TEAC's new hi-fi amplifier is made to power hardcore audiophile systems, but in a super-compact size

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Money No Object: Meet the small but mighty amp of your dreams

TEAC AP-507 amp on a black background
(Image credit: TEAC)
  • A small amp promising supreme sound
  • The AP-507 joins TEAC's Reference 500 Series
  • Due out in spring, it costs $2,299 / £1,899
Money no object

We love to give practical buying advice about the latest gadgets here on TechRadar. But sometimes what we love more is to indulge in the most ridiculous, high-end, cutting-edge, luxurious tech on the planet. That's what we bring you in these Money no object columns – you can read the whole series here.

Are you a hardcore audiophile who has just won the lottery? Then great news! TEAC has just announced a super-high end amp that promises to bring big sounds to your surround system all wrapped up in a compact box.

From a specs perspective, TEAC’s AP-507 stereo power amplifier is exactly the sort of luxury product we love to attach our Money No Object label to.

Due out later this spring and priced at an eye-watering $2,299 / £1,899, the AP-507 promises to deliver top-tier audio engineering squeezed into a small form-factor design that won’t dominate your living room.

TEAC claims that despite its adorable “letter size” footprint, the AP-507 will embody “the pinnacle of audio design”, joining the firm’s Reference 500 Series of luxury sound gear. Like the rest of the range, the AP-507 amp – which will be available in black and silver – has been “designed to give music enthusiasts complete control and flexibility” when it comes to fine-tuning their sound systems.

The Japanese audio expert is making some impressive claims that would seem to justify the AP-507’s bank balance-obliterating price tag. Sporting the firm’s next-gen custom tuned ‘NCOREx’ power amplifier module, it could be a dream amp to pair with some of the best stereo speakers.

Amped up

TEAC AP-507 amp in silver alongside a pair of speakers

(Image credit: TEAC)

This tech will supposedly deliver an ultra-immersive three-dimensional soundstage, and TEAC says the AP-507 will deliver super-accurate, high efficiency, low distortion sounds thanks to its proprietary dual-mono buffer amplifier. Which is a lot of techy audio terms in order to get across that the AP-507 should make your existing speaker system sound pretty damn glorious.

Designed to be both compact and flexible, the AP-507 offers a trio of listening modes: stereo, Bi-AMP and BLT mono, all delivered at 170 watts, which really is a lot for something so small.

It’s also a lovely-looking piece of audio equipment. Then again, you’d expect that from a high-end amp that costs this kind of money – still, I love the classy aluminum chassis. Its 2.8mm thick, semi-floating top plate – also made from aluminum – is also rather eyeball-arousing.

Obviously that $2,300 / £1,899 price point is going to mean the TEAC AP-507 is a cute and compact amp that is going to be for hardcore audiophiles who've simply run out of space for a big rack system.

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Dave Meikleham
Dave Meikleham

Dave is a freelancer who's been writing about tech and video games since 2006, with bylines across GamesRadar+, Total Film, PC Gamer, and Edge. He's been obsessed with all manner of AV equipment ever since his parents first bought him a hideously garish 13-inch CRT TV (complete with built-in VCR, no less) back in 1998. Over the years he’s owned more plasma and OLED TVs than he can count. On an average day, he spends 30% of his waking existence having mild panic attacks about vertical banding and dead pixels. 

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