Inside Yamaha amps

[TheBatsEar]

I'm attempting to get a Yamaha R-S202 into Amirs measurement pipeline, lets see how that goes.

I haven't seen any comprehensive measurements for them so far, despite their popularity. They where also sold as A-S201 and R-S201 and i'm sure there will be a successor eventually.

The money was sized to get a used specimen, based on German prices. But then it was discovered that a new one in the US was only $30 more. So i sent the rest and Amir ordered a new one for $179 US!

That is almost Fosi or Topping level!

I'm sure the cheapest Yamaha will measure considerably worse than Chinese Class D amps, as they can concentrate their budget on amplification alone, not to mention the cheaper manufacturing cost, but the functionality is richer on the Yamaha side.

It's now just a matter of time.

 

[Steven Holt]

Coming in hot.

Yamaha R-S300 pictures.

Front:


Rear:

Oh, this is some of the best audio-porn that I've seen in a long time--thanks for posting! And those sweet wiring harnesses....!

 

[croseiv]

Here are some better-quality images of the A-S801! Really enjoying it in the 2-channel rig!

A few have already been posted. Hope you like them. Cheers! Reminds me of the AX-892 internally.

 

[ta240]

I'm sure the cheapest Yamaha will measure considerably worse than Chinese Class D amps, as they can concentrate their budget on amplification alone, not to mention the cheaper manufacturing cost, but the functionality is richer on the Yamaha side.

It's now just a matter of time.

They have very little warranty expense because most people aren't going to pay to ship something back to China for coverage. Would anyone stand for that from a product they bought at a store here?
Back before companies had everything online, Sony sent me a wiring diagram when I requested it and I was able to order replacement parts for a CD changer from a person on the phone. JDSLabs answered my email on a Sunday evening. Customer support is a large expense.

Having a customer base that is willing to just pile stuff in a landfill and buy another is a huge benefit. We've been conditioned to accept product failures as long as we perceive the product to be cheap enough. Imagine if Yamaha had an amp that popped loudly whenever you turned it off and just said "that's what it does". Companies like Yamaha live and die on their reputation; the cheap no US support amps get a pass with "I hear they fixed that in the next one"

Failures of the direct from China amps are ignored, but when Amirm pushed a cheap Sony amp far beyond what any normal person would do it was derided as being junk. If it wasn't beyond what a normal user would do there would have been lots of reviews saying "I played it loud and it died" (and, if I remember correctly, he literally said he had to play around with it to get it to stop going into protection mode).

 

[TheBatsEar]

A Yamaha R-N803D:

 

[TheBatsEar]

Here are some better-quality images of the A-S801!

Linked to the index in the second post, thanks

 

[Deleted member 48726]

A Yamaha R-N803D:
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Is this a measuring mic?

 

[ZolaIII]

Is this a measuring mic?

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Yes and a rather bad one (all such which come with AVR's are bad) but they included correction for it in unit. Up it's a WiFi antena that is very bad quality and relatively weak (4.5~5 dB), I had a lot of problems with it (loosing the proper contact and having to twist it a bit). Remote is complicated with not good layout, looks cheap all do plastic ain't bad. The buttons pick dirt rather fast and become yellowish but regain color after good cleaning. All in all it's durable despite the looks, thank goodness app (Musicast) is good so you rarely ever use the remote.

 

[croseiv]

A Yamaha R-N803D:
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Always impressed with Yamaha's layout, internally.

 

[jirkas]

Yamaha R-N600A

 

[restorer-john]

And that's how you build a piece of HiFi equipment...

 

[DMill]

I have to say the new RN-1000 looks like an exceptional value. It’s what everyone has been asking for. 2.1. Room correction, HDMI, plenty of power. $1800 US, wow. I was shocked they didn’t add another $700-$800 to the price. Good for Yamaha.

 

[jirkas]

This is a thread about how the devices look inside, not what you dream of or want to buy.

 

[DMill]

This is a thread about how the devices look inside, not what you dream of or want to buy.

Well then let me add to my previous post. Has anyone had a chance to peek inside one firsthand? I thought that implied, and certainly would never want to be off topic.

 

[NewbieAudiophileExpert]

I've heard that for the price, the A-S301/501/701 offers great value for money and that it's a real surprise that Yamaha were able to build it and put them on the store shelves.

Can anybody confirm?

 

[Doodski]

I've heard that for the price, the A-S301/501/701 offers great value for money and that it's a real surprise that Yamaha were able to build it and put them on the store shelves.

Can anybody confirm?

Yamaha has been making the TOP ART series for decades. I don't see how one can compete with Yamaha.

 

[NewbieAudiophileExpert]

Yamaha has been making the TOP ART series for decades. I don't see how one can compete with Yamaha.

yeah I'd paid AUD $500ish for a brand new A-S501 when it was on sale, and I feel it sounds a lot more expensive than what it is running my wharfedale Diamond 225s

 

[dualazmak]

I've heard that for the price, the A-S301/501/701 offers great value for money and that it's a real surprise that Yamaha were able to build it and put them on the store shelves.

Can anybody confirm?

I fully agree with you.

I have been much satisfying and relying on YAMAHA A-S3000 (ref. here on this thread) and A-S301 (ref. here on this thread) together with ACCUPHASE E-460 and SONY TA-A1ES in my DSP-based multichannel multi-SP-driver multi-amplifier audio project (ref. here for the latest system setup).

 

[restorer-john]

Has anybody heard of Yamaha A-S series failures? My A-S801 has a strong left-leaning channel imbalance, thin mids and bass, and the servo protection system kicks in far before it should. I can't think of what would've caused it to fail like this, it's been sitting undisturbed for months.

Start a separate thread on the issue and ask for help.

 

[3125b]

I'm sure the cheapest Yamaha will measure considerably worse than Chinese Class D amps, as they can concentrate their budget on amplification alone, not to mention the cheaper manufacturing cost, but the functionality is richer on the Yamaha side.

We bought R-S201 and just a few days ago R-S202D for our workshops.
The 201 is pretty bare-bones but it is an affordable option for an amp with multiple inputs, pre-out, headphone out and basic tone controls (although not available currently?).
The 202D is a better value imo, for a couple bucks more you get DAB+ (although a little bit more than that seven segments display to operate it would be helpful), Bluetooth and more power. It's a solid allrounder, in our case powering a vintage pair of Arcus TS 15.

Signal quality is not bothersome, certainly not in the environment we use them in. I could measure one when I have time, but I'm pretty sure decent noise and mediocre distortion performance for maybe 70-ish SINAD at 5W is what one can expect. Looking at any of these traditional amps, outstanding signal quality is not one of their design goals.
Most better chipamps outperform them there, my SMSL for example is a fair bit quieter than my Denon, but the latter is still far from problematic with normal speakers.