I'm looking for my first amp and want to make sure I am making the right purchase. Currently I am undecided between the Yamaha A-S501 and the Arcam SA10, which are similarly priced right now. The media I mainly care about are (Planar 1) and streaming (doesn't have to be Bluetooth). The amp will be powering Revel M16s, which require minimum 50 W. Both amps provide enough power but the Arcam's wattage is quite low and perhaps not enough for speakers I may get in the future, so I'm wondering if there is some other quality of the Arcam that makes it worth getting over the Yamaha.
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Question about Arcam SA10
- Thread starter VFXTwin
- Start date
It will? What about when the user uses PEQ, adds some bass and then turns up the volume? 50 W/ch gets eaten up pretty fast under those conditions.
The Yamaha is from a long line of ToP ArT (Total Purity Audio Reproduction Technology.) amplifiers that are very well designed and are great value for the money. Get the Yamaha with the extra power.
That's where your volume requirement comes in. I had M16s in my home theater area for a good while running off an AVR that didn't put out much more than the SA10 when running 5.2 and I never had any power concerns.
Besides, even going up to 100 watts only gets you another 3 dB of headroom. Perhaps that makes the difference for you but seems unlikely.
So you are saying 50W/ch compared to 85 W/ch is preferable?
You being serious?
Yes, I am. The Arcam and Yamaha are closely priced at this time due to some discounted price on the Arcam. Why buy a 50 W/ch when the 85 W/ch is the same price?
Hi again. I am familiar with Arcam as I was a warranty service technician for the product. It is overpriced product that does not offer anything that justifies the price they usually ask for their gear. It does not sound different, has fewer features and less power output. There is no reason to buy the Arcam when they are the same price or when the Arcam is higher priced. The aura of British amps is just an aura and nothing more that that. Go for the 85 W/ch Yamaha.
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No, nowhere did I say nor imply at all the 50 watts is better than 85. What I said was that the additional wattage doesn't provide that much more headroom, so without knowing your volume levels the general conclusion seems to be that the 35 watts may be inconsequential.
You apparently push a narrative that makes little sense other than showing that having a dB versus power output calculator to play with is interesting. The extra wattage at this 50 W/ch to 85 W/ch level will make a difference, provide more headroom for transients and allow for the effective use of parametric equalization, variable loudness and bass control. Not everything at this level is explained by a measly tiny little 3db and so thus ignore the extra wattage and so purchase the smaller amp because it is the same price or even more. There are major benefits to having the extra power at this level. I have many times compared Yamaha ToP ArT amps to regular amps and tested them in comparison via a switchbox with 35 W/ch, 40 W/ch, 50 W/ch, 60 W/ch, 80 W/ch and onward up till about 120 W/ch and know what the reality is when operating the amps and how they respond to the various little steps up in power. One can and does sense the increased power output of a 50 W/ch compared to a 85 W/ch amp. It is real, tangible, noticeable and the calculator can fly to the moon in this example because it does not explain the headroom advantage or the ability to PEQ, to apply variable loudness and to use the bass control due to having the larger power output amplifier. Please do the OP a favor and please leave the dB versus power output calculator out of this one because it is not making things better and in fact is making things worse for the OP.
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Wow.
@VFXTwin, feel free to chime in with your volume levels and seating distance as that's the primary key when wondering about wattage. However, since the 2 amps appear to be the same price there seems no clear reason here to not go for the Yamaha as long as it meets your other usage needs as well.
@VFXTwin, feel free to chime in with your volume levels and seating distance as that's the primary key when wondering about wattage. However, since the 2 amps appear to be the same price there seems no clear reason here to not go for the Yamaha as long as it meets your other usage needs as well.
- Thread Starter
- #13
I will be listening from 6 feet or so, but I want this system to last for if I move into a larger space in the next few years. Not sure about volume level, but the Yamaha sounds more future proof so I will probably go with that one. By the way, would it be worth it to save and buy a much older refurbished Yamaha (A-500) in the $100-200 range? This is another option I'm considering but not sure how the tradeoff of cost v. quality would be between the A-S501 and the A-500.
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When it comes to Yamaha, @restorer-john knows a good deal about them and has a fairly high opinion of them. Maybe he will chime in here and help you with information, especially on the point of refurbished units.
Jim
Jim
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That's understandable. All other things equal, never hurts to have more power than you 'need'.
Regarding new vs refurb, if you spend that little and it craps out you aren't losing much. Not a huge gamble, so it depends on your risk tolerance. In my experience amplifiers are usually pretty robust over time, but I have no firsthand knowledge of the models you're looking at. Sounds like others here may have valuable insight.
The A500 was a current model from 1982 to 1984 (~40 to 42 years old.). It is getting a bit long in the tooth and might require service both in the switches, pots and controls but also on the circuit board(s) that may have bad solder at this age and that may cost you more money. If you can afford it buy the new Yamaha A-S501 and if you are stretched then buy the A-500. The A-500 does not give you the ToP ArT circuit design. Here are images of the A-500 and the A-S501 so you can see the difference in construction. The A-S501 is a much newer design.
A-500.>>>
A-S501. >>>
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vuittion
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The British make some of the finest amps in the world. Not sure where the "aura" bit comes into play.
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
There's no compelling reason to go with an old Yamaha A-500. Yamaha had a major shift to better designed amplifiers in 1990 with their ToP-ART design, which improved just about every aspect of their offerings. That philosophy has served them and their customers well over the last 34 years with many examples still relevant today.
I find it genuinely hard to find major faults with modern Yamaha offerings in the 2 channel ranges. They are by no means the best at anything these days, but they do present incredible value due to their enormous economies in scale manufacturing. Back that with worldwide service and spare parts and they are still one of my favourite brands. Although, they spent about 20 years in the depths of hades when "surround" was king, they were one of the first majors to take 2 channel seriously again, so they have redeemed themselves.
The AS-301/501/701/801 range are hard to beat if you want a real integrated amplifier with actual useful functions and future expansion prospects.
I find it genuinely hard to find major faults with modern Yamaha offerings in the 2 channel ranges. They are by no means the best at anything these days, but they do present incredible value due to their enormous economies in scale manufacturing. Back that with worldwide service and spare parts and they are still one of my favourite brands. Although, they spent about 20 years in the depths of hades when "surround" was king, they were one of the first majors to take 2 channel seriously again, so they have redeemed themselves.
The AS-301/501/701/801 range are hard to beat if you want a real integrated amplifier with actual useful functions and future expansion prospects.
Galliardist
Major Contributor
For comparison, here are the internals of the Arcam SA-10, presented without comment on my part.
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