price when compared to its competitors. Don’t let the bodybuilder physique of the Technics SU-R1000 fool you, this is a device that works with finesse. It’s even unsettling. Its detractors will see a lack of personality. For our part, we’re more inclined to think that it’s trying to remain as neutral as possible. Given the track record of the Japanese brand’s other electronics, this seems obvious.
Author: Pierre Fontaine
Technical sheet: TECHNICS SU-R1000
- Origin: Japan
- Price: €8,000
- Dimensions: 430 x 191 x 459 mm
- Weight: 22.6 kg
- Output power:
- 2 x 150 W (1 kHz, T.H.D. 0.5 %, 8 Ω, 20 kHz LPF)
- 2 x 300 W (1 kHz, 0.5% THD, 4 Ω, 20 kHz LPF)
- Load impedance: 4 to 16 ohms
- Frequency response: 5 Hz to 80 kHz (-3 dB, 8 Ω)
- MC phono input sensitivity: 2.5 mV/47 kΩ
- MM phono input sensitivity: 300 uV/100 Ω
- Line input sensitivity: 200 mV/22 kΩ
