Customer Ratings & Reviews

PRODUCT TECHNICS - SA-C600 PREMIUM CLASS NETWORK CD RECEIVER - SILVER MODEL: SA-C600 AMAZING SOUND – RETRO W/ MODERN BOLTED ON FEATURES First, and foremost, the sound is amazing with CD’s from this high end all-in-one receiver. I can recommend it, just for the sound quality. My CD’s have never sounded better. It is ideally targeted to replicate the feeling (experience) of a minimalistic setup with 2 speakers (or 2.1 with a subwoofer). If you want the vibe of old school cool with fantastic sound, look no further. It will make you want to get your CD’s out of the basement. PRO’s - Modern Minimalistic Look and Feel - Relatively Compact Size - Decent Power Output for the size - Large Remote - Bright Display - Phono Input - Built in Network Connectivity and Physical Ethernet Port You can look up the specs for yourself, so I won’t repeat them all here. BEST FOR TRADITIONAL USE CASES - Physical CD Listening - Phono Listening (with optional record player) - Broadcast Radio Tuning *(NOT HD RADIO) If this is how you plan to listen to the SA-C600, then read no further, and run out and buy it! MODERN FEATURES AND USER EXPERIENCE (UX) Trying to use any modern features / streaming / DLNA / etc from the remote is not a great experience. For example, I have about 500 CD’s and Albums stored on my media server. With the remote, you have to scroll through them all one at a time alphabetically. If you want to listed to Album #499, then that means 499 key presses on the remote. Your best bet is to use the app on a phone to fling media at the receiver. But the mobile app is very basic and not very user friendly. Ultimately, connecting it to a voice assistant is the only sane way to stream media to device. However, it only supports google and not Alexa (which is what I use). For me to get full use from the receiver, then I needed to connect an Alexa Device to receiver. At that point, then, none of the native streaming features of the receiver are even used. Overall, this was the better solution for me. (Alexa connected). SOME MISSING THINGS FOR ME I was surprised that the following features are missing / not supported. I don’t take points off as they were not advertised as being included. I only mention them in case they are important to you. These would have made it much more overall useful to me. - No Alexa Built In - HD Radio (AM or FM) not included - DVD Audio format not supported - Audio Out / Pre-Amp Out not included - HDMI Input (for e-Arc Audio) not included I hoped to use the SA-C600 to replace my 25 year old receiver in my rec room, or at least supplement it by driving CD’s and Vinyl though the SA-C600 to my old (but powerful) receiver. But without lineout/pre-amp out, I can’t properly connect it to my old system. With it being only a 2.1 channel system, I can’t drive my existing 7.1 speaker setup. I also can’t easily make it the entertainment center of my media setup, since I can’t connect HDMI HD Audio from the TV as the main input. (My TV/Monitor does not have Optical Out). It may sound like I don’t like it, and I assure you that is not the case. As a stand alone unit it is fantastic. RECOMMENDATION For physical media, the SA-C600 is a fantastic , great sounding, high end luxury player / receiver. It is best suited for small to medium rooms with simple 2.1 speaker setup. It is stylish and minimalistic. Pair the SA-C600 with some high end bookshelf speakers and subwoofer and you won’t be disappointed. The Streaming options seem bolted on, and dated. In the end you are best just pairing your phone and streaming from your phone to use these apps, and there is nothing wrong with that setup.

I had used a Technics receiver, DAC, and CD player for years growing up and into adulthood, always producing good, clean sound and I was able to get them at a decent price used. This received brings back all of the good memories of that old system but in a compact, modern design and with a massive heatsink on the back end! The setup was easy and quick, there's not a ton of options for what to connect and where as this unit has only two speaker terminals and most of the rest is either built-in like the CD player (excellent!!!) and the internet & streaming players, or will utilize the phono, optical, digital coax, line-in, or USB. Just enough to connect to everything you want it a compact system to connect to. The only real negatives are that it does only have two speaker terminals, not even and A/B option or for bi-amplifying towers. The power output is very nice, pushing plenty of clean sound throughout the room. I have my Martin Logan Motion towers connected and they are fed more than enough power to crank the music loud enough to head all through the house and outside! The CD tray is very cool, harkening back to some of the odd '90s designs used on shelf component systems but with a little more of a modern look, LEDs have also gotten substantially better! The only really negatives about this fantastic receiver, is that the app is finicky on Android and the optical in only accepts up to 96kHz. That's okay and sounds great, double the bitrate of what a CD will do, but still exceptional sound for a tidy little unit. I'd recommend it for someone in a home office or study, could be a nice showpiece in a modern living room, too. This is a very sharp looking and clean sounding unit, where all you need is to connect your speakers, follow the setup instructions and enjoy! The only reason I took a star off is for the previously mentioned limitations I came across. iOS may fare better with the app, but hopefully it gets better and more stable with time.

The Technics SA-C600 is positioned as a high-end (but not audiophile) modern take of the “all-in-one” mini-receiver. In most aspects it succeeds, definitely in audio quality, less so in build materials and features. I will outline my experience and opinions with a few days use now, but, in short, despite its flaws, it’s a standout option among its “all-in-one” peers combining an aesthetically pleasing case, or at least unobtrusive, with ultra-clear sound, and good input versatility. It’s acoustical forte, like a jazz band, is best heard in a small venue. Whatever accolades it’s due, it's sound isn’t meant to fill up a large hall. A 350 sq ft room is probably max capacity. I ripped most of my rock and jazz CDs years ago to lossless audio files (though I still buy them) and rely on Spotify for “discovering” new artists. But I never ripped my classical CDs, opting to listen to those on my now non-working DVD player. Of course, DVDs are irrelevant now, so the SA-C600 looked to meet both my CD playing and music streaming needs and offered a better, less cluttered way to listen to both. So that’s where I’m coming from, and here’s my early opinion. DESIGN The SA-C600s charm for me is its ability, despite its compact size – roughly two stacked medium pizza boxes – it doesn’t sacrifice either sound quality or versatility. In addition to its built-in CD player, it supports most major streaming services, Wi-Fi streaming protocols like Airplay 2 and Google Chromecast, Bluetooth (receiving only, unfortunately), and, rare for this form factor, a MM compatible Phono Out. All of this in a striking, sleek case with a certain “Bang and Olufsen look” that begs to be displayed but doesn’t scream “look at me.” The SA-C600 case is mostly ABS plastic. More metal would be nicer but as long as heat dissipation is adequate I’m fine. To be sure it looks upscale and feels well-made, unlike the dorm duty “all-in-ones” popular in the late 20th century. The unit’s face is a handsome ribbed design that emanates a dapper but lowkey impression in contrast to the complicating intimidating presence of most A/V equipment. The absence of physical front buttons and knobs continues this theme. It’s truly device disguised as furniture. The stealthy front features a small, but readable display, the top part which can be turned off, and the bottom part which are touch sensitive transport and input controls. A 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB-A input for a drive is at bottom left. I appreciate having a USB port here, but I wish it was USB-C since that, not A, is the future. This is one area where this unit feels aged even though it’s a current model. The topside is every bit as handsome as the front with a brushed metal panel merging with a small black ABS ribbed vent. Top front left is a power button, opposite is physical “+” and “-” volume buttons. These flush-with-the-case buttons have a crisp, responsive feel. Center stage here is the CD player, which, in “Bang & Olufsen fashion” has a see-through acrylic cover, though it’s manually operated. The cover swivels for CD insertion and removal. It’s attractive but I am concerned about it collecting scratches. Being manually controlled, Gorilla Glass or similar seems more appropriate at this level. The plastic cover detracts from the “luxury” of this unit, and I’m reminded of it every time I touch it. The cover sits on three small rubber nubs rather than flush on the case. This, by design, creates clearance between the case and cover, but also allows easier access for dust and debris to the CD laser than a traditional drawer system. Form over function? Only time will tell. The back has a decent set of inputs for this type of receiver. The spec sheet spells explains these well I don’t have anything connected to the SA-C600 yet so I can’t comment with its real-life functionality. I will note, however, that the speaker inputs do accept banana connectors. SETUP EXPERIENCE On initial startup the SA-C600 “asks” to set up Wi-Fi, which, of course is vital to a Network Receiver. Use the supplied remote control to toggle “yes,” and hit “OK.” If you are an Apple user disregard the obtuse manual instructions for connecting Wi-Fi & AirPlay 2. Instead open the Home app on your iPhone, click the “+” to add a new accessory, then click “more options.” You should see the SA-C600 button. Tap it and done. If you want to set up via Google Chromecast use the Technics Audio Center app. Once Wi-Fi is established and wired speakers or headphone connected the SA-C600 is ready. Yes, wired. This is the other area where the SA-C600 is behind the times. The SA-C600 can only receive, not transmit Bluetooth. To do this you’ll have to use a TX adapter like it was 2018. It’s a shame because this kind of receiver lends itself perfectly to wireless headphones and earbuds and Technics makes great ones too. The day after I installed mine the front display indicated a firmware update was available. I found no information on what it fixed or if it added features. Download and installation took about 10 minutes (300Mbps Wi-Fi). I noticed no differences but it’s annoying when companies push a firmware update but don’t tell you what it does. The SA-C600, like most receivers these days, includes a speaker/room calibration system. Technics’ is called Space Tune. It’s a bit unique in that it uses the mic on your phone or tablet rather than supplying a separate plug-in device and the Technics app. I didn’t find it improved the soundstage in my room, but it good out of the box, so it could be a YMMV situation. Speaking of the Technics app. It could be more useful than the supplied physical remote. This is because only the app allows for direct input control for every available input. The physical remote, oddly, only has direct input for CD, FM, and Bluetooth. All other inputs are selected by tediously cycling though sources until the one you want shows up. So, for example, if you were playing a CD but decided you wanted to switch to Spotify, you’d have to cycle though Amazon, Deezer, etc., until you got to Spotify, even if you don’t subscribe to Deezer. A really lazy design. At a minimum there should be a menu option in the app to not show inputs that are unused. Since streaming is a key part of this device I think it’s important to note that song selection can be done in either the Technics app or your streaming services app. The exceptions is Spotify which requires the Spotify app. Using the Technics app gives you device and streaming controls in one app, but, for example, Amazon Music, I find it easier and quicker to find music in the Amazon Music app compared to Technics’ app. In this aspect the app feels outdated and laggy. In all cases you can use the buttons on the SA-C600 or physical remote to skip, repeat, and stop streaming music. You don’t need the app for that. SOUND QUALITY The SA-C600 is beautiful on the inside too as expected given its price tag. It’s punchier than its printed tech specs indicate thanks to Technics taking even its “affordable” audio products seriously. It has lot of its guts was borrowed from its top-of-the line siblings. For example, it’s rated at 60 watts per channel (at 4 ohms) which is unexciting. It certainly caused me some pause when considering it. But here, Technics has designed a system that, to my ears, easily competes with much higher Wpc rated ones. It’s not that I can play my CDs and lossless audio louder, but that I can play it softer and not lose any of the music’s detail or have it muddied by electronic noise. But make no mistake, if I want to step it up, the SA-C600 not only responds to the limits of my modest, and ancient, Polk bookshelf speakers, but I think it allows them to perform at their peak. I attribute its clean sound to two of its features, that, I think, are unique to a unit of this kind. First, it shares the same all-digital processing technology as Technics audiophile products. The second differentiator is that it has two discrete power supplies, one for the amplifier, the other for all other functions. As a result, what I hear, when playing a file at a CD or better bitrate is a cleaner sound because the signal due to their being less processing and no extraneous signals invading the amp section. Of course, no matter how skillful a piece of audio equipment is, a garbage file, like a 128Kbps MP3, is always going to sound inferior to a lossless one, like a CD (AIFF), FLAC, or ALAC. What I was unsure of was whether the SA-C600 could at least improve the sound of Spotify Free’s heavily compressed 128Kbps files and Amazon Prime music’s slightly better 160Kbps ones compared to the mid-range Bluetooth speakers connected to my Mac. So I dialed up Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on Spotify and Amazon since that song’s strong bass invites distortion. I also played my own ALAC copy as a baseline. I played each side-by-side on the SA-C600 and then my Mac connected to mid-range Bluetooth speakers. To my surprise the Spotify version, while not as clear as the ALAC version (expected), it was more enjoyable and less distracting on the SA-C600 than on my Bluetooth speakers (unexpected). The bass riffs actually had a little energy on the SA-C600 and did not breakup at a respectable, but not a party level, volume. And the Amazon version stunned me, sounding *almost* passible for CD quality. It was lively and the riffs had a true feel even at mid-volume. BOTTOM LINE Not being able to pair Bluetooth headphones to it is definitely a bummer and a consideration if this is your preferred ways of listening. Otherwise, considering the SA-C600 combines a high-end guts and a built-in CD player with a small form factor, this is small fault. I find the SA-C600 an almost perfect solution for my needs and suspect anyone who appreciates quality audio equipment but only has a small space where traditional sized components would be overkill or undesirable will enjoy it too.

Initial Impressions: The Technics SA-C600 is a nice little streaming stereo amplifier with CD player. The CD player is what ultimately convinced me to get the SA-C600. The unit itself is very handsome with its black body, brushed aluminum top, and smoked plastic CD door. The LCD screen is mostly black and white with a few colored icons here and there. The back of the unit has every input I could possibly want. The front panel has a single USB and stereo mini jack. Overall, the unit aesthetics are simple enough that it will fit into any modern-day décor. Sonically, the SA-C600 needed a good day to break in before it found its stride. Power wise, the SA-C600 is best suited for bookshelf speakers with an integrated subwoofer. Tower speakers are simply too much for the SA-C600 to drive reliably. Overall, I like the flexibility, the inclusion of a CD Player, the streaming options, and the integrated FM Tuner. This is a solid addition to my home office. Setup: The SA-C600 took about 5 minutes to setup from box to CD/FM Radio. Configuration and app setup took a bit longer. For some reason, Wi-Fi setup requires Google Home or Apple Home apps to configure. Once Wi-Fi is setup Google Home or Apple Home is no longer needed. Technics’ Audio Center is the app you want to load on your smartphone to take full control of the SA-C600. Everything can also be configured and controlled from the included remote. The top of the unit has three buttons for power and volume. There are dedicated CD player controls that illuminate on the front of the SA-C600 when the CD player is active. The illuminated touch controls are integrated into the mostly monochrome front facing LED screen. For my setup, I have a pair of B&W 705 Signature bookshelf speakers and a MartinLogan 600X 10” subwoofer in a desktop stereo configuration on my office desk. I used a Panamax MR5100 for power protection. For inputs I used a toslink optical digital cable to connect to my gaming computer. I also connected an RCA to a mini stereo cable to the Line Input on the back of the SA-C600 as a hardwired connection to my iPhone. I also connected my iPhone via Airplay but wanted to hear the difference between the two inputs. Next, I accessed the Setup menu via the included remote control and updated the SA-C600 firmware. This took about 20 minutes to complete. What did it fix? According to Technics, and I quote, “Improvement of Stability.” So, yeah. The manual that ships with the SA-C600 is a bit pedestrian. It does illustrate how to access certain functions. It lacks explanations for the SA-C600’s configuration items and options. It also does not explain any of the individual input setup items or options. Neither the Technics’ Audio App nor Technics’ website provide any additional information. Technics’ website does not provide a longer, more detailed manual. Sound: SA-C600 is hot on the highs. It was vocals forward with a few tracks that was best illustrated by “Love Shack” by the B-52’s. Luckily, the SA-C600 has proper tone controls. Bass and Treble have a range from -10 to +10 and set to 0 for both out of the box. The tone controls are only accessible via the Setup menu or via the Technics’ app. For my B&W bookshelf speakers, -1 to -2 treble and +1 base works well for most music that I listen too. For FM radio, I set the tone controls to -10 bass and -1 treble. Keep in mind that the tone settings are persistent from input to input. If the SA-C600 loses power, then the tone controls need to be reset. The clock also resets. But the FM presents do not… Space Tune is sound calibration presets. For example, your speakers will gain some boost on the low end if they are corner loaded. Which could make them sound boomy. The Space Tune has a corner preset calibration setting that will tone down the lows and boost the higher frequencies. There are four presets and five modes: Free, Corner, Shelf, Cabinet, and Custom. Customer allows one of the four presents assigned independently to each speaker. I found that Free sounded best on my setup. The SA-C600 needs a good 12- to 24-hour break in period. I own eight different pairs of speakers. They sounded awful prior to this break-in period. I just left the SA-C600 playing unattended in a room. The goal was to break in the amplifier and not my ears. Once broken it, the unit sounded really good at low to moderate listening levels in my small office. I listen mostly to classical, jazz, vocalist, and talk radio during my workday. In addition to my office bookshelf system, I auditioned a pair of B&W 606 Anniversary bookshelves which also sounded good. Not as good as the 705 Signatures but good enough at the 606 price points. Conversely, the SA-C600 sounds like trash on hungry tower speakers. I auditioned a pair of SVS Ultra Towers, SVS Prime Pinnacles, and a pair of B&W 702 s2 Towers. The SA-C600 simply does not have the power to drive these. These are highly capable speakers when integrated with the right gear. The SA-C600 is simply a poor match in this situation. I included photos of two of my audition spaces. I did not include a photo of my permanent listening space for personal reasons. Power handling: Full power: 60 W + 60 W (1kHz, T.H.D. 1.0 %, 4Ω, 20kHz LPF) or FTC Output Power: 40W + 40W (1kHz, T.H.D. 1.0 %, 4Ω, 20kHz LPF). Source, technical specs from manufacture’s website. Measurements like these are useful but for all the wrong reasons. Are manufacturers still playing this game? Moving on… Digital vs Line Input vs Line Input: Digital content, such as Apple Music over Airplay, sounds great. I do not have subscriptions to Tidal, Amazon Music, Deezer. I did try Spotify. It sounded ok but Apple Music sounded better. I also test Apple Music over RCA connections on the Line Input. The Line Input gain is very low compared with all the other inputs. If volume is set to 30 for streaming, then the Line Input must be set to 60 for the same audible output. Beware! The SA-C600 does not remember the last volume setting for any previous input. This means the volume must be decreased before swapping back to streaming, CD, radio, or another source. Otherwise, you will experience that super loud, thin, low fidelity noise I discussed earlier on. Hopefully Technics will address this in a future firmware update. The SA-C600 will not make bad CD sound better. If anything, the SA-C600 will reveal their poor quality. Newer CDs, such as Lorenna McKennet’s, “The wind that shakes the barely”, sound fantastic. The vocals were full, and the music textured. Depending on the content, the sound reproduction could come off as crisp and sometimes overly clinical. I picked up on this quickly because I am used to a warmer sounding system. Not bad. Just different from what I am used to. Dialing in my tone controls and integrating my sub-woofer played a big role in balancing out the SA-C600 presentation. Finally, fiber optic input from PC. I have nothing to complain about. I watched a movie, listened to Apple Music, watched some Youtube videos, and played a few games. The SA-C600 did not miss a beat, and everything sounded dialed in. I was perfectly happy with the results. If you also chose to connect a PC via Toslink to the SA-C600 then be sure to set the output resolution from Windows so you get the highest quality signal. The SA-C600 will display on the LCD screen what the input source is. By default, my Windows 11 machine’s output was 16-bit 48kz. I changed the highest available. You can find these settings under Windows Settings here: “System/Sound/All Sound Devices/Speakers.” CD Player: The CD player door swivels left or right. For best results, you will want to use a finger and thumb to slide the door open and closed. Do not press down on the recessed nob or force the door in any way. The door floats above the SA-C600 connecting to the chassis by a single left/right swinging hinge. The player is quiet. The disk can be heard spinning but only within six inches or less. Even then it is very quiet. I did not notice or hear any vibrations with the chassis or the CD door. The CD disk centered nicely and did not show any signs of wobbling during playback. There is an LED light that washes over the top of the disk while playing. The affect can be toggled through the SA-C600’s Setup menus. Final thoughts: The SA-C600 is a solid two or 2.1 channel Compact Network CD Receiver. My recommendation is to pair the SA-C600 with a solid pair of bookshelf speakers and a subwoofer. The SA-C600 lacks the chops for power hungry towers. The flexibility of the SA-C600 is great. It meets all my needs and then some. The reason I went with the SA-C600 was for the integrated CD player. It saves valuable office space and reconnects me with my CD collection. The chassis is handsome, has good cooling, and the controls are easy to use. The sound quality at low to medium volume in a small room is fantastic after a 12- to 24-hour break in period. There are some issues that Technics need to address through firmware. Overall, I am happy with the SA-C600 and look forward to years of enjoyment.

The Technics - SA-C600 is a nice compact, multi-function package. Paired with a Technics turntable and bookshelf speakers, this system should satisfy anyone looking for a capable two-channel audio system that can be set up conveniently. Setup of the Technics - SA-C600 is fairly easy but I was disappointed by being forced to use Google Home to get it going and updated with the latest firmware. I would have preferred a WiFi setup option that didn't require an App. As it were, a firmware update was immediately available and installed - quickly. As far as making connections is concerned, all of that is pretty much rudimentary. I did find the small speaker wire binding posts a bit disappointing too. My speaker cables are all banana plug style and much larger - geared towards more audiophile leaning stuff. Not having any wire around left me limited to testing this Receiver out with a few different pairs of headphones. A few things I really like about the Technics - SA-C600 is the full-sized remote control, bright display and deep menu of options. The Technics 1500C turntable with moving magnet cartridge is a perfect match for the Technics - SA-C600. This combination demonstrates a super quiet signal path and plenty of fidelity. The built-in CD turntable is also extremely capable and sounds fantastic. With respect to connecting headphones, I am again a little disappointed this Receive doesn't have a full-sized 1/4 male headphone jack. Luckily the high-end can I do own can be easily adapted - but providing a full-size jack would have seemed more appropriate for a piece of audio equipment designated as being in their "Premium" line. Overall I found the sound quality was solid with more middle of the road headphones. My go-to pair are the Sound Magic 151's rated at 32 ohms. Moderate to slightly loud listening levels were achieved at Technics - SA-C600 volume settings of 40 to 50 on the v-scale without any issues. What didn't perform very well were a pair of Sony MDR-Z7M2 cans that are spec'd at 56 ohms. Around a v-level of 40 and above, the sound produced became muddled and edging into distortion. I wouldn't call these super high-end headphones - and they do play nice with all my other components - so I'm not sure what is going on here. Just don't expect great performance out of the Technics - SA-C600 for anything beyond mid-range headphone material or higher end pairs that are designed at a lower impedance level. The headphone circuit in this thing doesn't have a wide-band of compatibility from what I can tell, to drive the better cans with any kind of authority. At this price-point - it should. As an internet streamer, the Technics - SA-C600 can handle most all the usual suspect service providers, including Chromecasting. No complaints on that area of functionality. More & more people rely on pure-streaming and in this case, this Receiver is plenty capable and should satisfy most everyone. There are both Optical and Coaxial digital inputs, so for those that want to 'tap' a personal audio player of their choosing, the Technics - SA-C600 can handle it. All-in-all, this is a nicely put together, multi-function box - that can be setup in even the most tightly constrained areas. I look forward to hooking up some small bookshelf speakers and setting up a secondary 2-channel music system in the house. Pros: Compact but feature filled Works like a dream when paired with a complimentary performing Technics turntable as the phono audio channel is absolutely dead quiet The built-in, top-loading CD turntable is responsive and sounds good too All the input jacks one would need for a small, 2-channel audio set up The full-sized remote is solid and nicely laid out Bright, clear and useful front display Cons: Tiny speaker binding posts Mini headphone jack Poor headphone 'drive' circuitry that starts to sound muddy at higher listening levels and above 40 ohms Google Home integration needed to set up properly Doesn't feel entirely "Premium" as the branding suggests - especially at this price point I can still recommend the Technics - SA-C600 because, to me, it fills a special niche of the market. It's a space saving design that looks good, performs well enough and can be set up lots of places a full-sized stack of audio components simply wouldn't fit in. With a Technics turntable like the 1500C, this Receiver and some good - small - bookshelf speakers - - it seems pretty reasonable that someone can assemble an above average sound sound system for well less than 3000 dollars.

The Technics SA-C600 is really a game changer for my living room music setup. It sounds fantastic, works flawlessly, and has a very easy and problem-free setup. However, it has got some perplexing quirks that I’m unsure make it the most user-friendly audio receiver is out there. Still, I wouldn’t trade it for anything as it’s the best sounding and, once you know how to use it, simplest way to listen to music both wired and wirelessly. Opening the box, there’s not much in the way of parts. You’ve got the receiver itself, with nothing to assemble, the power cable, FM radio antenna cable, the remote, batteries for it, and a basic owner’s manual. The manual is very basic and is mostly there to guide you to the Google Home app, the Technics Audio Center phone app, and a digital download of the full manual. I’m not thrilled about basic manuals that direct you to download full manuals, but it’s increasingly common so I don’t consider it a negative so much as me being an old man yelling at clouds. Connecting it is very simple. You’ve got enough connections for two stereo speakers and a subwoofer out, should you have a separate subwoofer. The speaker connections are very easy to use and will accept a variety of sized audio wires from your speakers. In terms of input, there’s several: The FM radio (which is just connecting the cable it comes with), phono in with ground earth connection if you’re not using a pre-amp, line in – either for another device or phono that’s already been through a pre-amp, optical, coax, a front side USB-A and backside USB-B. There’s also a LAN port if you want to hard wire it to your internet instead of WiFi. The optical and coax in are especially nice if you’re going to use this as an audio receiver for your television watching. I wouldn’t personally use this as a main home theater receiver, but I also have the space and a 5.1 surround system for those purposes already. If you don’t have such things, then this is a definite bonus. Physical setup for me was just connecting my FM antenna, record player with ground cable, my two speakers, and the power cable. From there you power it on and, in my case, open the Google Home app. If you’re an Apple instead of Android user, I believe you use the Apple Home app for this part of the setup. I was skeptical of setup via Google Home, as it’s been hit or miss involving other products, but the SA-C600 was found right away and it was a very simple process to connect it to my WiFi network and start the process of updating it to the latest firmware, which took under 10 minutes. At this point everything was ready to go and you’re able to send audio to it via any android app that has google cast options. Additionally, Spotify saw it as a device on my network and all I had to do was to select the receiver as the playback device. While Spotify / the app casting is open you can hit the volume buttons on your phone to adjust the volume on the receiver. This can also be done on your phone by opening the device from the google home app. I can’t stress how simple and quick it was from first power on to working. Frankly, that’s something of a rarity I find with any internet connected device. Let’s talk about the physical properties of the receiver. On the top you have a power button, as well as a volume up and down button. The CD player lid is a clever slide mechanism rather than something that pops up. A magnet holds it in the closed position. When a CD is playing a little light illuminates it. It’s nothing mind blowing, but it’s a nice touch to add a bit of visual to an otherwise plain process of CD listening. The front contains a headphone jack and the USB-A port for listening to files from a thumb drive. In the middle is a small screen. The screen, in addition to a red/blue power indicator light, shows your sources, song title information (if playing digital music), volume, and other info. There are touch sensitive buttons for source selection, backward, forward, stop and play/pause. These are all well and fine, but I find the whole screen incredibly small. There’s so much empty space on the front of the receiver that it feels Technics went for the minimum size possible under the guise of ‘minimalism.’ All the textual information feels incredibly cramped and standing just a few feet away is small enough that it’s illegible. Frankly, unless you’re directly next to the receiver, the screen information is practically worthless. This brings us to my frustrations with the receiver. Using the app is practically a requirement as the remote control and touch interface on the front screen is just too much of a pain. It’s fully functional and you CAN do everything you need via the remote, but with the display only being a single line of text and the remote not having enough helpful buttons, it’s a chore. Whereas I found the screen and touch controls on the unit itself to be small and unhelpful, the remote has the opposite problem: it’s overly large and unhelpful. In terms of source selection, there’s a dedicated CD, radio, and Bluetooth paring button. From there you need to use the select button to scroll, one at a time, every input the machine is capable of. Remember all those input sources I mentioned earlier? You’ll be scrolling through each one of them one at a time as displayed on the unit’s screen – which again can’t be read at a distance. The remote itself has so much wasted space that it could have been either way smaller or at the very least included dedicated source buttons. In my opinion, the remote’s best use is simply to control volume, pausing and playing of music, and turning the device off. It’s worth pointing out here that if you’re casting or selecting the unit on Spotify, the receiver will turn on from standby mode automatically. Because the remote is functional, but far from friendly to use, the Technics Audio Center app is your best bet. While I found the app to be far better at getting to every source and setting than doing anything with the remote or unit touch buttons, it wasn’t exactly pleasurable either. The app – which I believe is version 2.0 at the time of this writing – gets the job done, but I found it to be unintuitive and feels like it’s still very much a work in progress. You’ve got full access to all your sources – both connection device and digital music sources - via a direct button instead of scrolling through them. However, the main screen of the app is slightly confusing. You’ve got rows for streaming, device, and home network. On these rows you can adjust the order the icons are in, but you can’t hide any icons or even display them horizontally, so you have access to your favorites without needing to swipe left and right. Having Tidal and Deezer built-in is great, but I also don’t use those apps, so I don’t need to see them all the time. The same goes for my line in, PC, optical, and coax connections. I’m glad they’re there, but I don’t have anything connected to them, so I’d like an option to just hide them. It also wasn’t very clear how it all works. There’s built in podcasts and internet radio, but it wasn’t intuitive. Neither were accessing the device settings. Some, like balance, and sleep, were obvious, but some deeper settings like dimmer, auto dimmer, auto off, illumination, standby display and standby mode offer no clue as to what you’re really adjusting. This required using the app with a combination of the digital full manual AND there is a separate online only manual for the app itself. It certainly clarified things and, honestly, the most basic features you’re likely to use you could figure out on your own but that doesn’t mean the app couldn’t be far better designed for ease of use. If it feels like I’m being overly negative, I want to clear that all my gripes are purely minor. Combined they do make me consider the value of this down a star from being perfect. They also don’t stop me from recommending this receiver at all. Everything with the app can – and I hope one day will – be fixed in an update. It’s just poor interface design but it does do everything you need it to. The remote and screen are big disappointments as there is so much room for improvement there. It’s just highly cumbersome. For example, to play a record from my connected record player – a purely analog experience that has me standing next to my equipment – involves me scrolling through all the input sources or opening the app on my phone and selecting the phono input. There’s so much blank space on the face of the receiver there’s really no reason why there couldn’t have been some more source selection buttons. With the above taken with the grain of salt, the SA-C600 works – and sounds – amazing. This is a fully digital player, and it does an excellent job at making all my sources from digital origin to compact disc to vinyl record (from my Technics record player) sound just great. The ease of the record player being a Google cast device and Spotify Connect device is fantastic. From anywhere I’m in my house, as long as I’m connected to my WiFi, I can start playing music in seconds. Technics makes great mention of its JENO (Jitter Elimination and Noise-Shaping Optimization) Engine. There’s some buzzwords and technical jargon, but I can say from my lay-audio-person’s perspective it does sound amazing. I can’t overstate the convenience of all the wireless network options. I’m fully 50/50 on using this receiver as part of listening to my vinyl records and listening to streaming internet music from various sources (I’ve used mainly Spotify and the SiriusXM app). If you’re on the lookout for something to aid you in listening to digital music sources along with some external device sources, this is invaluable. And yes, while there is room to improve on the convenience and usability front, functionally it works exceptionally well and sounds just as great.

I needed a way to use in-ceiling pair of speakers in my new house and this receiver appeared to be a very good candidate. It outputs 2 channels at 40W per channel, supports almost any streaming service there is (Spotify, Apple AirPlay, Google Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer) can play regular FM radio, CD disks plus it has a few inputs such as Phono for a turntable (Moving Magnet cartridge only), line in, USB and digital inputs. It's pretty compact in size so it would be easy to find a place and can display current time on the front display (kinda like a hotel alarm clock-FM radio). Setup process is extremely easy - can be accomplished via WiFi using Google Home or Apple Home apps or just a wired Ethernet connection. First thing it did - it decided to perform firmware update which took it a good 20 minutes. At the end of the update it just displayed "Success" and sat like that (nothing in the manual or quick start guide) until I power cycled it. Internet access unfortunately does not mean it will automatically recognize your CD content. Overall - it does a decent job driving a stereo system, it won't be able to drive a floorstanding speakers, but a pair of bookshelfs or in-ceiling/in-wall speakers - easily. There is also a subwoofer output, unfortunately I could not find any crossover settings so I'm not sure if there is one. Phono pre-amp and built-in CD player add it a nice "retro" touch making this receiver a point of interest for everyone. Unfortunately there are no pre-amp outputs so it's not possible to upgrade to external amplifier. It does not support SuperAudio CD either (despite "Premium" in the name).

The Technics SA-C600 is another in a long line of Technics products that punch above their weight. I have been into two channel audio for decades and I can say this about the SA-C600, don't let the conservative power rating fool you. I have owned storied electronic brands such as McIntosh, Rotel (Michi), PS Audio, Rega, and Naim, as well as, more elusive brands such as Norma, BAT, and Gryphon. I paired the Technics with my Rossi Fiorentino Certaldo II as they are my current preferred flavor. I am finding I am really into the laid back Italian sound (which is probably why I have owned numerous Sonus Faber speakers). The pairing of the Technics with the Certaldos was a superb match indeed. The Certaldo are relatively efficient speakers (~90db) and therefore a good watermark for the average speaker out there that one might pair with this unit. Let's just say that the 40w the SA-C600 delivered allowed the speakers to sing. They provided punchy, deep bass, organic midrange, and just a touch of air in the highs. I never detected the edginess that sometimes digital amplifiers can project. The sound was very fluid and offered better PRAT than I would have expected. Not quite the warm, analog feel one might get from a Rega amplifier, but certainly better than a lot of Class-D I have heard. Now, the rub here is that I have no idea what this unit sounds like with speakers that are more likely to be paired with it as these are in the $10k class and probably not what Technics imagined. That said, the JENO amplifier technology inside the SA-C600 is a trickle down from their state of the art SU-R1000 integrated amplifier albeit with less output. What Technics is doing here is no joke. It is legit Hi-Fi and I don't care what anyone says to the contrary. The SA-C600 comes with a variety of options for streaming including AirPlay 2, a built in CD player, and numerous digital and analog inputs. This is truly a Swiss Army knife integrated amplifier. It was quick and painless to get connected to my Wi-Fi and CD playback has been awesome. I am not going to put it in the same class as some of my MUCH more expensive transport/DAC combos, but it holds its own better than I could have possibly imagined. It is also controllable from the Technics app, but I really use it more for setting up the SA-C600 than straight control. The only real knock I have with the unit is that lack of Roon Ready certification and why I docked it one star. This seems like a big miss given the target audience I feel like Technics is trying to entice. That said, I added a WiiM Pro to it and I was off and running with Roon streaming. It is a powerful combination and the Technics paired to my Rossi has won me over. I prefer the Technics sound to the Cambridge Evo and even the NAD M33 (which is five times the price) and it is now my main system in my bar area of my home. I will be enjoying it for many years to come. Do not hesitate to check it out if you are in the market for a compact streaming amplifier with CD capability. That is a pretty rare combination and the Technics is quite possibly the best... especially in this price range. Just keep in mind if you need Roon Ready you will need to add a transport.

The Technics SA-C600 Network CD receiver has a ton of features, but it seems to be missing something… The C600 is more than just an expensive CD player, it’s also a receiver that offers discrete power amplification, a network streaming player including built-in Chromecast as well as Airplay 2. I was a little shocked that this doesn’t offer USB-C input, but it does take USB-B. The Build quality is decent, you can open the CD door by sliding it in a circle. This is nice because you don’t have to worry about a motor breaking. There is also a phono input for connecting a turn table. The C600 connects to your network, but only by Airplay or Chromecast. The front of the player has a display with touch controls, but the included remote is way more convenient. I was a little disappointed to find out that the player doesn’t allow you to connect Bluetooth headsets, although it does allow you to connect a Bluetooth music player… As far as the performance goes for the C600, I tried a few different sources to see how well it delivers. I tried out the CD player first, and needless to say, it sounded great especially after using Space Tune. This is feature that’s activated through the Technics Audio Center app, where it uses your phone’s speaker to measure your room and measure the correct sound waves. I used a pair of Martin Logan Motion 15 and a Dynamo sub as my speaker set up. The C600 provides 60w per channel, with a total of 2 channels. I’m a little disappointed with the power output, as I think it should have been able to push out more, but it does sound good. Next, I connected my turntable to the phono input to see how well the built-in phone equalizer performs, I was really impressed with this. My vinyl sounded incredible. The C600 seemed to have amplified my listening experience with vinyl in a major way. Overall, there are many aspects of the C600 that I thoroughly enjoy. Such as, the build quality is great, the rotating CD tray makes it easy to fit snug in a shelf, the ability to stream with music apps via Airplay and Chromecast, not to mention the superb phono equalizer which makes my vinyl sound amazing. But I definitely think there’s room for improvement, one of the biggest things would be increasing the wattage channel, it definitely feels lacking in that area. Another thing would be to add the ability to connect BT headphones to listen to music. I think if it had those features, then it would really set this unit apart from everything else.