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I still have my Yamaha CA-810 integrated amp, purchased in 1979. Drove two "Large" Advents, which I also still have. No DAC comparison, we didn't have digital in those days! Love how Yamaha still uses the same styling, knob design, even font as they did 45 years ago.

I have that exact Yamaha amp driving a pair of KEF Q350s. For less than $1000 it's just about perfect.

@davidkgreen

3 ай бұрын

My friend has your system with a wiim pro plus and a properly tuned sub.Shocked at the sound quality,really good!

@esotericat

3 ай бұрын

@@davidkgreen This is exactly what I have, except I have a Schiit Modi between the Wiim and the 301

@ZiggyAndTheSpiderFromMars

3 ай бұрын

Yea I especially like the headphone amp on the As301, easily drives my AKG701's, which cannot be easily driven. It's almost worth the price even without the primary amp if you use the headphones a lot.

@alexpal1495

3 ай бұрын

So you think there will be an audible upgrade?

@1337sim1

3 ай бұрын

Yeah man! The Kef Q series is great. Good directivity means you can EQ the speaker to your taste. There's a bit of distortion when you crank the volume but when you listen to reasonable volume, it's all good. 😎

I have the Yamaha AS301 paired with Gen 1 Klipsch RP600Ms. It's my "listen to streaming music all day during work" stereo. Sounds fantastic for less than $1000.

The Yamaha A-S301 and A-S501 use Texas Instruments PCM5101A DACs. The A-S701 moves up to the PCM5102A. Just an FYI... I picked up an A-S301 about five years ago to replace Adcom separates when a GTP-500 tuner/preamp refused to be repaired. The Yamaha cost less than the repairs! Expensive lesson... The Yamaha A-S301 has been great. I cannot complain about it. Sometimes switching between an analogue source and digital source, the sound disappears. Switching back and forth takes care of it. A friend who purchased a Yamaha A-S501 had the same issue. Paul H. in Huntington Beach, CA

I have a AS701 and love it! Puts out plenty of power and sounds great!

@jondonnelly4831

3 ай бұрын

It slaps😊

I'm a fan of the wider range in price points. Keep on keeping on.

@MrJhardencdj

3 ай бұрын

Same here. It's like just because I can only afford a Honda doesn't mean I don't want to learn about Bmw or McLaren.

I'm using a Yamaha R-S202 stereo receiver and am very happy with it. For $200 it performs beautifully! 😎🏴‍☠️☠️🤘

@FrankyRedEyes

3 ай бұрын

I bought the RS700 paired with Mission 763i speakers. HUGE soundstage with excellent clarity. I'm happy too.

@marioplus321

3 ай бұрын

I'M still on Yamaha RXV379 and I'm totally FINE :)

@rosswarren436

3 ай бұрын

I got one of those for a good price from a place in Florida and use it in my bedroom powering some vintage ADS speakers. Feeding it with a WiiM Pro Plus. Sounds darn good to me. I even listen to FM radio some. LOL. Why not?

@marioplus321

3 ай бұрын

@@rosswarren436 ✌️

@JR-ho5qm

3 ай бұрын

That amp is definitely decent for the price, but I went from a RS202 to a RN803 and the difference was pretty staggering. Definitely more than I expected

Love the AS301, especially the knobs for fine tuning depending on what media I'm playing (music, movies, games).

I have always found my Yamaha amps and AVRs a little thin in the middle and harsh on the top, when compared to my Rotel and Marantz equipment. Thank you as always for your time and efforts to review and share this with us all. Stay well, Sir, and have a great weekend.

@BlastBe4st

3 ай бұрын

What kind of Marantz and Rotel amps do you use? I have a Yamaha rs700 which is pretty nice but sometimes i feel like it could sound a bit more punchy here and there

@Simon_Hawkshaw

3 ай бұрын

@@BlastBe4st I have used a Marantz MM 7025, now using 3 MA 500 amps with a Fosi V3 for surrounds, used a Rotel RB-976, un fortunately I don't remember the Yamaha models, but used Yamaha AVR and Power Amps many years ago. I also used a Pioneer SC-25 AVR, which was fuller than my Yamahas. As a pre amp/processor I use a Marantz AV8801 with a Pioneer GR-777 graphic equalizer to tune the signal to my preference. . Hope this helps. Thanks for your question.

I know it’s easy to say something is “way better” or get caught up in the improvements in styling. Thank you for being honest and saying you are splitting hairs in some places and also saying you might have to have high end speakers to hear the differences and also saying a non trained ear might have a hard time hearing the differences. I’m new to the hobby and I always appreciate you including the new folks perspective in most of your reviews.

@OrazCostanzo

3 ай бұрын

Amplifier is just the new snake oil of cables there is zero reason for the costs of most amplifiers.

Excellent review, Randy, a classic CheapAudioMan approach, and good audio/video editing too. Thanks 👌

Randy, I have to admit... you caught me out of left field with the red hot chili peppers comment. Can you show me in the doll where the pepper burned you? Lol.

I have a Belles 150A Hot Rod, an ATI 1502, a pair of big old ADCOM mono-blocks, and a Yamaha A-S301. The Yamaha is surprisingly good, even driving low-efficiency 4-ohm, stand-mounts (CSS Criton 1TD-X). Never used the built-in DAC.

So, a Yamaha S801 and a Geshilli DAC, you save 1000 bucks. Thats more money for better speakers.

@4thewinir344

3 ай бұрын

Truth. I have this exact combo,801 + J2, with a pair of Linton 85. Brings joy👍

@rosswarren436

3 ай бұрын

Or an Outlaw RR2160 MK II for $999.00.

@tedkay5272

3 ай бұрын

Wiim Pro Plus using the amplification in my Pioneer receiver.. 😊

@DB-cg1rr

3 ай бұрын

I have the same system with Kef q750s. It’s amazing

@gage4375

Ай бұрын

​@@rosswarren436how come nobody reviews the outlaw 2160🤷

Another great report. Think we all need to just purchase a good amp and a good set of speakers and accept that anything more than what you have is tiny differences. I run an Arcam AS20/ST60/KEFLS50 Meta set up in my medium sized room and a Yamaha RN803D/Q Acoustic 3030i setup in my small room. Both sound absolutely sublime and I have accepted that chasing better is just going to waste money. The Arcam setup is superb for listening at medium to higher volume and I don’t think it even moves out of class A at volumes I get to with the KEF speakers. The Yamaha setup is what is needed for a small room. Crank the volume high and dial it down half way on the loudness control. The clarity and weight I get from the Q Acoustics in that small area is perfection! You mention spectrum and I see you use an App? I would love a separate sized spectrum display like the old days. I used to love watching the green bars jumping up and down across the frequencies. Why don’t they sell these just so we can have visual representation. I for one would jump at having one. Not a DSP. I just want to sit and listen and watch those bars pump up and down🤔👍

Owning an Yamaha A-S301, I quickly discovered that the internal DAC is its weakest link. I use a Schiit Modi into a line input instead. It was still less than $500 for both so I can't complain.

@ChicagoRob2

3 ай бұрын

I own the A-S301 and find it to be very well balanced. I also run an external Schiit Modi+ DAC and the overall sound is quite amazing, especially considering the cost. I have a second top-tier system running a Yamaha A-S1200 with a Schiit Modi Multibit 1 DAC and it’s better, but not by much!

I like reviews of very affordable gear. I wonder how many people if honest, could really tell the difference between an amplifier like the Yamaha A-S801, and mega expensive amps in an A/B test? Good review Randy.

@marioplus321

3 ай бұрын

guess...none_

@shipsahoy1793

3 ай бұрын

it would be better to listen to various recordings of all different genres of music rather than a basic comparison on distorted guitar heavy music like heavy metal or whatever.. I'm not sensing that he has a specific diversified playlist that he uses every time, but who knows I might've missed that video. Also noted is that the equipment reviews are essentially 100% subjective, based on his listening environment and sonic preference, and only specific audio chain comparisons per video. I like recordings of acoustic instruments and natural sounds, to get a better idea about the speaker for any specific EQ and gain. No "one size fits all, this is great" for any speaker. Amps and DACs are not easy for making definitive comparisons subjectively, as speakers and listening environments can vary your opinion. ultimately, any feedback, well intentioned and explained in detail, is better than none I guess, but there's always uncertainty.

@rosswarren436

3 ай бұрын

@@shipsahoy1793that's just it. There's no substitute for hearing something in your own room with your own ears. These KZread reviews can help though and at least sometimes they talk about the features and any "gotchas" to be leery of. Sadly, these days there aren't too many brick and mortar stores around to go and "kick the tires" so to speak. I'm an hour away from Audio Advice in Charlotte but just never seem to have a good day to go down there and check their wares out.

@gottrekk5798

3 ай бұрын

You can hear the difference but it doesn't mean that the more expensive amp is going to sound better for you.

@dennisheadley4408

3 ай бұрын

@@gottrekk5798 That's the thing. Sometimes you can hear a difference, but is one better than the other?

Ive had a 301 for many years now, driving my dynaudio dm3/7s and a svs2000 sub. My HTPC is connected via the internal dac, mostly for flac from my unraid server and 2.1 movie watching. i must say its still incredible and surprises me years later with detail. But i think my dynaudio are a matcg made in heaven there.

Great review - thanks. What do you think about the Marantz PM5005, my current amp which to me sounds pretty good?

@JH-gh7gl

3 ай бұрын

Marantzes are all very good for everything except complicated symphonic music and heavy metal. In these genres they sucks.

I went with the AS501 and a pair of Elac DBR62's. I can't imagine needing more.

@spokplumpen123

3 ай бұрын

Think elac use the same baselement in those as in the debut 6.2. take it out and put clay (dont no what it called i English, childrens clay) round the gap between basket and magnet, and on the four spokes. Really improved the sound.

@BlastBe4st

3 ай бұрын

I have the RS700 which is like the bigger, older brother of the AS501 driving some Elac DFR52.. it's a pretty nice combination but sometimes i feel like it could sound a bit more punchy.. do you feel the same?

I have an AS-501 and use a Schiit Modi DAC, mainly because I am using a PC for streaming TIDAL and needed a USB input. The Modi does sound better than the internal DAC, with very little outlay.

I was going to get one of these yamaha amps but it was too big for my office set up. Went with the aiyima a07 which sounded terrible initially but when I added a dac, it sounded unbelievable. Paired it with the Elac bs41 and for around 200 usd, how can anyone complain.

Great comparison Randy - thanks. What watch are you wearing in this video?

This is such a great comparison! Not just the amplifiers as a whole but the separate sections as well, super helpful, and interesting. Yamaha seems to do a really excellent job up and down their amplifier stack. Not sure if they have come through or not but it would be really cool to see how one of higher-end (S801 or S1200) Yamaha does. If you have looked at one before might be cool to revisit and compare to the A10. Also this is a lot harder than most people think. Once you've heard something that is clearer, more distinct or detailed (pick your favorite audiophile adjective) its impossible not have that color your impression the music the same way again. I forget where I watched it and it wasn't audio specific but more psychological experiment on perception in general. You distort human speech to the point of it being incomprehensible, play that same speech back with no distortion, the distorted speech on second listen will still sound distorted but the speech will be clearly comprehensible despite the distorting being exactly the same.

I have Yamaha 301 with a J2 4493 with the Sparkos, running Q Acoustics 3050 ($400 on close out). $1100 all in and I gotta say.. pretty darn amazing! Thanks for the stellar reviews, Randy.

Was looking for a cheap, easy to use amp for my wife's system, and got the 501, she loves it. Need A/B speaker outs and sub out and this covered that.

Yamaha A-S301 Texas Instruments PCM5101 DAC

Bought the 2 channel receiver, used, one notch up the R-S00, 75x2 (8ohms), love it

If you want to hear some bad recoding just listen to red hot chillis through a good system. One of my go to tracks for testing is Billie Jean that song can make the room move on the right system with real dynamic mid and bass response.

The rta real time analyzer draws a nice painting of the sound.

Man, I love camera/lens setup. The B roll feels like I’m actually looking at the stuff in real life.

@MichaelRofe

3 ай бұрын

I was thinking exactly the same thing here in Japan! Serious stuff! I love the foreground focus & background out-of-focus head and shoulders shots too! What did the HiFi Guru buy? Please enlighten us all?

I have a Yamaha R-S700 / CD-600 combo to Kef Q350s with an SVS SB1000 sub in my bedroom. 10/10 for what I wanted it to do.

Have you used a autoswitching power strip for your audio equipment? I you have, how did you like it? Was the power strip powerful enough and did the devices turn on and off automatically as they are supposed to ? Im considering the a-s501 😌

Thanks Randy got the 301 driving Quad S4 mini towers with a Kef subwoofer, and a little tone control adjustment. I would be hard pressed to replace the Yamaha this set up just works great in my room

I‘m running the bigger brother A-S501 with a pair of LS50‘s. I‘m pretty happy. Don‘t forget guys to take your time for your speaker placement. More important than anything else in your rooms. ;)

Longtime Yamaha fan. Replaced my aging AX-450 with an AS-301 when the former's input selector switch failed (after 30 years) and have been very pleased. It doesn't "feel" as good as the AX (switches, pots) but does the job. If anyone knows a shop where I can get the AX repaired, please comment below.

The A10, IMO, is a gorgeous integrated. Finally got to hear one in person at a local shop, while checking out an older, used pair of speakers. Source was a cd player (no idea how it was connected), to a pair of new Wharfedale EVO 4.2's. Wasn't impressed- but to be fair, I so far haven't heard a pair of Wharfedales that I've liked (admittedly have only heard a few, at stores). I then switched to the used set (polk LS70), and again wasn't that impressed. Kind of the same thing, almost a howl-y, boomy lower midrange. I took the Polks home, figuring the price and condition of the cabinets made them worth monkeying with. Have them connected to a Marantz Cinema 60 and they sound really good- none of what I was hearing in the store. Guess I'd have to hear the A10 in my environment, which is always optimal

Ok, I don’t see anyone else asking so I will: AS301 versus Wiim Amp?

@BlastBe4st

3 ай бұрын

amplifying: AS301 functions: Wiim

On the Yamaha is the best way to connect to a TV through the optical out? It would only be to magnify tv stereo sound, not home theater. Also, what’s the main advantage of buying an integrated amplifier over a stereo receiver? Does it have output for running another amp to run multiple sets of speakers?

Awesome video. The 301 and a pair of elac uni or debut and it’s a low budget High Fidelity system you can upgrade with time! Stereo police gave a great technical break down of the 301 amp. I have it and it’s big brother the AS-2100. Can you compare the AS 2100 or cheaper 1200 to your A-10 reference? I think the results would be interesting as they are closer in price!

I have a Yamaha AS500, Elac UB52 monitor speakers, an SVS 1000Pro subwoofer, external DAC, Project turntable and some other stuff, but I'm not going to replace my Yamaha! The only amp I tried, which was better, was a NAIM Nait XS3 I tried at home from a friend, but that amp is about €3.200....... I put my money in my music collection....

Love these kind of comparisons. A lot of Hi-Fi gear is so overpriced for minimal improvements. Thanks for the review 😊

How about Randy, excellent video and thank you very much for your contribution, what speakers and subwoofer do you recommend to get the best audio quality from the Yamaha 301? Greetings.

Hey Randy @cheapaudioman, I'm listening to you on speakers and am getting a high frequency hum that seems to be originating from your video. Didn't stop me from enjoying your content, of course!

@YouSoundButtHurt

3 ай бұрын

No issues here, sound like a you problem.

Upgraded to a Bluesound node from a Wiim pro and compared dacs between the units, my Geshelli lab J2 AKM 93 dac, and the built in dac of my Rotel RC-1572 MKIi which has an old school TI Burr-Brown dac. Was completely surprised by the results. The 100 db SNR dac in the Rotel was the clear winner. Toe tapping music with better imaging, detailed bass, more bass, clean bass and sense of room in jazz and classical recordings. Second was Geshelli Lab J2 with AKM 93 chip and stock op amps. It had less air, imaging in and bass, then Wiim pro, less detail, less detail, same deficits as J2, just worse, than the Bluesound node, which sounded terrible, so bad, I feel like I need to redo the experiment swapping cables. The cables were a mixture of worlds best cables, some the crappy directional shielded quad cable that kills sound, and the others conventional single ended coax cables that should be used for all rca interconnects. Shocked by how much a dac affects sound. PS bought the Bluesound node for hdmi eARC, 12v trigger, and ability to output analog, coax, and optical simultaneously. Got BlueSound on sale and discounted for $450 from local retailer. Will it be worth the extra 300 to 450 dollars? Well not for the dac. But I do like I can listen via my tube amp or solid state gear without having switch output in Wiim, and then going back into tidal, reconnect to Wiim and start playing again. So much easier to do side by side comparisons with Bluesound node than Wiim…but using two Wiims is cheaper… Wiim would be killer if they would just output multiple digital outputs simultaneously….and added eARC and 12 v trigger.

Well - ya' did it! I went and searched Qobuz for the RHCP Scar Tissue song - and there's FOUR different masterings of it. And they all are a bit different. I generally agree with you on this band, they do have a couple of songs that break through ... Same thing on the Metallica The God That Failed song - there are four version *including* *two* that are labeled "Remastered". One of those is from the Deluxe Boxset, and that one was better at letting you hear the two separate guitar tracks - they start alternating left and then right, but later they play together - and the Deluxe Boxset let you hear that they are just slightly different more easily. The Lena Hall cover of Creep has two versions on Qobuz - a 44.1kHz/16bit and a 48kHz/24bit - and this is a pretty good example of when the greater resolution recording has more textures and more depth. When she really belts it out, both recording let you hear that she is leaning/moving away from the mic. On the higher resolution one it seems more obvious she is moving a bit to the right (and up?) away from the mic, and you can hear the room/space she is in, a bit more than on the CD quality recording. The Cure's Just Like Heaven has four versions - one is live, so the original song as it was released, then a 2006 Remaster, and a closer to the original from their Greatest Hits CD - they all sound better on my J2S AKM 4493 with Sparkos SS2590, xDuoo MT-601 (with Bugle Boy tube) and Dan Clark / Drop Aeon OpenX headphones than I have heard it in the past. It has some bright aspects, and the original CD is the closest to sibilant - but there's a lot more depth than I remember. The Greatest Hits remix is "truest" to the original, but has better treble, and better vocal textures, and cleaner cymbals, etc. On the Beck Wow song, there is a CD quality, and a 44.1/24 bit version - the latter is more open and layered and clearer. The "hand claps" are still kinda' "crackly" - I think they have been processed in some manner, but they sound cleaner on the higher bit rate recording. The Korn track is a bit harder to find - because there is another album with about 12 remixes of that song. When you showed the cover, that got me to the right track. And yes it is a dense and deep recording.

Really good video and product comparison! I real like Advance Paris. Yamaha comes out and does a great job! Maybe down the road you can compare the X-P700 (pre-amp) from Advance Paris to another product to do a similar cost to sound test?!? Cheers from Canada!

great vid Randy.. How do you think Klipsch RP600m would match with the Yamaha AS301?

I've been running the bigger brother Yam A-s801 for 2 yrs now, I really could not be happier. I have listened to some very nice equipment elsewhere - friends, etc, much more expensive, but really, for the price its just very hard to beat it.

I’ve had a Yamaha A-S700 for a few years driving lots of different speakers. Never felt like I’m missing anything.

After testing myriads of amps in my lifetime, the two amp that I primarily use is the Yamaha MX-1 for its unbeatable sound and thanks to your previous recommendation, the SMSL SA400. The sound is unmatched, and I use the R-N602 as the streamer.

Really enjoyed the review.

Actually in my room so does room correction do a lot more for the perceived SQ than which amp, I use a Yamaha Aventage using it's built in room correction and basically it makes the speakers sound like a pair of high end headphones tonality-wise after doing the correction(using a calibration mike). With correction off, using "pure direct", yes the sound is possibly cleaner but the tone is way off LoL. I advocate investing in room correction measures if you really wants quality sound, there are many ways getting there.

And I'm sure most of those tiny shortcomings of the Yamaha can be easily fixed with a simple eq, like the Schiit Loki or the Lokius, and you would still have $2000 leftover in your bank account, thanks for the video.

Great video randy!

Randy please please please do a further in depth review as you skipped so many audio features which may or may not change the sound quality such as Pure Direct mode (there's a button for that) and CD Direct Amplification mode, MM (moving magnet) phono input. I have just bought a Yamaha AS701 and intend to hook up my Douk Audio ST-01 Pro (Randy recommendation) using it as a DAC for Bluetooth, CD player Direct to the Yamaha-AMP or the Douk Pro depends what sounds better, record player direct to Yamaha-AMP. My original setup is those players on the Douk Pro with 2 Q Acoustics 3010i and a Q Acoustics Q3060S Subwoofer. The reason why I've bought the Yamaha AMP is I'm going to add 2 Q Acoustics Q3030i's to my speaker setup and I don't think I could have added them successfully to the Douke AMP with a splitter - I want to run them A+B mode with the SUB. PS my Douk pro had the infamous click for the first week then it just stopped, don't know why but glad it did, also never had that other delay issue from day1.

How cool is your discord community;) Great video, I like the way you think!

Cheap is sober!! awesome

What do you think about svs prime wireless soundbase? Its a good option or maybe the yamaha 800a? Thanks

Would you recommend that Yamaha paired with a geshelli labs j2s/wiim pro for streamer/dac setup?

I have the AS501 for years and it’s amazing

Just picked up a Yamaha AS301 $150 came with box and paper work even a bill from a Meth addicted person. Love it Cheers 🍻 Eh! 🍁

I have ESS 500 amps and m60 Yamaha and I have AX 500 u Yamaha and ax500 keeps up very well till we get up in top end but daily use ax 500 u in my shop love it.

Fantastic review Randy. Yamaha is a great choice because they always punch above their weight. Quality mass market audio.

I have a Yamaha as3200 with 2 sets Dynaudio Evoke20 speakers with a Technics SL1210GAE turntable, Yamaha cd-s3000 cd player and a Yamaha TS1000 tuner and a Yamaha nps303 music streaming, i really like the Yamaha audio! Greetings from the Netherlands

buy cheap and live better

@sepg5084

3 ай бұрын

Cheap and affordable is not the same

@Prometheus1979

3 ай бұрын

Amps don’t make as much of a difference in sound like a real good dac does.

@JohnKelly2

3 ай бұрын

​@@Prometheus1979a DAC doesn't affect analog signals. You can't play a record with a DAC

@tedkay5272

3 ай бұрын

​@@JohnKelly2but it does well for streaming.

@georgeclone5522

3 ай бұрын

Take that expensive audio “hi end”

I really enjoyed this type of comparative review. I am curious if the results would show a much greater variance between amplifiers, if you use a more revealing speaker such as the Sonus faber Lumina 5. I believe the A10 amplifier maxed-out the Sonus faber 2 abilities to reproduce. With a more revealing speaker, the A10 should produce a significantly better sound stage and dynamics than the AS301. Your thoughts? Also, is there any chance you will get a Yamaha R-N800A in for review?

I would love to see the lx305 included in this comparison. As a home theater guy that's on the fence and could go strictly stereo, I'd love to get a better understanding of how much I'm giving up on

The new Yamaha all in one streaming amps RN800A and RN1000a are really good sounding and provide allot of bang for your buck. And the latest Yamaha Music Cast app is pretty good. I’m starting to convert to all Yamaha systems

Great video!

Randy, please tell me that you auditioned with 'Pure Direct' activated! Makes a HUGE difference to Yamaha amps. My RN-803D sounds sublime for the money, and gives far more expensive units a run for their money.

@gregmatula9749

3 ай бұрын

That's a good point that makes a big difference on my Onkyo.

@JR-ho5qm

3 ай бұрын

I love the Louudness control on my RN803 when listening to background music.

I have a Onkyo TX 8511 AVR with a Technics 7 band graphic equalizer and it is proving difficult to beat for the presentation that I like. I purchased a $2,000 Vincent SV 237 MK and it is sitting in the closet because it made my vinyl sound harsh. I returned $4,000 worth of Rotel separates because it did not present rock and roll as well. But I was very impressed with the Rotel clean and plentiful power. Too much instrument separation making it sound clinical, analytical and sterile. Instead of listening to the music I found myself listening to the presentation. Soundstage was huge and add that with the instrument separation... It felt more like listening to a surround sound system instead of a 2-channel stereo. It took the punch away from rock music no matter how much I tried to adjust. I had the system for 90 days and sent it back. But the power and dead silent background of the rotels got my attention, my speakers loved it!

Randy, any plans to review the new Emotiva Xt3 speakers? Good call on the Decibel X real time, analyzer, by the way. I just downloaded it and it seems very useful.

@JR-ho5qm

3 ай бұрын

He will be

The Yamaha 301 is one of my favorite amps at any price. It can hold its own driving high end speakers like thee KEF R3.

At what SPL we’re you listening at?… also listening near field take much less amplifier power than mid or farfield for the same volume level at one’s ear, so you don’t need a lot of power or peak current delivery near field as the volume doesn’t need to be as high for adequate volume. It’s only when driving speakers harder that cheaper amps start to compress / run out of current on dynamic music peaks that shows real weaknesses, normally the sound becomes flat and hard edged. If you are trying to listen at say 70db average with 90db peaks, you will need double the amp power for every 10 db peak and if you are listening from say 8-10 feet away, you will need even more power. So what I’m saying is, near field listening can be very good quality with a cheaper amp as it’s not being pushed like it would be mid or far field. I would suggest in the latter case the differences ‘should’ be far more obvious.

To me the A10 simply tries to pack too many things under the hood. Also when i hear the word „hybrid“ and see tubes i think „extra overtones“ so i would not use it as a monitor amplifier. But i like the Vu meters. Reminds me of my older amps. These entry level Yamahas are always a bit like „honest and not striving to be high end“ if that makes sense. No gimmicks, no extras but also nothing special. But a solid piece of gear. Thank you for the test btw

I have the 501 into a pair of Wharfedale diamond 240's. My opinion having been involved in hi-fi since the early 70's is Yamaha can hold in with the best at any price range even surpass in many cases. Yamaha is quality, period! Their method is the same people who design their top amps are the same people who design their lower end amps. The best parts they can for the price range with no short cutting and configure them for maximum performance in an efficient design. You get your money's worth and more.

Looks at the Japanese Low-Fi Integrated Amp masquerading as mid-fi- -- with all the excessive wiring and "digital haze" going on -- and shivers.

Moving up from the smsl su-1 to the geshelli labs, would it be a night and day difference? Or only maybe like a 20% jump. With and without the swapped op amps?

How does the 301 compare to the v385? There's a v385 on clearance at my walmart

I have a Yamaha RN-803 integrated amplifier driving a pair of KEF LS50. It is a beautiful match

Great review! Curious how the RN1000a would sound.

@JR-ho5qm

3 ай бұрын

The Rn1000a is a fantastic sounding and powerful amp. I would like to see Randy do a review on it because it really offers allot for its price.

Thanks!

How does the yammy compare to the emotiva ta1?

My S 801 is something of a lemon. Sent it in because of a startup noise and hiss while using analog inputs. They fixed the startup noise but the hiss is still there. Looking for a replacement but unfortunately Yamaha has the best specced integrated amps. The advance Paris is interesting, has all the needed inputs, but where do you get it in the US?

Yamaha is the sweet spot for value I feel. I quite like Yamaha, my second system is all Yamaha and its perfectly fine for not much money. However, if you have decent speakers it kind of makes sense to pair them with a reasonable amp and in this case maybe a 701 for the purpose of a comparison. The marginal gains you mentioned would likely have been even more marginal. A good performance for a budget amp in any case.

How did you purchase the A10 Classic? I look at the link and the only options on the website is the store(s) in Canada. Is there a dealer in the US?

No one knows more about sound than Yamaha. They make some of the best instruments in the first place and a lot of recording studios in the world are Yamaha! A huge percent of music is mastered on Yamaha hardware. They are the audio masters.

@supersportimpalass

3 ай бұрын

So then why does he think the other amp sounds better?

@asianskywalker

3 ай бұрын

@@supersportimpalass this is a budget amp made to a certain cost and mass produced. It's designed to power your speakers and not much else.

I have the Advance Paris A10 amp, Dynaudio Emit 30 speakers and one REL T9x subwoofer fore the last year and it s a very good set up. The A10 is superb fore its mony!

In a blind test with matched levels, assuming neither amp was driven beyond its capabilities, it would be extraordinarily difficult to tell the difference between two amplifiers.

@cheapaudioman

3 ай бұрын

Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment

@tothemax324

3 ай бұрын

An actual blind person could, guaranteed

yamaha makes good stuff when they make it

The way you feel about RHCP is the way I feel about U2. And when Metallica comes on I can't hit "Skip" fast enough. That A10 Classic has a gorgeous aesthetic that's easily worth an extra grand.

Have the 301. Its good. Tryed a rega io, little more expensive and supposed to be more audiophile. Listen with a pair of triangle bro08. Took me 30sek to decide to keep the yamaha. Now im want to make a improvement but everything are on on the same level in price and sq in my simple rigg🤷. So im in for a big outlay in cash it seems🙄

Great video 👌

@cheapaudioman

3 ай бұрын

Thanks 👍

I think that nicely demonstrates 2 well known price to performance ratios with hifi. The price of the Yamaha would suggest that there had to be compromises. The internal DAC is an obvious target! The ubiquitous law of diminishing returns. Pay 7 times the price, you’re unlikely to achieve 7 times the performance. As you mentioned, a lesser pair of speakers would have eroded the differential even further. Maybe only an attentive audiophile could notice that difference, and would still likely fail a blind test. For the discerning audiophile the decision must be, does the 7 tines the price justify the 20% performance increase?

I'm an AS501 user. Have to say the only had thing I have to say about it was that it needs a paint stripe on the volume knob. It's impossible to see if it's moving when you use the remote.

My observations - regarding amp differences - are: in acoustically untreated rooms ( treated room is at least absorption of first reflections on all four sides + some bass absorbers) at avg. listening volume over 72 or max 75 dB, its reflections starts to interfere with the sound stage in such manner that many finer frequencies (across all Hz spectrum), details, nuances, layering, imagining, air, instrument separation etc in the sound stage are getting messed up and somehow lost, especially at avg. listening volume 80 dB+. It means it does smear the source qualities, so it also smears the gears' differences. If you can in untreated room hear clear difference between triode and linear or other modes with tube amp at cca avg. 70 dB listening volume, at over 80 dB or 85 dB would be the same sound stage mess, just noise and for me unbearable for focused or relaxing listening, especially with more open, brighter (a good ones) speakers. So at the avg listening levels over 75dB in untreated rooms the finer, but important differences among amps are less and less present. The truth is, at least for me, that differences among most more budget "commercial" amps are small or veeery small. But on the other hand this more fine differences can make a big difference in total about whether the system's presentation can engage you, suck you into music or not. Especially mids and highs - are they natural sounding, enveloping... , then what you have described, the differences between this Yamaha and APA a10 are - or can be - very significant in an overall good system, good speakers and right room. Is it worth to hit a bull eye at 5 or 10 x higher investment? If possible yes. Than you are really happy with your system. But I can also notice that a part of listeners - their register - are not sensitive to such issues, they simply do not notice such changes in frequency responses in the music in the room. They are more orientated on tactile effects of music presentation - mostly the bass amount or effect. I do not know for for this SMSL DAC, but for instance a DACs in gears such as Wiim Pro or entry level Schiit are practical unlistenable to me - almost everything sounds wrong for my ears, unnatural presentation, orientated on the edges of notes - a "clean sound" without of essence of notes and consequently of the music as such, especially of acoustic ones. That's why I still prefer some older good CDP's (from Marantz or Linn) and think about going again, after 30 years into vinyl. Kind regards, Maj.

So, dual monoblocked Fosi ZA3s, or one Yamaha 301?

Can you please do a surround sound system high end vs low and mid