New TEO Audio ICs, who has them?

..not belittling the product, but there are way too many posts declaring the second coming on these pages.

My name is Tom and I’m from Orlando, FL. Recently my friend Steve came over my home with a pair of Teo Audio’s entry-level $379 GC Jr. ICs he wanted to compare against a pair of $1695 ICs (I won’t name the manufacturer) I had bought just 4 months earlier,

My system consists of a YBA Genesis CD4 CD player used as a transport, a Musical Paradise MP-D2 Tube DAC, a 135lb, 40W/ch, Mastersound Reference 845 Integrated, SET amp and a pair of Beauhorn Virtuoso speakers w/Lowther PM5A drivers that have Ticonal magnets.

I was extremely impressed when these $379 Teo GC Jr ICs were actually sonically superior to my $1695 ICs. But I was shocked when a few weeks later Steve returned with a $655 pair of Teo GC ICs that smoked my new $1695 ICs! These Teo GC ICs cost 1/3 of what my ICs cost and they actually sonically embarrassed my ICs. After that Steve really blew me away when he told me our mutual friend Phil purchased the next step up Teo’s line of ICs the $1099 GC Ultras! Then Steve says "And they are significantly better sonically than those Teo GC ICs that just totally amazed you with their sonic presentation."

Guys I’m being completely serious when I tell you that putting the Teo $655 GC ICs in my system didn’t sound like I switched one pair of ICs with another pair of ICs at all! Oh no, it sounded like I just added a $10K tube preamp to my system and then Steve tells me, Phil’s, $1099 Teo ICs are significantly better?!?!?!? Well, I have to tell everyone after much searching I found a used pair of Teo GC Ultra ICs that I immediately purchased and should be on their way to my home as you read this!

I’m 65 and I’ve been an avid audiophile/music lover for 55 years back when I was only 10 and first heard the Beatles in 1964. After hearing the Beatles I started to ride my bike around and tearing apart the audio consoles to get their tube amps and tube tuner/preamp. I just couldn’t believe what the people in the rich neighborhood thought was trash and would throw away! In a few months, I had a better sounding audio system than most adults did! I’m telling you this to hopefully add some weight to my statement about how great these Teo ICs are sonically. From what I heard of the Teo the ICs in my system I honestly believe you’ll most likely have to spend 2x and maybe even 3x Teo’s price to obtain better sonics. I remind you the Teo’s $379 IC equaled my $1695 ICs and Teo’s $655 GC ICs smoked my $1695 ICs. I’ve never heard ICs do what these Teo’s sonically did in my system. In fact, the Teo GC ICs were sonically better (IMHO) than my friends NBS Signature III, ICs were! Buy them while you can still afford them, they’re really that good!

Oh yeah, my audio system: https://www.facebook.com/groups/229798201295731/

So I went to AXPONA 2019 Friday morning. I visited several exhibitors, including Teo Audio. This is my impression from the High Water Sound Room:

TEO AUDIO (Room 594): This was the last room I went to before leaving, as I discovered Teo Audio was not a main exhibitor this year but was nevertheless present. Teo Audio IC’s and speaker cables were showcased in the High Water Sound Room (Room 594), along with TW-Acustic Phono gear ($22,000 setup featuring the $10,000 GT2 Turntable along with 2x12” Tonearms at $6,000 each) with each tonearm tipped with either an Ortofon Winfeld Ti cartridge ($4,390) or a Miyajima Labs Zero Mono cartridge ($2,150), New Audio Frontiers electronics (Stradivari Phono Stage ($12,000), Stradivari Evolution Line Stage ($12,000) and Ultimate 211 SE Monoblocks ($34,000)) Horning Hybrid Systems Eufrodite Ellipse MK.III speakers ($28,000).

While the sound was clean and listenable, I was shocked by some of the comments from the exhibitor regarding the Teo Audio cables. He said that Taras of Teo Audio liked their lower priced IC’s for their tonality but felt that those cables did not fair well in systems having multiple driver loudspeakers. I asked him to clarify whether he was referring to Teo Audio speaker cables rather than Teo Audio IC’s. My understanding is that Teo Audio IC’s have a rather broad bandwidth, that is, in the GigaHz range. How then could it be that the IC’s having such a broad bandwidth can be so limited on multi-driver loudspeaker systems? The exhibitor maintained his story.

Clearly something was garbled in the CA-US English translation!

He was probably speaking about the bass.

The bass is a hair soft and a hair light on the bottom few Hz....in the lower priced cables.

Others have noted this too. Especially with the last few bottom Hz of subsonic spectaculars off lets say... an organ recording.

Jeff of High Water preferred the higher reaches of our product line, for the larger speakers in the given systems that he may display with at shows...

The fluid really is different than wire. Wire would have the least problems here and trouble everywhere else.

Part of what our higher lines of IC’s (IN RCA format) deal with, is that last bit of power at the bottom ..and they are better in all the other desired areas.

@celander 

To clarify....we have found that the single conductor cables sound best in situations where there isn't a huge voltage or current swing such as a real fire-breathing pre-amp feeding a robust power amp. Such a situation is better dealt with using our 3 conductor cables. Now Jeff's experience with our cables over the last year or so confirmed this, which is the reason he runs a Kronon between a phono or digital stage and  a Reference or a Ne Plus Ultra between the pre and power. Or put another its not so much what the speaker is but more what a speaker requires in term of voltage/current swing that determines what cable is ideal where. Its not the bandwidth its the power handling that is the issue.

Bottom line Jeff is absolutely bang on with his assessment and we at TEO whole heartedly concur.

Hope that clears things up.