TAD-A1000 – the First Integrated Amp from the Iconic Company!

TAD has announced its first integrated amplifier TAD-A1000. The TAD-A1000 design uses the company's favorite circuit solutions - current feedback gain and resistor ladder electronic volume control for preamplifiers, as well as an analog Class D gain platform for power amplifiers, in one device.

Particular attention is paid to the precise matching of positive and negative half-waves of the signal - to achieve this, a bridge-tied load (BTL) circuit is implemented, which connects two separate amplification stages in a balanced configuration for the left and right channels along the entire path - from the input to the output stage. In addition, each channel has separate power transformer windings, as well as rectification, smoothing and stabilization circuits. This configuration ensures symmetry between the two channels in the board layout and topology – and even in the lengths of the conductive tracks on the boards!

The TAD-A1000 integrated amplifier is powered by a high-power toroidal transformer coupled with a linear regulator. To improve the purity of the power supply, the internal windings of the transformer are directly connected to the power supply circuits, thereby minimizing the number of contact points with the conductors. In addition, the terminals for the direct connection windings, the mounting terminals for the boards and the clamping screws are made of pure copper and coated with non-magnetic materials, which eliminates the slightest magnetic distortion. The cross-section of the transformer core is made in the form of a circle, which improves the contact between the core.

The TAD-A1000 preamplifier stage is single-ended with current feedback. TAD's proprietary electronic volume control with resistive ladder switching provides extremely precise signal attenuation and ultra-low distortion of less than 0.0005% at an input signal of 1 Vrms. The power supply filter contains four electrolytic smoothing capacitors with a capacity of 33,000 µF each. The TAD-A1000's preamplifier stage, power stage, transformer and control circuit are physically separated into four independent chambers inside the case. This four-chamber design effectively isolates the device from external vibrations. In particular, the power supply is mechanically and electrically shielded to minimize noise and improve signal purity. The robust case is supported by three feet, each of which is equipped with an internal inverted spike.