JBL SA550 Classic Integrated Stereo Amplifier

Description

SA550 Classic

Straight out of the box, pair your smart phone or tablet to the SA550 Classic with Bluetooth for instant high performance music. Compatible with all your music services and libraries that you listen to everyday. The JBL SA550 Classic includes the latest Bluetooth AptX® Adaptive technology, for hi-res audio over Bluetooth and low latency to ensure audio is in sync with video.

The advanced amplifier topology in the JBL SA550 Classic is called Class G. This utilises multiple power supplies where all other amplifiers only use one.

The first power supply feeds enough power for the amplifier to deliver 10 Watts per channel, not a lot you might think, but this small amplifier includes a big heatsink that keeps the amplifier stable up to 90 Watts per channel.

That enables this first 10 Watts to be delivered in a topology known as Class A, which ordinarily is not very efficient. The benefit is that it involves no switching of any output stage components in and out of the music signal – as normally occurs in any Class AB or Class D amplifier. The result is vanishingly low noise and the purest sound with all micro dynamics and details preserved.

The SA550 Classic can deliver a great deal more than 10 Watts. A maximum sustained output of 150 Watts per-channel is available with the use of a second, much higher voltage power supply, and this is where the amplification in the SA550 is incredibly inventive. If that second power supply was simply switched into circuit when required, it would induce nasty distortion, and this would be harmonic too – quite unpleasant. So the SA550 includes a set of high speed lifters which gradually raise the power delivered to the amplifier, tracking the music signal and maintaining a 5 Volt head room.

This allows the benefits of Class G amplification to be realised, whilst eliminating the downsides and powering any speaker system effortlessly.

All that smart amplification can be enjoyed from three digital and four analog inputs, including a moving magnet phono input for a turntable. The digital inputs include a high resolution, ultra high-fidelity DAC with the highest performance ESS DAC chip at heart.

The SA550 is a throw-back to the late 1960’s on the outside. But with Hi-res Bluetooth technology, efficient amplification and exceptional musical performance, the SA550 is a modern classic rooted in today’s best technologies.

Features

• Advanced integrated amplifier with classic styling.
• Bluetooth input with Hi-res AptX® Adaptive technology.
• Walnut veneer side panels match JBL Classic and Studio Monitor loudspeakers.
• 3 x Digital Inputs, with COAX and TOSlink connections.
• High resolution DAC with ESS ES9038K2M DAC chip.
• 4 x Analogue inputs, including MM phono stage.
• Class G amplifier topology for ultra low distortion.
• 90 Watts per channel into 8 Ohms, 150 Watts into 4 Ohms.

Included

• SA550 Classic Integrated Amplifier
• IR Remote + 2 x AAA Batteries
• Power Cord
• Documentation

Wide JBL Range Available

Unilet Sound & Vision are official retail partners for JBL, providing sales, advice and assistance on a wide range of their high-quality products. Please do get in touch if you would like a demonstration or wish to purchase.

More Information

• SA550, by JBL

Additional information

Brand

JBL

JBL have been powering the world's top musicians, elite athletes and venues for more than seven decades. With JBL you can feel the music.

Founder James B. Lansing got his start innovating sound technology at movie theatres. It was the early 1900s; an era when more than half of Americans went to the movies each week. Cinema was a key way people consumed music. It’s fitting, then, that JBL continues to power many of the world’s cinemas today.

In the 1980s and 1990s, there was an explosion in home theatre audio systems. The prospect of cinema quality sound at home was becoming a reality. Products like the L212, the Everest, and JBL Synthesis were at the cutting-edge.

Since the 2000s, there has been massive changes in the way we consume music. The Sony Walkman and iPod popularised portable music, but JBL took it further. They create headphones and portable speakers that move with you. They’ll survive your sweat session. Your pool party. Even snow and ice. And they are the go-to choice for music pros, including performers, sound engineers and producers.