Technics - Grand Class Network Integrated Audio Amplifier - Black

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The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Technics SU-GX70 has more than meets the eye!

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 1000 Contributor

  My first 2 Technics sound equipment were a Tape Deck and turntable. They were awesome and lasted decades, delivering high fidelity sound for years. So I have been a fan of Technics brand for a long time. But wow! This amplifier was a pleasant surprise. At first glance, it seems like a vintage stereo system. It has a left and right channel stereo and based on the specification an excellent signal to noise ratio, with high quality semiconductors on Power supply and the independent amps. I would be totally ok if it was only that. I love a good performance amplifier, and I was sure that this one would deliver great. But this unit does much more than that. There were many things that I liked about this Amp, starting from the setup, it comes with a physical manual! It is true that page 4 has a QR code where you can download a more detailed manual, but the printed manual and the quick start guide helps me a lot to start using the SU-GX70 without having spending too much time and putting my glasses to read the pdf on the phone. Don’t be fooled by the slim design and its weight (17 x 4 x 13in), it looks small but this amp is very powerful with a neat sound. The finish feels well-made and works straight out of the box. Very intuitive to use, all the controls are available and easy to understand, whether you use the physical dials, the Remote Control, or the app. The look resembles the old vintage classy 70s amplifiers like the times when sound systems were built to last with exceptional performance. It has a full metal chassis, with touch screen display. Supports impedance from 4 to 16 ohms, with a 80Watts RMS per channel at 4 ohms. The design is simple, but elegant. On the front you have a “USB-A”, that will allows you to play mp3, or if you want to apply a firmware update this is the port you have to use, and there is a 6.5mm headphone jack. At the back, the RCA inputs for moving magnet phono stage, L-R RCA for Line in 1, L-R RCA for Line in 2, FM Antenna (so it comes with traditional FM radio!), Coaxial input, 2 optical ports, 2 RCA preouts for either an Amplifier or Subwoofer, an Ethernet port, Speakers left and right terminals, a “USB-B” port where you can connect the PC or any other device with ta USB 2.0 cable, and I left this one for the end, because is my favorite, the ARC HDMI port. Inside the box you will find The Amp, FM antenna, Remote control, 2 AAA batteries, the user manual and a quick start guide. So I started with the quick guide, following the easy 4 steps, changing the setting from “off” to “on” for the Wi-Fi (you will see this on the front display of the unit, and you have to use the arrows on the RC), and downloaded the Google home app on our phone by scanning the QR code, because it has a Chromecast built in, you can connect the unit to the Wi-Fi, and both, either phone or tablet and the SU-GX70 should be in the same Wi-Fi network. On the Google Home you assign a name to the unit, but keep in mind that this name is the one that will be listed in the BT device list on your phone when you want to pair it and if you want to stream music through BT, so now the unit is ready to stream music over Wi-Fi, using the google home and all the audio apps available to cast. So I played different sources, starting by casting Spotify, Line in using a Cd player, phono input with my turntable, and I also connected a USB drive with some mp3’s. Crispy and pure sound, very satisfying. On the front you have two knobs, Volume control and input selector, and the power. Simple and intuitive was the whole learning process that I experienced while I was playing with this unit. You can also install the “Technics Audio Center” app. You can stream via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, and from here, you have many different options, many of them listed on the Technics app for streaming: Amazon Music, Spotify, Tidal, Internet Radio, Qobuz. The physical inputs can also be selected through the app as well, and you can adjust the Balance between left and right, tone, ad there are some sound digital filters for each input, and you can even power off the unit from this app. There are a lot of different features that this amp can offer, that I am not sure where to begin. Let me start by saying that I found out with this unit that Technics/Panasonic made sure that everything was built at a high quality and high res streaming amplifier from the source, either analog or digital, to the end. The first hint that lead me to that conclusion was that this amp have independent power supplies per amp and for the other circuit functions, with a fully digital amplifier. If I recall correctly from what I read, this design will ensure to prevent any noise on the process to the final sound you want to hear, clean and neat and has remarkable channel separation and wide soundstage. The front touch screen display is really useful and easy to operate. For me the a decisive test was the phono input for turntable. Phono input is a challenge for any amplifier, since the there is a long way to run from the preamp phono stage, then digital processing and the final Power amp. The speakers I used for testing were a set of Martin Logan F-100, a Klipsch Subwoofer and a Technics/Panasonic turntable with a blue Ortofon cartridge. I played the Beethoven 9th Symphony. I heard the Finale many times, it was so clear, with a perfect balance between the volume variations, I didn’t need to increase the volume too much because this amp delivers with so much clarity and provides the tiny details of every instrument of the orchestra, as well as the chorus, very impressive. No distortion even going all the way up with the volume. Then I started to stream music of all kinds, classical, Rock, Country, mostly over Wi-Fi, and even if I am not a huge fan of BT streaming, I paired my phone for BT connection using the Technics app, very easy. But streaming over Wi-Fi was like listening to a CD player. Now, you have to take in consideration that this amp is focused on playing music, and streaming. Music typically have been recorded in 2 channels, left and right, either monoaural or Stereo, and this is what this amp does the best, plus the excellent streaming capabilities. On the other hand, for movies, market offers Home Theaters where you can have the 5.1 or 7.1 audio signal decoding in order to reach a surrounding effect. However, I was willing to try the ARC HDMI port to see what can I get. I connected the HDMI ARC port to my Sony Bravia and Sony Blu Ray so It will turn the amp into a 2.1 home theater. The TV adjusted automatically the digital format, and I can say that it was a really pleased, watching Avatar, Top Gun, the explosions, jet rumble, makes the whole living room shakes. So with the Technics SU-GX70, basically you can have the 2 worlds, Music and Movies in one unit. I am very happy that finally I have the perfect complement for my Technics Turntable, ensuring an outstanding high fidelity sound. This is the long time missed amplifier designed to guarantee neat and powerful sound experience, doesn’t matter the source, and much more.

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  This review is from Technics - Grand Class Network Integrated Audio Amplifier - Silver

  Posted 2 years ago by GEJF

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Audio Bliss

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 1000 Contributor
  • My Best Buy Premier Silver Review

  The Technics SU-GX70 is a versatile network streaming amplifier that shares many of the outstanding sonic characteristics of its smaller brother the SA-C600. To my ears, it produces a pristine, neutral, and well-balanced sound that I love very much. The build quality is phenomenal and I love the compact size and aesthetics of this amplifier. It’s the perfect amplifier for those who want to downsize from a behemoth home theater surround sound setup and focus more on music and improved audio quality. The SU-GX70 comes with a ton of support for different audio sources. It supports FM radio, USB flash drive playback, playback from a PC USB connection, and has one phono in, two line in, two digital optical connections, one digital coax connection and an HDMI port. It also offers flexible support for streaming music services (i.e. Internet Radio, Chromecast, Amazon Music, TIDAL, Spotify etc.) as well as Bluetooth and home DLNA media servers, Output connections include support for stereo speakers and a PRE OUT that you can connect to an external amplifier or to a subwoofer. I prefer a single dedicated subwoofer connector instead of using a PRE OUT for connecting to a subwoofer. It just seems weird that you can use either the L or R PRE OUT connectors for this purpose but it seems to work. The main difference between the SU-GX70 and the SA-C600 is that the SU-GX70 lacks a built-in CD player but comes with more physical input ports and is built with higher quality components and features such as LAPC speaker calibration. The box came packed with the amplifier itself, a remote and batteries, an AC power supply cord, an FM indoor antenna and a user manual. Setup was very easy. I used the Google Home app to set up wireless networking. The Google Home app was able to “see” the SU-GX70 and was able to quickly set up the amplifier to use my home wireless network. After using the Google Home app to set up the wireless network, you can use either the included physical remote for basic control of the SU-GX70 or download an app called the “Technics Audio Center” for complete control and customization of the amplifier. With the app, you have access to advanced settings such as Space Tune to calibrate the sound according to your speaker’s placement and room acoustics. There are presets for Free, Wall, Corner or “In a Shelf” placement of your speakers. There is also an option called “Measured” where you use an iOS device to calibrate the device according to your room’s acoustics. I used my iPad to make a measured calibration of my living room. I noticed a big difference between the settings. I also used the LAPC speaker calibration feature with my Sony SSCS5 bookshelf speakers. This feature supposedly calibrates the amplifier to work well with any speaker you have on hand. However, I couldn’t hear much difference when toggling this feature on and off. I mostly tested streaming music using Amazon music and everything sounded great with this setup. This is probably my favorite amplifier as I think it produces a very natural, well balanced and neutral sound that feels “pristine”. All genres of music sounded great to me. Vocals and instruments sounded crisp, clear and precise. I was most interested in testing out the HDMI connection to see how well the Technics SU-GX70 would function as a home theater receiver. This was the one feature that was missing in the SA-C600 that I wished it had and I was very happy to see that the SU-GX70 now includes this feature. I connected the Technics SU-GX70 to my TCL’s HDMI ARC port and set the TCL to output in uncompressed format. The Technics SU-GX70 can’t process Dolby Audio so we need to set the TV to output in uncompressed or LPCM format. Overall I think the Technics SU-GX70 worked well as a home theater receiver and is a great alternative to a basic 2.1 soundbar system. I did notice some inconsistencies where some material sounded really great while for others it just seemed okay. Playing back movies using my Sony 4K Blu-ray player sounded fantastic. I thought the SU-GX70 provided a nice wide soundstage with crisp and clear sound and good dialog clarity using just stereo speakers and a subwoofer. For some reason, I thought Loki from Disney Plus felt a little subdued and I wanted the ability to boost the dialog up to make it more clearer to me. I didn’t experience this with other shows on other streaming services such as One Piece on Netflix which sounded really great to me. I think that the home theater experience could be improved if the Technics SU-GX70 natively supported Dolby Audio formats so that it can decode the audio itself instead of relying on an external component to decode the audio and send it to the SU-GX70 as LPCM. This might provide a more consistent listening experience with such material. In addition, it would also be great if the SU-GX70 supported audio enhancements such as a dialog mode and night mode. Overall, I think the Technics SU-GX70 is a fantastic product. It’s perfect for someone who wants a high end music audio system that can also double as a home theater system but does not want to have a bulky complicated surround sound setup. It is compact and has a really nice elegant look to it that should look nice in any room. Listening to music and watching videos with it has been an immense pleasure. I can give the Technics SU-GX70 my highest recommendation.

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  This review is from Technics - Grand Class Network Integrated Audio Amplifier - Silver

  Posted 2 years ago by DoctorHoo

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Great multi connection system

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 100 Contributor

  This is a versatile one-box streaming amplifier system that can do a lot. It has the capability for sound from HDMI ARC input. This system can play everything: turntable, CD player, digital files, internet radio, FM radio, TV sound, and Tidal streaming service. The entire box is encased in a silver metal frame with a high-quality build and finish. The few buttons and the informative display, which is a touch screen, have a sleek design and placement. The dimensions are similar to those of other systems. The system works well out of the box; I completed the installation and the connection to the Wi-Fi in under 30 minutes. Using the Google Home app, the system is not connected to my house Wi-Fi, which is great if you use Google Chromecast. Alternatively, you can use the system via Bluetooth. The built-in FM radio works great, providing an excellent signal to my favorite radio stations. There are multiple ways to connect the system: (1) two line-level inputs; (3) phono RCA; (4) optical and coaxial digital inputs; (5) a high-quality 6.3 mm headphone jack; (6) HDMI ARC; and (7) two USB ports (Type A and Type B). This is a crossover product that makes it possible not only for streaming services such as music, radio, and podcasts but also for the sound coming from video services (movies). Technics combines both types of services so that users can enjoy the great sound of an audio system as well as the video content on one system and easily switch from one source to another. What is special about this product is that the HDMI ARC does great at removing any noise from the video circuitry of the integrated digital environment. Now, when I watch high-definition movies, the sound produced by the system is of pristine quality. There is no need to use two controls to watch movies because the sound volume coming from the TV using the HDMI ARC can be controlled with the TV’s remote control. The power output is 80 watts a channel into four and 40 watts a channel into eight. This awesome high-end audio network integrated amplifier system allows you to listen to music/audio from nearly every connection type, source connectivity, and digital connectivity. What today's music lovers want is convenience and great sound. The music landscape that this product allows streaming is huge, from different sources and services. I like the fact that I can do all this with just one system without the need to have another system when I switch to another source or streaming service.

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  This review is from Technics - Grand Class Network Integrated Audio Amplifier - Silver

  Posted 2 years ago by SimpleLiving