Yamaha A-S701 Stereo Amplifier Review

[LoFiAudiophile]

Not *directly* underneath, as in one sat directly on top of the other?

I appreciate the (rather nice) SL1800 has a substantial metal suspended under-tray and solid top casting, but the pickup really will appreciate some distance from the amp if possible (blasted equipment 'vertical shelving' racks with the turntable perched on the top - not always the best way to use gear - and it took me many years to fully discover this too )

What’s a good reason apart from aesthetics? My 501 served as platform for my Vinyl player for a while and I noticed nothing as expected. The 501 doesn’t exactly vibrate and hence for all intents and purposes is just a warm brick.

 

[Mschn]

Hmm, right, you can't do that with a class-D, chip-amp
/Martin

 

[WDeranged]

What’s a good reason apart from aesthetics? My 501 served as platform for my Vinyl player for a while and I noticed nothing as expected. The 501 doesn’t exactly vibrate and hence for all intents and purposes is just a warm brick.

My VM95 picks up transformer hum from my A-S301 so that's definitely a factor. It's below the inherent noise floor of vinyl so it isn't a big issue.

 

[DSJR]

What’s a good reason apart from aesthetics? My 501 served as platform for my Vinyl player for a while and I noticed nothing as expected. The 501 doesn’t exactly vibrate and hence for all intents and purposes is just a warm brick.

Hum fields from the transformer picked up by the pickup cartridge. Also, turntables should be properly sited for subjective reasons, but I'm not going there in this thread

 

[LoFiAudiophile]

Hum fields from the transformer picked up by the pickup cartridge. Also, turntables should be properly sited for subjective reasons, but I'm not going there in this thread

Pickup is across from the transformer with a metal sheet (the case of 501 in between).

For sure I can’t hear anything except the usual noise floor even if unnaturally bring the pickup right above the transformer of the 501. Can you?

Sorry but the 4in or so between them any induced current is going to be in nano/pico amps region. Vinyl is an extremely robust medium - it’s eyesore but audibly fine

 

[SigmaR1]

Basically yes. The R-S700 and A-S701 are essentially the same power stage. The 501 has the same boards, but one set of outputs instead of two and a less capable transformer. The 300/301 takes smaller filter caps and a less capable transformer. Yamaha is the master of this type of design- they've been doing it for decades.

The economies of scale make for incredible value across the entire range.

Bear in mind, the R-S700 is an older model with support for an "ipod" external dock and standard RCA inputs. If you're using an external D/A converter of course, that's a moot point.

I've been using a R S700 for two years and it's a great, transparent and powerfull receiver. I was wondering wether R S700 and A S700 share the same kind of "putrid " AVR tone and volume controls as those implemented in the A S701 and further series?

I would greatly appreciate if one could explain in what way these AVR control chips degrade the audio signals. Thanks a lot!

By the way, nice to read these objective reviews on HiFi gear from very competent people!

 

[Zlo]

In fact, the AS-701 is a more recent version of a lineage of integrated amplifiers which began with the AX-590 :

Elektrotanya for electronics experts

Electronics forum for electronics experts to repair defective appliance.

elektrotanya.com

The lineage continues with the AX-592, AX-595, AX-596 and AX-597, all predecessors of the AS-700 and AS-701.

I had the opportunity to compare AS-701 and AX-592, I liked 592 more.

 

[RoA]

For sure, a good amp all around. For me, the only thing missing is good old peak power or VU meters!

@trl did a nice teardown of this model in 2019;

YAMAHA A-S701 - tear-down, thoughts about the internals & few measurements

I bought this amplifier with built-in DAC over 1 year ago from Amazon and had no issue using it several hours per day. My kid is using it daily on TV and XBOX over the SPDIF input, I'm using it couple of times per week as well and it works as expected, as in day one. It's barely warm during...

www.audiosciencereview.com

... so I'll just post these images here and members can look at the other thread for the balance of images;

View attachment 375885

View attachment 375886

Good to see this tested on the AP, thanks Amir and to the member that loaned this unit. These amps are fairly well priced for what one gets.


JSmith

Apart from the digi board this looks like something from the 70's ... which I suppose, it is ... . Looks better from the outside! Signal paths are not exactly short but all discreete other than said digi board means easily repaired in 30 years. Probably a very sensible buy.

 

[RoA]

It won't sound any different ... you'll get different features and one much bigger box (which is either a good thing or not, that's up to you) ... if your speakers are very tricky to drive then you might be able to play louder with less distortion but that's probably not a real world issue.

In general, be happy with what you have - relax and enjoy the music

When the Fosi goes wrong, get the Yamaha

 

[axiomofchoice]

I just ran into this thread. I own the as801, and was wondering if an upgrade would be worth it...like, say, the as1200. Based on all this, it would seem not.
But I'm curious, if one were to compare the as701/801 with the likes of the as1200, under what possible circumstances would you hear a difference in quality?
Would some super refining or hard-to-drive speakers reveal a difference.
Also, I bought a pair of kef q11 meta speakers, which are 89db sensitivity with impedance of 4ohm (3.2ohm min).
I'm hoping my little as801 is "good enough"...thoughts?
Thanks!

 

[Spoofer]

I have never heard the 1200 model, but I own the 801 amp and it will drive any speaker..

 

[dualazmak]

I use YAMAHA A-S3000 (together with ACCUPHASE-460, SONY TA-A1ES and YAMAHA A-S301) in my multi-amplifier system.

In YAMAHA's HiFi stereo amplifier lineup, on and above 2000 models (i.e. currently A-S2200, A-3200, M-5000) have XLR balanced input, and this is one of the main reasons I selected A-S3000 at the time of my purchase (ref. also here).

 

[DMill]

I just ran into this thread. I own the as801, and was wondering if an upgrade would be worth it...like, say, the as1200. Based on all this, it would seem not.
But I'm curious, if one were to compare the as701/801 with the likes of the as1200, under what possible circumstances would you hear a difference in quality?
Would some super refining or hard-to-drive speakers reveal a difference.
Also, I bought a pair of kef q11 meta speakers, which are 89db sensitivity with impedance of 4ohm (3.2ohm min).
I'm hoping my little as801 is "good enough"...thoughts?
Thanks!

The amp you have is good. If you want something prettier and cooler, buy it. It won’t sound better. It will have better resale value, possibly last longer??? And just be a fun to own. Nothing wrong with having nice things. Just don’t expect any real difference in sound.

 

[axiomofchoice]

@DMill and others. Thanks for the information. Boy, based on what I’m learning here, it seems like when it comes to sound quality and amps, there is a ton of snake oil out there, in terms of reviews that talk about the warmth and other qualities of certain amps. Adding to the confusion and what creates these snake oil opportunities is the misleading specs provided by manufacturers. I mean, I once owned a Yamaha rs202, which on paper looks very similar to the as801, but I could definitely hear a big difference in my setup. So cheers to ASR for providing these reviews and educating the public (audioholics is also a good resource, and they also had a helpful review of the 801).

 

[Bernard23]

The amp you have is good. If you want something prettier and cooler, buy it. It won’t sound better. It will have better resale value, possibly last longer??? And just be a fun to own. Nothing wrong with having nice things. Just don’t expect any real difference in sound.

The yamaha a-s1xxx and 2xxx range measure better than the A-Sxxx range, so you might hear an improvement.

 

[RoA]

View attachment 398844

I had the opportunity to compare AS-701 and AX-592, I liked 592 more.

There's a good chance the AX-592 has passed it's best day. Capacitors will likely not be optimal anymore, bias drifted etc etc. I also remember folks saying the predecessor, AX570, was better and so it goes on and on.

 

[gasolin75]

Same amp in the Yamaha R-N800A ? (same specs with only a very little difference in distortion)

 

[Bernard23]

Same amp in the Yamaha R-N800A ? (same specs with only a very little difference in distortion)

Yes.

 

[gasolin75]

Nice, i bought a Yamaha A-S800A