Yamaha A-S301

[m. zillch]

I haven't seen the room/speakers but mounting speakers up high can be awesome. Tons of people, including pros, do it without complaints. They often fill the entire room more evenly, without furniture obstructions to muck up the sound, and when you have party guests standing/sitting at various points in the room they all get a clear shot to the sound.
Just ask motorcycle collector and audiophile Ann Margret:

Notice all the buttons on her turntable? It allowed automatic direct access to the track (or programming of the sequence) you wanted via a computer-guided optical scanning of the disc surface!

Her top shelf mounted speakers are Acoustic Research, some variety of the AR-2 or AR-3, it is said:

They had tweeter/midrange controls on the back so if they sounded a tad dull if heard off-axis there was a solution!

 

[m. zillch]

This expensive house, I believe named after it's color, white, also used AR speakers mounted as such:

A later tenant, Rosalynn C., apparently liked the sound but not the appearance, so she cleverly concealed them behind acoustically transparent cloth and strategically placed house plants in acoustically-porous wicker baskets:

As I understand it, her general idea of having concealment stuck and later tenants found it most curious how the various rooms of their new home (gear unknown) are filled with great sound yet they can't find the speakers.

Note how even the door is hidden in the house's elliptical-shaped office room.

 

[TLS Guy]

I will try turning the speakers upside down and see how I like that.

You can do that, as the speakers have even order, second. high and low pass, so there is no axis tilt. However, the woofer will be closer to the ceiling and more troublesome reflections may arise. You seem to like it the way it is, so I would leave it alone.

 

[Squishman]

You can do that, as the speakers have even order, second. high and low pass, so there is no axis tilt. However, the woofer will be closer to the ceiling and more troublesome reflections may arise. You seem to like it the way it is, so I would leave it alone.

I'll set that sub up appropriately too when the new amp arrives. I don't even remember where it's set at right now. It's hooked up from the B speaker outs at the moment. sounds good, but it should go from good to awesome next month. It's a Klipsch KSW-10.

 

[Squishman]

Hi-Fi Heaven have them for sale.

That would have been terrific to get one sooner. I did have $22 in rewards points at Crutchfield I was able to apply towards the purchase.

 

[Squishman]

I used to sell the twin.

They were good and had lots of headroom which only means for people who like to brag theirs plays louder before audible distress compared to others of the same steady-state wattage rating, they win.

I don't like those super tiny volume controls. I like beefier volume knobs for no reason.

 

[lovinthehd]

Need those nice large diameter silky/sexy rotations under your fingertips?

 

[Squishman]

Need those nice large diameter silky/sexy rotations under your fingertips?

You need a tweezers for the tiny ones.

 

[lovinthehd]

You need a tweezers for the tiny ones.

That is even weirder....you got extremely fat fingers or something?

 

[Squishman]

That is even weirder....you got extremely fat fingers or something?

Nope.

 

[lovinthehd]

Nope.

Just was a strange visualization then....

 

[Squishman]

Just was a strange visualization then....

Yeah it was!

 

[m. zillch]

How my knob feels is important to me too. . . Oh, wait. . . that came out wrong.

Big rotary knobs are easier to make small changes, at least for my klutzy fingers.

Some people change their gear's knobs on their own. Not always but often it's as easy as yanking off the unwanted one and pushing on the new one.

Does this site not allow posting of eb aaay links?. It won't seem to let me.
Anyway they sell big diameter knobs of Yamaha style [not that I guarantee they'd definitely work on all other products but often these things can be easily swapped]
If anyone is interested, search there for: "Replacement Volume Knob Dial for Yamaha Receiver"
UPDATE: https://www.ebay.com/itm/306536438536?_trksid=p4375194.c102726.m162918

There are also knobs to improve performance.

 

[Squishman]

I changed my order to an A-S501. It should arrive on Friday I think. Where shall I set my impedance switch on the new amp? Just re-iterate, my speakers are 6 ohm Infinity RS-3000's with 4 ohm aftermarket woofers from Simply Speakers. Also have a Klipsch KSW-10 sub in a medium size bedroom which will of course be hooked up to the subwoofer output. I will be using just one set of speakers.

 

[Eppie]

I changed my order to an A-S501. It should arrive on Friday I think. Where shall I set my impedance switch on the new amp? Just re-iterate, my speakers are 6 ohm Infinity RS-3000's with 4 ohm aftermarket woofers from Simply Speakers. Also have a Klipsch KSW-10 sub in a medium size bedroom which will of course be hooked up to the subwoofer output. I will be using just one set of speakers.
View attachment 80171

Gene just posted the article below. Generally, setting the speaker switch to 4 ohms limits the power and will affect dynamics at higher volumes. Set to the higher impedance setting for maximum performance. That amp should be able to handle your Infinities just fine.

Is Your AV Receiver Really Underpowered? 5 Things to Check First

Think your AV receiver is underpowered? Before buying a bigger amp, make sure your own settings and system setup aren't robbing you of power, headroom, and dynamics. Here are 5 things to check: ⚡ ECO Mode — can limit available amplifier power Dynamic Range Compression — reduces dynamic impact...

forums.audioholics.com

 

[m. zillch]

Contrary to what most typical consumers think this switch does ["It, like, optimizes the performance for a specific type of speaker load. . . right?"] one position of the switch limits performance capability to help "protect"* the amp from possibly overheating in certain sustained, high volume playback sessions or with difficult low impedance speaker(s). This mode is called: "Low".

It would be like buying a car with "child safety mode". Sounds good on paper until you look into it and discover what it actually does is ignore any request of the driver's gas pedal pressing which would make the car travel faster than 30mph. Why? Because statistically children in vehicles are far more likely to die in crashes that are over 30mph rather than under 30 mph. Bingo: this mode "protects" children [so safety organizations dig it and give their stamp or approval].



*Most agree it has nothing to do with safety actually and is a sneaky way manufactures ensure they sail through UL and CSA certification safety testing for heat production without having to spend a lot of money including a cooling fan in each amp's design. Fans are a superior way to ensure no overheating but are far more costly for them to produce.

P.S. One manufacturer once told me the two most costly parts of an amp are the ones nobody would suspect: the cooling fans and the extruded aluminum heat fins. So they save a ton of money by either using cheaper tin cooling fins and /or no fan at all.]

 

[TLS Guy]

I changed my order to an A-S501. It should arrive on Friday I think. Where shall I set my impedance switch on the new amp? Just re-iterate, my speakers are 6 ohm Infinity RS-3000's with 4 ohm aftermarket woofers from Simply Speakers. Also have a Klipsch KSW-10 sub in a medium size bedroom which will of course be hooked up to the subwoofer output. I will be using just one set of speakers.
View attachment 80171

ai think that was a good move. More money, but worth it. Leave it on the 8 ohm setting.

 

[m. zillch]

Personally, for this kind of money I'd want stereo preouts and at least one HDMI input even if I had no plan on using either feature any time soon. It means the product can grow and be expanded upon if need be and keep in mind more and more products are being released that only have HDMI outputs. [I own two already: Sony disc player and Roku.]

I also wouldn't rule out AVRs even if my only interest was stereo, because they don't cost more; they cost about the same or less and there are more to choose from. [it's an economy of scale thing.] As long as there's a "Pure Direct" (or similar) button you can instantly bypass any digital circuits you may not choose to use.

 

[Squishman]

Got the S501 hooked up and it sounds so amazing in that room. I got the sub set up correctly now. I turned it around so the port faces outward. It is a downfiring sub. The speakers are up high in the far corners (as opposed to the shallow corners, if that makes sense) so the imaging in that room is just tremendous. But the power behind this amp is so noticeable.
Edit: wow, this post actually posted! How do you like that?

 

[lovinthehd]

Got the S501 hooked up and it sounds so amazing in that room. I got the sub set up correctly now. I turned it around so the port faces outward. It is a downfiring sub. The speakers are up high in the far corners (as opposed to the shallow corners, if that makes sense) so the imaging in that room is just tremendous. But the power behind this amp is so noticeable.
Edit: wow, this post actually posted! How do you like that?

How do you figure the sub is set up "correctly" with that integrated amp?