Technics - Grand Class Network Integrated Audio Amplifier - Silver

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.

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.

In my basement I have an embarassingly large amount of home audio equipment. I have multiple stereo receivers, and enough speakers to open a show room. Some would say I have a problem. But the one thing I was missing was an all in one, classy yet powerful amplifier to power my Klipsch Reference Premier speakers. Plus, I am on a mission to get rid of any audio equipment that I have not used this year. My wish was granted, and I received the Technics Grand Class network amplifier. It ships in a very large box, but has a much smaller box inside with the actual amplifier. The amp is packed extremely well and includes a power cable, remote, and am/fm antenna. You plug in the unit and it is ready to go. It immediately starts with the wi-fi function as it looks to connect to your network. I already have the Google Home app, so connecting it to my home nework is super easy. All I had to do is connect two speakers to it and play some music. I have a vintage pair of KEF Q series floor standing tower speakers that I love. One quick note, the banana plugs have small covers on them plugged in that have to be removed to use banana plug connectors. They can be a little tricky to remove, but that was technically the hardest part about setting this up. I connected the speakers and playes some music off of my Spotify. I was immediately taken away into musical bliss. I was reminded of why I loved those speakers so much as the amplifier powered them with precise tones and beautiful notes. I immediately grabbed my family and asked them to have a listen to make sure it was not a placebo effect on my part. Everyone agreed that this was the best sounding music in the house thus far. The amplifier has about every feature you can ask for. It has HDMI ARC, wi-fi, Apple Air Play, Chromecast, Bluetooth, and several inputs. It even has a phono input with ground, and an AM/FM tuner. It also features a pre out for an additional source. I cannot say enough good things about this amplifier so far. It will be a mainstay in my basement for the foreseeable future. I highly recommend!