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A-s301 vs s-750h

Theconqueror

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I am trying to put together a multipurpose setup (75% movies 25% music) 2.1-3.1 system. I have a set of JBL 530s on order and was pretty much settled on the Yamaha A-S301, but after reading some good reviews of the audyssey feature it got me thinking. I can pick up the denon s-750h that has the Audyssey MultiEQ (no XT or XT32) for another $100. The room this is going in is rather open, has lower ceilings and tile floor (area rugs where we can). I'm thinking Audyssey might help me make the most of what I have. Would it be wise to choose the S-750H for an extra $100 for this reason?
 

ThatM1key

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I have the Yamaha A-S301 but I believe the Denon S750h would be a better choice for your situation. The Yamaha was made for at desk analog music listening rather then watching movies. The subwoofer is out on the Yamaha is a bit of a joke and shouldn't be taken seriously.
 

skymusic20

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I have the Yamaha A-S301 but I believe the Denon S750h would be a better choice for your situation. The Yamaha was made for at desk analog music listening rather then watching movies. The subwoofer is out on the Yamaha is a bit of a joke and shouldn't be taken seriously.
Hello. I read you own the Yamaha A-S301.
Can you please let me know if you recommend it for stereo music listening? I want it for music 100% (not interested in movies at this point, I already have an AVR for that purpose in another room)
I want to connect a CD player and an entry level turntable. Seems the AS-301 has in built phono. Is it good?
What's your overall experience with the A-S301?
What speakers you have?
Thanks in advance!
Regards
 

Putter

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I have the Yamaha A-S301 but I believe the Denon S750h would be a better choice for your situation. The Yamaha was made for at desk analog music listening rather then watching movies. The subwoofer is out on the Yamaha is a bit of a joke and shouldn't be taken seriously.
Please explain why the sub out on the Yamaha is a 'joke'. The specs indicate SUBWOOFER OUT (Cut Off Frequency: 100 Hz) which is not ideal as a fixed frequency, but should work with the JBL speakers. It's spec'ed at 60 wpc vs 75 wpc for the Denon, but weighs more than the Denon (19.8 vs.18.9 lbs for the Denon which usually indicates a better power supply.

My sense of it that the Yamaha is perfectly decent integrated amp although better suited to smaller rooms, but I'll admit that I'd lean toward the Denon partially for Audyssey although the basic MultEq is not as effective the XT32, but primarily because you may want to upgrade to a 5 or 7 channel system in the future.
 

ThatM1key

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Please explain why the sub out on the Yamaha is a 'joke'. The specs indicate SUBWOOFER OUT (Cut Off Frequency: 100 Hz) which is not ideal as a fixed frequency, but should work with the JBL speakers. It's spec'ed at 60 wpc vs 75 wpc for the Denon, but weighs more than the Denon (19.8 vs.18.9 lbs for the Denon which usually indicates a better power supply.

My sense of it that the Yamaha is perfectly decent integrated amp although better suited to smaller rooms, but I'll admit that I'd lean toward the Denon partially for Audyssey although the basic MultEq is not as effective the XT32, but primarily because you may want to upgrade to a 5 or 7 channel system in the future.
With a normal AVR, you have the option to subwoofer. When you add a subwoofer to a normal AVR, you can tell it "Hey I want bass under 100hz redirected to the subwoofer instead of the main speakers" and the AVR says "Okay". The main speakers actually have a cut off point of 100hz and below. This results are the following:

Less Bass (Less workload for main speakers) = Less Watts Used = Less Distortion = More Clarity & Detail.


With this Yamaha, you have the option to add a subwoofer but it's really not that good. When you add a subwoofer, you can't tell it "Hey I want bass under 100hz redirected to the subwoofer instead of the main speakers". So all the bass (100hz and below) still goes to your main speakers despite you having a subwoofer, which results in:

More bass (More workload for main speakers) = More Watts Used= More Distortion = Less Clarity & Detail.
 

ThatM1key

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Hello. I read you own the Yamaha A-S301.
Can you please let me know if you recommend it for stereo music listening? I want it for music 100% (not interested in movies at this point, I already have an AVR for that purpose in another room)
I want to connect a CD player and an entry level turntable. Seems the AS-301 has in built phono. Is it good?
What's your overall experience with the A-S301?
What speakers you have?
Thanks in advance!
Regards
If your using it at a desk, yeah it's a good stereo music listening experience. I use the ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2's with it.

The remote is kind of bad but its not horrible. If you hookup a compatible Yamaha CD player to it, then you could use the CD buttons on the remote. The thing I like about the remote is that it has a "pure direct" button.

Volume control is pretty neat. Volume knob is motorized but there is a chip that makes sure that both stereo channel's are balanced.

Honestly it's a good amp. It replaced my old vintage Sansui 2000A. When compared to that, it sounded less warm, little bit less detail but a lot more power. To have amp that sounds similar to it and be cheap & new, its incredible how tech evolves overtime. I haven't tried the phono, as I'm not much a of a vinyl person anymore. I'm certain the Yamaha's DAC (The digital inputs) is not that great, I use an outside DAC (Via analog).

I seen some people get confused between the A-S301 & R-N303. The A-S301 was made for true music lovers while the R-N303 was made for "I don't care about audio quality" casual listeners. So you in basic terms your giving up a lot of sound quality for smart/wifi/bluetooth features when you go to the R-N303. The weight between them is 19.8 Ibs (A-S301) versus 15.9 Ibs (R-N303), that should say something.
 

EdTice

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More bass (More workload for main speakers) = More Watts Used= More Distortion = Less Clarity & Detail.

Only if you are anywhere near the limits of the amplifiers. There is an argument against HPF the mains. I agree with you that I want my mains HPF but there are those who disagree. Here's a suboptimal example. But the JBL 530s are pretty capable and I sure as heck wouldn't put an HPF at 100Hz. 60 or 80

 

Prana Ferox

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Only if you are anywhere near the limits of the amplifiers. There is an argument against HPF the mains. I agree with you that I want my mains HPF but there are those who disagree. Here's a suboptimal example. But the JBL 530s are pretty capable and I sure as heck wouldn't put an HPF at 100Hz. 60 or 80

It's generally not an amplifier limit, it's because you're below the tuning frequency of the speaker cabinet and the woofer is flopping around without effective control. To say it 'uses more watts' sending full range to a speaker with a subwoofer assist (i.e. you're not eq'ing the main to get the bass it can't really produce) is a little iffy but certainly it's burning power it doesn't need to, making sound you don't really want.

That's why an HPF with a small ported speaker (like the 530) is almost mandatory beyond a certain volume level, while a sealed speaker has natural low frequency rolloff and may not need additional processing upstream (or it may, if you want to fine tune the integration.)

E: to the OP, I would recommend checking the used market, AVRs depreciate like mad and you can probably find something with more capability than that Denon for comparable or less money.
 

EdTice

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It's generally not an amplifier limit, it's because you're below the tuning frequency of the speaker cabinet and the woofer is flopping around without effective control. To say it 'uses more watts' sending full range to a speaker with a subwoofer assist (i.e. you're not eq'ing the main to get the bass it can't really produce) is a little iffy but certainly it's burning power it doesn't need to, making sound you don't really want.

That's why an HPF with a small ported speaker (like the 530) is almost mandatory beyond a certain volume level, while a sealed speaker has natural low frequency rolloff and may not need additional processing upstream (or it may, if you want to fine tune the integration.)

E: to the OP, I would recommend checking the used market, AVRs depreciate like mad and you can probably find something with more capability than that Denon for comparable or less money.

We are in violent agreement that a used AVR would be the right choice here. In order to have digital bass management you have to have a DAC. If your input source is analog that means A->D->A conversion. The entire world of analog audio (including high end preamps) uses full signal to the mains and the subwoofer out is just the sum of the LR without even an LPF. If your sources are digital and you have a DAC, yeah, do active bass management. But it certainly isn't a requirement given how many systems have been successfully built without it
 
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