Yamaha A-S801 Integrated Amp unites analog and digital audio

[haraldo]

......

Was the A-S3000 issue a defect in the design or in defect in that specific unit?

99.99999% sure a defect on that specific unit

 

[AJvR]

It's good to see more amps with digital inputs. They should have added HP filters for the main channels (2.1 / 2.2 system) instead of a LP filter on the sub out. In that case it would be an affordable alternative for the Parasound Halo.

 

[Ipreferns]

Good day to you all.
Thanks to audioholics for the detailed reviews.
The review of the as801 led me to purchasing it, especially due to the value of Japanese products in Canada.
However, I was auditioning a sub the other day, and at the store it was on a Yamaha advantage Avr.
With pure direct in. The sub out didn't work.
Is this the case with the as801?

On the as801. Does the sub out work with pure direct on?

Thanks to any and all for replies.


PS. The DAC section of the as801 was measured as having the weakest performance on the amp compared to amp stage. Some digging showed it has a sabre 9010. The same as a dragonfly. A $200 cdn DAC. Would I be better off upgrading to a marantz HD DAC. Or a similarly priced sub?
I'm using pioneer esf-73 in a larger concrete apt. I like the quality of the bass I get, I'm just looking for that something special I heard when I auditioned stereos years ago that were too expensive for me.
Creek 5350 on quad 22l with cec 51xz.
And nait 5i cd5x dyn focus 160's...

I feel pretty close. I love my stereo and the price was great for Canada.
Thanks again.
-david

 

[j_garcia]

Good day to you all.
Thanks to audioholics for the detailed reviews.
The review of the as801 led me to purchasing it, especially due to the value of Japanese products in Canada.
However, I was auditioning a sub the other day, and at the store it was on a Yamaha advantage Avr.
With pure direct in. The sub out didn't work.
Is this the case with the as801?

On the as801. Does the sub out work with pure direct on?

Thanks to any and all for replies.

Part of the definition of Pure Direct is that it bypasses bass management, so I'd expect it to function the same as other Yamaha AVRs.

 

[Ipreferns]

Thanks for replying.
The as801 isn't as you probably know an Avr.
And doesn't really have what you might consider "bass management". Just a low pass filter off the main signal.
I'm looking for a definate yes or no, preferably from someone with direct experience with the amp. Thanks!

 

[<eargiant]

Does the A-S801 have a conventional linear E-I transformer or is it a switching type?

 

[PENG]

Does the A-S801 have a conventional linear E-I transformer or is it a switching type?

"Conventional", you can see the size of the transformer and the capacitors, look typical for a 80-100WPC rated class AB amp using conventional linear PS.

 

[<eargiant]

"Conventional", you can see the size of the transformer and the capacitors, look typical for a 80-100WPC rated class AB amp using conventional linear PS.

Thanks for the quick confirmation PENG. That's what I thought but the transformer didn't really look large to me and it just looked a bit flimsy with that beige plastic top. It made me wonder.

I was glad to see that a lot of the caps in there were Nichicon and the two 12,000 uF filter caps were United Chemi-Con. Both are reputable brands, not cheap no-name junk components.

 

[PENG]

Thanks for the quick confirmation PENG. That's what I thought but the transformer didn't really look large to me and it just looked a bit flimsy with that beige plastic top. It made me wonder.

I was glad to see that a lot of the caps in there were Nichicon and the two 12,000 uF filter caps were United Chemi-Con. Both are reputable brands, not cheap no-name junk components.

I agree it does not look too big, may be around 300VA but that's adequate for a 100W class AB stereo amp.

 

[3db]

The Yamaha has about as big of a power supply and 4 output devices/ch instead of 2. It also runs extremely cool to the touch. If I were only doing 2CH I would go this route over a $1k AV Receiver personally.

I agree with you I that I would choose an integrated amp such as this Yamaha over an AVR if I knew that all it would ever be is for 2 channels. If one doesn't use the features of an AVR, then its a simple waste of resources even though the same amount of money is spent on either AVR or integrated amp.

 

[little wing]

I agree with you I that I would choose an integrated amp such as this Yamaha over an AVR if I knew that all it would ever be is for 2 channels. If one doesn't use the features of an AVR, then its a simple waste of resources even though the same amount of money is spent on either AVR or integrated amp.

Completely agree - IF you are going to use it for two channel only, an integrated amp is the way to go. They simply sound better than receivers when you compare them side by side, IMO. And that is not to say that upper end receivers don't sound good in stereo. I am quite happy with the sound of my 3060 for two channel listening.

 

[PENG]

Completely agree - IF you are going to use it for two channel only, an integrated amp is the way to go. They simply sound better than receivers when you compare them side by side, IMO. And that is not to say that upper end receivers don't sound good in stereo. I am quite happy with the sound of my 3060 for two channel listening.

Following that logic, why not go with separate preamp and power amp then for two channel listening? Don't get me wrong, I have both, in fact I use all 3 (AVR/integrated/separates) for two channel listening. Just curious..

 

[3db]

Completely agree - IF you are going to use it for two channel only, an integrated amp is the way to go. They simply sound better than receivers when you compare them side by side, IMO. And that is not to say that upper end receivers don't sound good in stereo. I am quite happy with the sound of my 3060 for two channel listening.

I doubt very much if I could detect the difference in sound between a midrange AVR and an integrated amp in a blind listening test. I was coming at from the point of not using an AVR's feature set.

 

[little wing]

Following that logic, why not go with separate preamp and power amp then for two channel listening? Don't get me wrong, I have both, in fact I use all 3 (AVR/integrated/separates) for two channel listening. Just curious..

I hear you. You're right, a separate pre-amp and amp would probably be the best way to go if cost and space are not a concern. I was thinking from the prospective of a one box solution.

 

[PENG]

I hear you. You're right, a separate pre-amp and amp would probably be the best way to go if cost and space are not a concern. I was thinking from the prospective of a one box solution.

Some AVRs, but obviously not all, are also good as one box solutions comparable to integrated amps. Here's some examples of those that did very well on the bench.

Compared them to a $3,000 power amp NAD M25

and a $900 integrated amp:

I do prefer to have separate 2 channel systems regardless, and let the AVR/AVP/Multichannel amp do movies and videos in a separate room. That will change though, if and when I have to down size to an apartment or something like that.

 

[little wing]

I doubt very much if I could detect the difference in sound between a midrange AVR and an integrated amp in a blind listening test. I was coming at from the point of not using an AVR's feature set.

Understood. A few years back while listening to some B&W CM10s, the sales guy at XXXX XXX switched back and forth between the top of the line Marantz at the time and a McIntosh integrated amp and I can remember hearing a difference in favor of the Intergrated, although it wasn't a big difference.

 

[Pogre]

Understood. A few years back while listening to some B&W CM10s, the sales guy at XXXX XXX switched back and forth between the top of the line Marantz at the time and a McIntosh integrated amp and I can remember hearing a difference in favor of the Intergrated, although it wasn't a big difference.

Any differences you heard could very well be that they weren't level matched.

 

[3db]

Understood. A few years back while listening to some B&W CM10s, the sales guy at XXXX XXX switched back and forth between the top of the line Marantz at the time and a McIntosh integrated amp and I can remember hearing a difference in favor of the Intergrated, although it wasn't a big difference.

Aren't McIntosh amps tubed?

 

[little wing]

Aren't McIntosh amps tubed?

I believe it was a SS amp, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[lovinthehd]

McIntosh sells both. http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/us/Products/pages/categorylanding.aspx?CatId=Amplifiers