Author's Description:
I have already said quite a lot about the company T+A in my text about the Music Receiver.
Now let me describe another device, completely different: the R1220R.
Why do I say “completely different”? Because the R1220R is not an all-in-one unit; it does not include a CD player, streamer, or digital-to-analog converter. This is a classic stereo receiver with a digital tuner — where frequency control is digital, but the tuner itself is of an analog nature, as is the case with all such receivers. The output stage operates in Class AB, rather than Class D as in the Music Receiver.
The R1220R belongs to the Pulsar series. The designation itself is somewhat confusing, and I assume that of the two letters “R”, the first stands for “Receiver” and the second for “Remote”. The concept of remote control should be understood very conditionally, since T+A offered the remote control as an option, with a signal receiver located outside the unit and connected to it by cable. So, for remote control you need two additional components: the remote itself and the receiver. These are usually quite expensive on eBay and not easy to find.
The T+A R1220R appeared on the market around the year 2000 (I couldn’t find an exact date; it may have been 1999) and carried a hefty price of €2,100 (€4,200 DEM at the time). Keep in mind that the famous — and probably one of the best receivers ever made — the Revox B285, cost €3,500 DEM.
The T+A R1220R represents a symbiosis of the PA1220R amplifier and the T1210 tuner. What’s interesting is that the manufacturer claims there are no measurable or audible differences between the PA1220R amplifier and the R1220R receiver. The same should apply to the tuner section. In other words, T+A did not create a cheapened, stripped-down version by cutting corners wherever possible, but literally combined the electronics of two high-quality components into a single unit. Admittedly, they share a common transformer and control logic, but that is probably the only difference compared to the original separates.
Cost savings compared to the PA1220R are visible elsewhere: instead of a multi-piece aluminum top cover, the R1220R has a simple steel cover shaped like the Cyrillic letter “P”, as found on most commercial devices, including some expensive ones. I’ll survive somehow 🙂, although I was immediately annoyed by the fact that the inner surface of the cover is far from smooth and any type of cloth catches when trying to wipe off dust — so washing remains the only effective option.
My first impression was roughly: “Damn, how did they manage to cram everything into such a thin chassis?!” Indeed, the R1220R looks thin when viewed from the front… but in reality it is even thinner, because the front panel is taller and wider than the rest of the chassis. While other manufacturers used design tricks to make devices appear thinner than they really are, T+A did the opposite, since the front panel could have been less massive and even thinner. In fact, the chassis thickness of the unit, excluding the feet, is just 5 cm. Brilliant — as if it were made by Bang & Olufsen.
However, after looking at the accompanying materials and other units on the market, I noticed that my sample differs: others have a classic three-piece aluminum cover without ventilation openings, but with a hidden fan on the rear side, and the cover overhangs the connectors like a canopy. This type of cover is thicker and flush with the front panel, whereas the one on my unit is thinner, does not extend over the connectors, and is full of ventilation holes — but without active cooling via a fan. I think I’ve partially solved the mystery of the thin device behind the front panel.
I don’t know whether this is good or bad — I don’t like a large number of ventilation openings, and I like fans even less, as they inevitably draw dust into the device, something we unsuccessfully battle in Belgrade. I know that T+A’s fan control system is interesting, quiet, and efficient, but still…
In typical T+A fashion, the front panel is full of identical buttons — a nightmare to navigate, since some are grouped with controls they don’t belong to. For example, the Flat and Loudness buttons are placed together with input selection rather than with the tone controls. Everything else is fine, but good eyesight and proper lighting are minimal requirements if you want to know what you’re pressing — or you can count buttons and press when you think you’ve reached the right one 🙂.
The T+A R1220R supports six sources, all analog and single-ended. One of them is the tuner, and two analog tape recorders with their respective inputs/outputs are also supported. The recorder output is adjustable, which is useful (a Rec Out option found on most amplifiers, but rarely on older stereo receivers) when you want to listen to one source while recording another. Two pairs of speakers are supported, manually switchable on or off, as well as a 6.3 mm headphone output.
The tone controls pop out when pressed and include bass and treble — and that’s it. The volume potentiometer provides an excellent feel, very nicely damped, and the knob itself is metal and massive. It perfectly suits the design of this unit, unlike the same knob on the monster PA1530R, where it somehow feels small and awkward to use.
At first glance, the tuner appears ascetic. But that couldn’t be further from the truth: 60 memory presets, automatic memorization — the fastest I’ve ever seen — signal strength display via an LED bar or numerically, RDS… quite sufficient. Some controls are hidden, in typical T+A style, beneath the main ones and are activated by a long press.
The display has three brightness modes: normal, medium, and off. Normal mode is always activated at startup, then after a few seconds it switches to the selected setting. They really made an effort — T+A didn’t include any option just for the sake of having it.
The rear panel features gold-plated inputs and outputs of standard quality. The speaker terminals appear solid and probably are to some extent, but I noticed a few cracks in the plastic — perhaps due to overtightening cables, age, or similar. In any case, they could have done better here.
There are also communication connectors for the remote control and other components of the Hi-Fi chain.
Finally, there is an IEC power connector with a fuse. There is no main power switch.
Inside
A small box full of wonders — that’s the T+A R1220R. Unlike today’s commercial stereo receivers, some of which are crammed with useful digital technology and others not even that, but all showing obvious cost-cutting in the power supply and output stage, T+A is an example of how things should be done — although, given the price, it would have been shameful otherwise.
The power supply and output stages are on the left, while the preamp, tuner, and optional phono section are on the right.
Rated at 100 W RMS into 8 ohms and 150 W into 4 ohms, the T+A R1220R is no lightweight. It boasts a phenomenal damping factor of 500, and a frequency response reminiscent of legendary Sansui amplifiers: from 1 Hz to 400 kHz! The tuner has a sensitivity of just 0.9 microvolts and an excellent mono signal-to-noise ratio of 79 dB. These are among the best specifications ever seen in any receiver. Interestingly, its successors have virtually identical specs.
The power supply section is based on a large Polytronik toroidal transformer, while the main output amplifier filtering is handled by four S+M capacitors of 4,700 µF each — totaling 18,800 µF per channel, or 37,600 µF overall — which is very generous for a device in this category, and even compared to many expensive amplifiers. With additional filter capacitors included, total capacitance exceeds 50,000 µF, which is a pretty serious figure.
The output stage is based on 2SA1303 and 2SC3284 bipolar transistors, one pair per channel, mounted on a large cast aluminum heatsink.
The preamplifier section selects inputs via relays, which is my favorite solution, instead of the cheap input ICs that were widely used at the time in receivers and many other logic-controlled audio devices.
To fit everything in, T+A used not only double-sided PCBs but also mounted additional boards horizontally above the main one: the board shown upside-down in the photo is responsible for the tuner, while the smaller one is the phono section.
I wasn’t able to find instructions anywhere for setting the DIP switches on the phono section, so I contacted the manufacturer for help… and received the file very quickly. This is an MM phono stage, with adjustable sensitivity and capacitance, so I configured the phono preamplifier to match the sensitivity and the recommended capacitive load for the Audio-Technica AT100E cartridge I intended to use.
What looks strange in the preamp photo, resembling horizontally mounted connectors, is exactly that: two pairs of RCA connectors intended for integrating the R1220R into a surround system — an option that didn’t interest me.
Volume control is handled by a four-gang ALPS Blue Velvet motorized potentiometer — in my modest experience, an excellent solution. These potentiometers are very precise, practically free of channel imbalance, and extremely durable.
Finally, I must note that the Pulsar R1220R is a true example of engineering excellence — no nests of wires, no conductors flying left and right; wiring is reduced to a minimum, which speaks volumes about the skill and engineering effort involved. Hats off.
Sound
I tested the receiver with tone controls disabled (Flat mode) and loudness switched off.
As with the PA1530R amplifier I described here long ago, the T+A R1220R follows a similar philosophy. It doesn’t cooperate with the speakers — it outright dominates them. From the perspective of modern democracy, this may sound unacceptable, but from a Hi-Fi standpoint, it’s perfectly fine.
Honestly, I’ve encountered this sense of control over speakers in very few amplifiers.
The next thing that stands out is reproduction precision. This goes beyond mere cleanliness of sound, which somewhat reminds me of old Tandberg receivers (such as the TR2055 and 2075), but with stronger emotions and similarly precise tonal presentation. Tones are so well defined and instruments so clearly outlined on the soundstage that this already enters what I consider high-end territory. The attack and decay of tones are surgically precise, yet not sterile. Musical layering is excellently presented, and note decay is truly outstanding.
The overall character of reproduction is very musical and cohesive in every respect, neutral through speakers and somewhat brighter through headphones.
High frequencies are rich in detail, while the bass is powerful, deep, defined, and perfectly controlled. Over all of this hovers a very agile dynamic response, so this slim receiver reminded me of a fast rattlesnake in character: lean and dangerous.
Compared to the T+A Music Receiver, the R1220R has slightly deeper bass and renders tonal details more strongly, but the Music Receiver is softer and warmer and, for me, has more soul during playback. The differences are obvious, and I adapted to the Music Receiver’s sound more quickly.
I also noticed that the R1220R reproduces acoustic instruments very well, as well as piano and drums, making this type of music particularly suitable. On the other hand, it does not mask cheap productions, errors, or poor recordings — flaws become more obvious than on some other devices. In short, it is not tolerant of poor source quality, whether due to hardware or software.
For all these reasons, it seems to me that the R1220R requires careful speaker matching, but once achieved, you can truly expect a superb winning combination.
The tuner delivered good reproduction results, although I must admit I didn’t test it extensively — I removed my external FM antenna, and the quality of today’s FM radio stations is questionable, reduced to just a few that still care about quality.
The phono stage fully supports the overall quality and sonic character of the receiver. It is neutral and highly detailed, with good soundstage width and a strong, well-controlled midbass. The source turntable was the rather uncommon Sony PS-FL5, fitted with the aforementioned Audio-Technica AT100E cartridge. This turntable is of a lower class than the receiver itself, but I did not have the time to mount and properly set up the AT100E on my Technics SL-1210 Mk2, with which I would most likely have achieved even better results.
Overall, the phono combination sounded neutral with a slight shift toward a warmer character — effortless, and very, very musical and dynamic.
Conclusion
The T+A R1220R is a serious audiophile device, even though it is 25 years old and lacks the modern features found in today’s receivers.
However, the craftsmanship applied in its construction and the sonic experience during listening are unforgettable and extraordinary, on par with high-quality separate components. For listeners who value precision, clean and neutral yet authoritative and detailed reproduction, the T+A R1220R paired with suitable speakers can be a perfect solution. For others, accustomed to the classic tube sound or older, softer, less detailed receivers, the R1220R will represent a step in a direction they may not enjoy.
As always, the decision lies with the listener. And me? I could live with a device like this — an excellent match for me.
