As Geoffrey Morrison recently pointed out in an editorial for SoundStage! Solo, everyone is biased. I’m biased. You’re biased. There’s no escaping it. So when I find myself in a position where my biases might influence my impressions, I try to spell those biases out. So let me just say this from the giddy-up: I dig Emotiva. And yeah, I’ve had issues with the HDMI boards in some of its home-theater products, just like everyone else. But for solid, affordable, no-nonsense stereo gear that’s got a bit of personality, a distinctive aesthetic, and a put-up-or-shut-up approach to performance, it’s hard to beat the Tennessee-based brand’s offerings, such as the new BasX TA2+ stereo receiver/preamp/DAC/tuner (US$1299, CA$1750, £1099, €1248).
As with all BasX components, the TA2+ is designed by Emotiva in Franklin, Tennessee, and manufactured in Asia (in this specific case, China). And as the mathematical operator at the end of its alphanumeric appellation indicates, this is the sequel to Emotiva’s popular BasX TA2 stereo receiver, notable for the addition of an HDMI ARC port as well as balanced XLR ins and outs, and the substitution of USB‑C connectivity for USB‑B, plus some improvements to the phono stage.
All told, in addition to the aforementioned I/O, the TA2+ features one coaxial and two optical S/PDIF inputs, a Bluetooth 5 connection with support for the aptX and AAC codecs, unbalanced line-level RCA inputs for three stereo sources, balanced XLR for one stereo source, and an FM tuner with 15 station presets, along with 3.5mm 12V trigger in and out ports, and a set of 2.1-channel line-level home-theater bypass inputs (RCA). All of the digital inputs support stereo PCM with word lengths up to 24 bits and sample rates up to 192kHz.
The TA2+ also boasts balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA line-level stereo preamp outs, balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA sub outs, and a front-panel 3.5mm headphone jack. Put a pin in those subwoofer outputs, by the way, because we need to talk about the bass-management capabilities of the TA2+, but that’ll have to wait for the setup section below.
Before we get there, let’s talk specs. The receiver is rated to deliver a healthy 135Wpc RMS into 8 ohms (both channels driven, full bandwidth, <0.02% THD) and 250Wpc RMS into 4 ohms (both channels driven, measured at 1kHz, <1% THD). That’s almost certainly more power than most people will ever need for a two-channel system relying on speakers of the sort anyone shopping for Emotiva gear would likely own, and the near-doubling of output into 4-ohm loads is a reasonably good indicator that the output stage isn’t going to write any checks that the TA2+’s power supply can’t cash in terms of current.
Setting up and dialing in the Emotiva BasX TA2+
I run the real risk here of making the BasX TA2+ seem more laborious to configure than it actually is, if only because of the number of words I’m throwing at the process, but rest assured that setup is easy. There’s just more to configure than you might expect, and not all of it is done the way you might imagine it would be.
Let’s get the bass management out of the way right up front, because that’s the thing I think most folks will find surprising. The TA2+’s crossovers are handled entirely in the analog domain and are controlled via a pair of DIP switches and knobs on the back panel. There’s a low-pass filter that affects the subwoofer outputs (and remember, we’re not talking about stereo sub outs here; just your choice of balanced XLR or single-ended RCA), and a high-pass filter that affects the preamp outputs (XLR and RCA) as well as the speaker-level outputs.
Both offer adjustments from 40Hz to 200Hz, with a slope of 12dB/octave, although if you have your heart set on a very specific crossover frequency, be forewarned that only the 40Hz and 200Hz stops are labeled, and the tick marks between them represent—peculiarly enough—increments of 13.33Hz. So if you want to set an 80Hz crossover, that means adjusting both the LPF and HPF knobs to the third tick mark clockwise from 40Hz, and praying to whatever deities you hold dear that you don’t bump either of the knobs when you’re installing the receiver in your gear rack.
While you’re digging around back there, you’ll also need to configure the toggle switch for the phono stage, assuming you’re connecting a turntable. The middle position on the switch is for MM cartridges, whereas the top position is for MC cartridges with 100-ohm loading and the bottom is for MC cartridges with 47-ohm loading.
Beyond that, most of your time with the back panel will be spent plugging in the appropriate interconnects and cables. In my case, I hooked my Oppo BDP‑93 universal disc player up to both the HDMI ARC port and OPT1 input via Monoprice interconnects, my U‑Turn Orbit Theory turntable to the phono inputs via U‑Turn interconnects, and my iFi Audio Zen One Signature DAC to AN1 via its own pack-in RCA cables. I also ran a ten-foot USB‑C cable whose pedigree I’ve forgotten from the back of the TA2+ to my custom-built PC running Pop!_OS (and, when absolutely necessary, Windows 11) and connected my iPhone 16 Pro Max and computer alike via Bluetooth.
Given the sparseness of the TA2+’s front panel, you wouldn’t think there would be much else to tinker with, but you’d be wrong. You just need to use the remote control to navigate the setup screens. Doing so, you have the ability to adjust bass, treble, and balance controls, as well as the subwoofer output level. You can also configure FM station presets quite easily once you figure out the right combination of buttons required to do so. It’s one of those things that’s not entirely intuitive at first, but once you get the logic of Emotiva’s menu trees, it’s not something you’re likely to forget, the way some arcane menu structures seem to disappear from the mind as soon as you set down the remote. You can also dim the display and LEDs from 0% to 100% in 20% increments from within the menu trees or by simply using the DIM button on the remote.
The remote, by the way, isn’t exactly overburdened by an abundance of buttons, but I grew fond of its simplicity after about ten minutes of use. There are no direct input buttons aside from the FM receiver, but rather separate buttons for cycling through analog and digital inputs. You can also cycle through all the inputs by scrolling left or right on the D‑pad, but pressing the ANA or DIGI buttons once takes you to the last analog or digital input you used, and given that a lot of people are probably going to have one of each connected, tops, that’s a pretty cool way of doing it, in my opinion, although your mileage may vary.
The up and down buttons on the D‑pad control volume, by the way, in increments of 0.5 ranging from 0.0 to 80.0. When you bring the receiver out of standby, it fires up at 0.0 volume and quickly turns itself up to the volume setting of your previous listening session. Just know that when you first power the unit up, there’s some pretty substantial inrush current to contend with—enough to make the UPS to which my PC is connected on the other side of the room (but on the same circuit) go all clicky-clacky for a sec and the lamp in my room dim briefly.
For speakers, I ran two different setups with the TA2+. Well, technically three. To test the receiver’s bass management to the fullest, I started with a system relying on the Q Acoustics 3020c standmounts, paired with my SVS PB-1000 Pro subwoofer. I then swapped out the Q Acoustics for my reference Paradigm Studio 100 v.5 towers, first paired with the SVS, then run in pure stereo mode. And I did it in that order because it was a lot easier to just reach around the back of the receiver and flip the LPF and HPF switches off than it would have been to turn them on and dial in the bass management without pulling the whole caboodle out of my rack.
How does the Emotiva TA2+ perform?
The Q Acoustics 2.1 system actually got the least battle testing in my evaluation, despite the fact that it would be my preferred setup if this system were purely configured for my enjoyment. What I want from a stereo system, though, isn’t necessarily what helps me best evaluate a piece of gear like the TA2+. But this setup did allow me to put the separate low-pass and high-pass filters of the receiver to the test, and I was relieved to find that it all just works, even if setting it up is a little fiddly. I was able to integrate the little bookshelf speakers and sub seamlessly, and the only thing that could have made it better in terms of results would have been a bit of Dirac Live room correction with a max filter frequency in the neighborhood of 900Hz.
Cello music is always a good test of sub-sat integration, although to be honest I’m not super familiar with a lot of traditional cello music. I am, however, familiar with “Possessed” from electro-pop duo TGC’s Connection (16‑bit/44.1kHz ALAC, Knightingale Entertainment / Apple Music), which features cello quite heavily. Just before the one-minute mark, there’s a little descending two-note cello riff that straddles the line between subwoofer and main speakers, assuming you’ve set an 80Hz crossover (as I did), which makes it a good test of whether everything is well-balanced and summing correctly. It was, to put it bluntly, seamless through my speakers and sub connected to the TA2+.
That’s an easy test, though. A more difficult test would be whether or not the amps could deliver truly brutal bass via my Paradigm towers without the benefit of the sub. And for that, I turned to “Block Rockin’ Beats” from the Chemical Brothers’ Dig Your Own Hole: 25th Anniversary Edition (16/44.1 FLAC, EMI Virgin / Qobuz).
Just to be clear, I’m not talking about the bass that accompanies the main beat from its first iteration starting at around 0:38. Just about any competent amp could handle that bass with these speakers. I’m talking about the massive earth-shattering kaboom that hits on the ones starting at around 1:06, after the first bridge. It’s a drop that’s felt as much as heard, and if the TA2+ couldn’t do it full justice when driving a pair of three-way full-range towers, I’d be making excuses for why it might be unreasonable to expect it to.
But even with the volume cranked to absolutely face-peeling SPLs around 99.9dBA average—with peaks hitting 117.1dB—the TA2+ maintained its composure while absolutely flapping my pajama legs. Shockingly, the receiver’s chassis didn’t get egg-poachingly hot in the process, either.
Satisfied that the power supply delivers oodles of current and output impedance isn’t too high, I then turned my attention to other aspects of the TA2+’s performance. Among the tracks I use to evaluate whether a DAC’s reconstruction filter is doing anything stupid is “Vladimir’s Blues” from Max Richter’s The Blue Notebooks: 15 Years (16/44.1 FLAC, Deutsche Grammophon / Qobuz).
What makes this a good test for such is that it’s infused with the sort of “heavy air” sound that Bob Weir asked producer David Hassinger to create when producing Anthem of the Sun. (Hassinger famously quit the project out of frustration with such demands.) The subtle hiss of the two-inch tape to which “Vladimir’s Blues” was recorded gives the entire affair an open, airy, spacious analog sound that might not be the right vibe for everyone, but definitely enhances the ambiance of this solo-piano composition. And with some slow-roll-off filters, you can lose some of that sense of space while—admittedly—gaining something in the way of warmth.
My preference is for accuracy over editorializing, so I very much err on the side of DACs that, as this one seems to be doing, recreate the analog waveform and call it a day. If you prefer DACs that add some character of their own, this one might not be to your taste, however.
Mind you, it isn’t merely the tonality and soundstaging I’m listening for when auditioning this track. It’s also the attack and decay of the piano notes, the subtle details such as the sound of the pedals being depressed and released, the stability and consistency of the imaging as I raise and lower the volume. On all tests, the TA2+ passed with flying colors.
Those little details rang through even clearer when I switched to the TA2+’s headphone output. I started with my Ultimate Ears Pro Reference Monitors because—full disclosure—it took me a few days to find my ¼″-to-3.5mm stereo adapter, and the Emotiva only has a 3.5mm headphone jack.
With the UEs, the receiver performed beautifully, and I was thrilled to find that there’s volume memory for the headphone output. What this means is that if you’re listening to your speakers with the volume set to, say, 65.0, but the last time you listened to headphones you’d adjusted the volume to 45.0 or 75.0 or whatever, plugging in headphones will adjust the volume to that level, then adjust it back to 65.0 when you unplug your cans.
I eventually found my adapter and tested the unit out with a variety of over-ears it’s obviously not designed to drive. My Sony MDR‑7506 headphones sounded excellent. My AKG K361s positively shined.
My Audeze LCD‑2 headphones, on the other hand, proved to be a problem. I had to crank the volume to 75.0 or thereabouts (out of a possible 80) to drive these thirsty planar-magnetic cans to satisfying levels, and even with the delicate music of Max Richter, that resulted in significant audible clipping. I had to turn the volume down below 70.0 to get a clean signal, in which case the music had no oomph at all. So if you have harder-to-drive cans, maybe add a dedicated headphone amp to your budget.
By the way, not that it’s likely to top most people’s list in terms of priorities, but even using the pack-in FM antenna, I was able to pick up FM channels that I normally struggle to pick up in my house. In fact, of all the Montgomery-area FM stations I might conceivably be interested in listening to, the TA2+ only failed to lock into one of them.
The FM reception sounded quite good at that, especially when listening to my local jazz station. And yeah, it took me a few tries to figure out how to store presets (something I could have figured out from a quick glance at the manual if not for my testosterone poisoning), but once I figured it out, as mentioned above in the setup section, I never forgot it.
One last thing worth mentioning is the TA2+’s phono stage. I had concerns, because as of late, I’ve run into a good number of integrated amps that haven’t played well with my U‑Turn ’table, which grounds on either the left or right RCA channel (I can’t remember which) instead of relying on a dedicated ground lug. The Emotiva didn’t seem to mind a bit, though, and gave me very little by way of audible noise (any of which was completely masked by any appreciable musical signal).
A quick comparison between my LP copy of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s Omnium Gatherum (KGLW‑013‑2LP) and the digital version (24/48 FLAC, KGLW / Qobuz), streamed via Bluetooth, revealed that the RIAA compensation of the TA2+’s phono stage is tonally neutral, at least with MM cartridges. Channel separation sounded quite good to my ears, and it didn’t take much effort to level-match the two inputs, so the phono stage is providing sufficient gain.
What’s more, a quick spin of my warped copy of KGLW’s 나비 3000 (KGLW‑008LP) revealed that the rumble filter here is quite good, which isn’t always a given with built-in phono stages.
What alternatives should you consider in this price range?
If you’re specifically looking for a stereo receiver—in other words, a powered stereo system with a radio tuner built in—not just an integrated amp, pickin’s in this price range can be a bit slim.
I quite like the Marantz Stereo 70S (US$1200), which has both FM and AM reception, along with a staggering six HDMI inputs and dual subwoofer outs. It also has network connectivity, including HEOS streaming, but its phono stage only supports MM cartridges and its output is a bit limited compared to the TA2+, offering only 75Wpc into 8-ohm loads. Marantz gives no specification for 4-ohm loads, opting instead to rate the output into 6 ohms at 100Wpc.
If you’re willing to spend a good bit more, there’s the Yamaha R‑N1000A ($1999.95), which also has AM/FM reception and an MM phono input, and delivers 100Wpc of output into 8-ohm loads and 120Wpc into 6 ohms. It supports MusicCast multiroom streaming, has a subwoofer output with digital bass management, and yeah, its bog-standard YPAO room correction is hot trash. But you can just ignore it if you’re into that distinctive Yamaha look and its accompanying ecosystem.
TL;DR: Is the Emotiva BasX TA2+ worth the money?
Remember what I said in the intro about being an Emotiva fan? Yeah. It’s important to keep in mind that if you have such proclivities, they affect your perception of value. Even with that said, though, I think the TA2+ hits a really sweet spot in terms of price and performance, and while I think it’s highly unlikely that most people in most rooms with most speakers would come anywhere near needing this much power, it’s better to have too much juice than too little.
If you’re naturally suspicious of things like digital signal processing, even when it comes to bass management, you’ll appreciate the TA2+’s all-analog crossovers. And even if you’re not, you have to admit it’s a pretty cool approach, in a sort of old-school, hands-on way.
You don’t see a lot of stereo gear with built-in FM reception anymore, which is a point of distinction. But perhaps most importantly, the TA2+ simply delivers the goods in terms of performance and offers a good bit of tweakability, if tweaking is your bag. The only real nit I have to pick is that it can’t drive my Audeze cans. But all in all, I’m giving this one a huge thumbs up.
. . . Dennis Burger
dennisb@soundstagenetwork.com
Associated Equipment
- Speakers: Q Acoustics 3020c; Paradigm Studio 100 v.5
- Subwoofer: SVS PB‑1000 Pro
- Sources: iPhone 16 Pro Max; Oppo BDP‑93; U‑Turn Orbit Theory turntable; iFi Audio Zen One Signature DAC; Custom-built PC running Pop!_OS with Cosmic Desktop 1.0.16
- Speaker cables: SVS SoundPath Ultra
- Power conditioner: SurgeX XR115
Emotiva BasX TA2+ stereo receiver
Price: US$1299, CA$1750, £1099, €1248
Warranty: Three years, parts and labor
Emotiva Audio Corporation
135 Southeast Parkway Court
Franklin, TN 37064
Phone: (615) 790-6754
Website: www.emotiva.com
