T+A Symphonia streaming integrated amp
With its latest integrated amplifier, German marque T+A says it is offering a ‘bold look to the future of audio’ as well as a nod to the company’s near 50-year past. And the Symphonia, yours for £7990 in silver or black finish, certainly has a styling that’s unusual, if not unique. The busy front fascia, with crisp monochrome OLED display and hand-built analogue VU meters, continues the kind of retro-modern aesthetic seen on other recent models from HiFi Rose [HFN Jul ’22] and Yamaha [HFN Jul ’23], plus T+A’s own series 200 separates [HFN May ’22 and Feb ’23].
Indeed, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if the Symphonia had arrived as a late addition to that range, an all-in-one sibling to the series 200’s headphone amp, ‘multi-source’ player, power amp and preamp/DAC options. Yet it stands alone in T+A’s hierarchy, taking the cabinet dimensions of 380x100x340mm (whd) from its 1980s preamps, and bevelled front panel from the long-running R series [HFN Oct ’24].
Socket city
Look past its retro-tinged industrial design and you’ll discover the Symphonia is a modern blend of amplification and signal processing, while its connections, wired and wireless, aim to please any up-to-date audiophile. There’s an HDMI ARC input for a TV connection, and Bluetooth – the antenna behind the meters – for easy cable-free playback (aptX HD, not aptX Lossless). One of its two RCA line ins can be switched to phono operation for MM or ‘high-output’ MC cartridges. FM and DAB/DAB+ are also in the Symphonia package.
Other physical connections are USB-C DAC and HDD inputs, optical and coaxial digital ins, and two sets of RCA preamp outputs (one for a subwoofer). There’s an Ethernet socket for a network connection, plus a second ‘E2-Link’ RJ45 port for programmable system control. Also on the rear of the Symphonia, one on either side, are sockets for supplied Wi-Fi antennas.
Once setup on a home network, the amp can play files from NAS devices and UPnP/DLNA servers, stream Internet radio via Airable, and access subscription music services including Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon and Spotify. Control for all this, plus system settings, comes from T+A’s neat MusicNavigator G3 app. Apple AirPlay, Roon and Audirvāna are also supported, as well as the ‘Connect’ versions of Qobuz, Tidal and Spotify.
So digitally inclined audiophiles shouldn’t hit any stumbling blocks, and via the Symphonia’s ‘Gen 3’ digital board, leveraged from T+A’s top-flight PSD 3100 HV [HFN Apr ’24], network file playback reaches 384kHz/32-bit PCM and DSD256.
Fresh filters
Meanwhile, the amp will also deal with any DSD512 and 768kHz PCM audio you might have over its USB connection. The brand’s now-familiar dual DAC system is employed, with DSD natively handled by a separate 1-bit converter. T+A’s own-brand synchronous upsampling digital filters are also retained – ‘Long FIR’ and ‘Short FIR’ are traditional linear-phase types while the mixed ‘Bezier/IIR’ interpolation and Bezier filters are minimum-phase types. These four filters have been a T+A staple for decades, but its two ‘NOS’ (Non-Oversampling) options are a more recent addition, offering native conversion with no digital upsampling or filtering.
As well as ‘thinking big’ when it comes to source compatibility and digital sound tuning, the company has also sought to finesse the Symphonia’s performance through the fastidious engineering detail of its internal circuitry and DASS (Digital-Analogue Separation System) architecture [see PM's Lab Report].
Class action
While the brand’s hefty flagship amplifiers – the PA 3100 and A 3000 [HFN May ’17 & Sep ’14] of its HV series – plus its R series models [HFN Oct ’24], are Class AB designs, it has adopted Class D technology for its slimmer hardware, including the A 200 stereo amp [HFN May ’22]. The Symphonia follows suit, its 2x125W/8ohm rating coming from ‘in-house customised’ Purifi Eigentakt Class D modules that are monitored by T+A’s ‘Intelligent Safe Control’, said to keep distortion, output current, etc, within predefined thresholds.
Reflecting the myriad features of the Symphonia is an online manual running to 51 pages and the fact that nearly all 47 buttons on the supplied SRC2 remote control [p77] are usable. You can also access settings (bass/treble tone, balance, filter, etc) using the buttons and rotaries on the front panel of the amplifier, with options shown on the display.
On that subject, at the Symphonia’s price you might have expected a full-colour screen capable of rendering album artwork. Instead, the display is resolutely text-based and, I might add, not especially readable from any great distance. It’s handy, then, that T+A’s smartphone app provides a slick user experience.
Truth be told
‘Slick’ is also an apt catch-all term for the Symphonia’s performance. In a similar style to the Class D-based A 200, this integrated amplifier sounds sprightly, focused, and tonally neutral. Bass handling is detailed but not syrupy, while the dynamic swings of music are conveyed with confidence. The Symphonia isn’t an amplifier for those seeking a bit of warmth and romance, and nor does it possess the sense of unburstable power heard in some bigger (and admittedly less feature-rich) integrated designs. Against this, however, is the feeling you’re hearing an unadorned rendition of the track in question, with ample speaker-driving power behind it.
For example, Dillinja’s ‘Hard Noize’ [My Sound (1993-2004); Valve Recordings] sounded articulate and rhythmic through the Symphonia, with the amp taking big bites out of the song’s deep bassline and slamming hard into the drum track. This was a punchy, well-balanced presentation, with all the detail of the electronic effects and samples on show, but not vast in terms of soundstage scale.
On the other hand, Jeff Beck’s ‘Scared For The Children’ [Loud Hailer; Rhino Records; 44.1kHz/24-bit] was more expansive, with his guitar licks and the poetic vocals of Rosie Bones having plenty of space around them. The sound was also suitably ‘airy’ in the upper frequencies, an aspect of the production that was later thrown into stark relief by the track’s deep bass parts. Again, however, the Symphonia’s precise presentation ensured I remained focused on the music, as opposed to letting it wash over me.
T+A’s various PCM digital filters are worth experimenting with, as enthusiasts already familiar with the ‘baked-in’ filters of off-the-shelf DAC chips might be surprised by their impact. It’s also easy to switch between them on the fly using the MusicNavigator app, so there’s no reason not to undertake comparisons. I settled on the smoother, fuller sound offered by the two NOS options with my B&W 705 S3 Signature speakers [HFN Aug ’24], but personal taste rules here.
Snap attack
The Symphonia’s sound has the detail and subtlety to give it an analytical bent, but there’s still that excitement and dynamic snap to make sure it never sounds bland. ‘America’, from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story score [Original Soundtrack Recording; Sony Classical 88725424772], was heaps of fun, T+A’s amp keeping pace with the frantic rhythms and laugh-out-loud lyrics. And the Symphonia proves so revealing that, when switching to the version of the song from Steven Spielberg’s 2021 movie remake [Hollywood Records 00050087497224], the differences in both musicianship and recording are immediately apparent.
This version places the opening castanet on the left of the stage, not the right, and sounds a little sweeter, with plumper basses and a wider spread of vocalists. There was gorgeous attack to the brass and string stabs, too, as the Symphonia again showcased its deft handling of transient details, leaping into action like one of the musical’s Sharks.
There was less need for quick feet with the delicate, light-touch sonics of Mercury Rev’s ‘Goddess On A Hiway’ [Deserter’s Songs, V2 Music; VVR1002772], which meanders rather than bounds along. T+A’s streaming amplifier breezed through the opening verse, layering crisp percussive details on top of a beautifully resonant piano and slinky bassline. A little more looseness and bloom to the midrange would have made for a more enveloping sound when the chorus hits, but on the other hand the transparency of the Symphonia meant its performance stayed cohesive as the track’s ‘epic’ production saw instrument upon instrument joining the fray.
In the same way that a compact loudspeaker can catch a listener unawares with the size of its sound, T+A’s integrated amp might surprise with how comprehensively assured its performance is while being so bijou yet feature-rich. Yes, there are ‘beefier’ models available, many for less money, but the Symphonia didn’t sound wanting as it powered through Van Halen’s raucous cover of The Kinks’ ‘You Really Got Me’ [Van Halen, Warner Bros. 192kHz/24-bit] with superb clarity and joie de vivre. Like your music served with a little excitement? Put this all-in-one solution on your shortlist.
Hi-Fi News Verdict
Neatly styled and refreshingly compact, T+A’s Symphonia appeals before it’s even powered up – then you discover its wide-ranging connections, excellent app/remote controls, and vibrant, revealing sound. Proof, if needed, that good things can come in small packages, this premium streaming amp is ready to be the centrepiece of a forward-thinking hi-fi set-up. A colour display would be nice, though…
Sound Quality: 88%
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