Thoughts about the Yamaha R-S202

djnagle

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I am looking for a basic receiver to run these speakers for TV and background music. How is the sound and build quality of the Yamaha R-S202

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I had the A-S201 integrated for a while. So, a generation older and a cousin to the R-S202. My comments relate strictly to the A-S201, so take them with a grain of "don't know if it applies".

For the price the amp did what I wanted. I used it as an amp for a PC sound system, first with a pair of JBL Control-1 speakers and later with some Canton Quinto 510's.

Plus: It had the typical Yamaha house sound, which I love. It delivered clean concise sound the entire time that I used it, but it must be said that it never was loaded past low to moderate sound levels with the above mentioned speakers. Source was an Asus Xonar Escence STX PC sound card.

Minus:
1) The output specs were extremely bloated and not to be taken at face value. I considered it to be a 40-50w amp. I knew that before buying so was not disappointed or upset.
2) The speaker on/off switches were not mechanical switches but rather impulse senders. Means that I had to turn on the amp before I could turn on/off speaker A/B. Don't like that.
3) The volume knob was an impulse sender rather than a potentiometer. Means that I had to roll through each and every 1/2-db (or whatever it is) step to adjust the volume. There is no "swing it up (or down) quickly", only "slowly sweep through all of the steps". The plus side of that is that one can be very precise with sound adjustments.

Basic thoughts: The amp did it's job reasonably well inside it's price range. I didn't expect world class performance for €160 and got an amp that performed well within that price range and my modest demands.

Cheers,
James
 
I tried one a while back. I thought it was OK for what it was - you can get them for $80-$100 now. The Bluetooth is nice. It has the basic Yamaha sound. The downside is, it's pretty gutless. You'll have to crank it pretty high to get anything much more than background level sound and it's not going to sound all that "clean" in comparison to what you could get if you spent a few dollars more and went further up the line.

The stats tell the story, really. RS202 rated at 100x2, 40 hz to 20k khz at .2% THD. Go the next model up, the R-S300, and it's rated at 50x2. But wait a minute, how come the higher-end model costs twice as much for half the power? It's 20 hz to 20k khz at .04% THD and weighs a lot more (weight being a significant factor in how much power a receiver gives you, since most of that weight is in the transformer). There's no voodoo magic going on here, the cheaper model doesn't have "more power" - they simply played fast and loose with the quoted specs on the RS202 to give it some consumer appeal.

It's like my little boy thinking he has more money than me when he's got two nickels and I've got a quarter - but I've got two, daddy! You only have one! Same thing here. The 300 is much, much, much better.

Having said all that, if I were you, if you really want a Yamaha, I'd go on the auction site or Craigslist and find the cleanest RX-prefixed 2-channel receiver at your price limit. A lot of that stuff sells for peanuts and it's just as good as the new ones and isn't that old - I saw an RX-397 go for less than $50 not too long ago and that's a far better receiver than the RS202 and only 7-8 years old.
 
Thanks guys. It seems like a toss up between the 202 and a sub or the 300 and no sub. My space is limited so I'll go with the 300.
 
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The 202 does not have a sub output, so the 300 is better for that. You can get the 300 and pick up a sub later.
 
I'm visiting mom in Brandon (Jackson area), MS this week. Arrived to find her Pioneer SA-500 dead in one channel, The old Yamaha tuner has a problem, too. So I ordered an R-S202 as replacement. It arrived two days before promised vis Amazon Prime, and we connected it last night. Hooked it up to the Pioneer HPM 60 speakers I gave her with the amp, tuner, cassette deck and Technics TT. All sources are down, but mom no longer uses records or tape - it's all TV sound or FM for her.

I was surprised that this inexpensive model sounds better than I expected, and the BT function synched easily to her smart TV, which was a great plus, since otherwise cables for television audio would have had to be run in her low attic - and that was never going to happen.

FM reception is clean for locals.

Hard to beat in a new unit at this price ($130 the day I ordered).

So... the more exciting part of all this - as near to excitement as this gets - is that I will be returning home with the old stuff that needs attention, and it all looks to be in good cosmetic condition. I think very good, though I haven't really looked much - Christine did the tear-down and loading.

However, something else came up which does excite me. I gave my sister the very first pair of real speakers I ever bought back in 1978, and which I had purchased back in '72. ADC speakers - forgot model number, but 202 sounds right. I have only walked past them, but in my mind I expected the veneer to be chipped and peeling and showing other signs of wear. But as I walked past, I didn't see even a scratch, grilles looked very good, no crushed corners... so I'll be looking them over more carefully.

Anyway, I'd been asking about the speakers now and then over the years, so she knew I'd like to have them back. She jumped at the opportunity to trade them for a new-ish smaller pair of speakers, thus these are now mine. I have several pair of smaller speakers to choose from as trade-ins. She trusts me to send something she will enjoy. So it costs me the speakers and shipping to get the ADC - better known for phono carts, of course. An okay deal, but for me an absolute no-brainer, since I originally bought them nigh-on fifty years ago.

Haven't had a restoration in forever, and I remember liking the way these speakers sound when I was eighteen, so I will be very interested to hear them again, all spiffed up. Which must include a recone, and there is no way I'd ever consider using the old crossover caps, either. Hopefully I can get my camera working back in OK and post pics in a resto thread. Looks like it may be an easy project.

I'm listening to the new Yamaha now and am enjoying sharing music with mom. Sounds great to her, she keeps saying with no prompts.

SUBSEQUENT EDIT:

Just looked at the speakers again. They are ADC 303AX. A few fine scratches, and a few very small (pin-head size or smaller) edge nicks. Will clean up nice. The original velcroed grille covers are virtually perfect, with emblems in place. My sis and bro-in-law did a nice job of keeping them safe all these decades.

Although I wrote above that they need reconed, I meant re-foamed, and they have no foam. Some sort of treated surround that appears entirely intact. Steve had told me years ago about a rattle, and from his poor description of the anomaly, I guessed it needed foam. Won't hear them until next week; we'll see.
 
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I'm visiting mom in Brandon (Jackson area), MS this week. Arrived to find her Pioneer SA-500 dead in one channel, The old Yamaha tuner has a problem, too. So I ordered an R-S202 as replacement. It arrived two days before promised vis Amazon Prime, and we connected it last night. Hooked it up to the Pioneer HPM 60 speakers I gave her with the amp, tuner, cassette deck and Technics TT. All sources are down, but mom no longer uses records or tape - it's all TV sound or FM for her.

I was surprised that this inexpensive model sounds better than I expected, and the BT function synched easily to her smart TV, which was a great plus, since otherwise cables for television audio would have had to be run in her low attic - and that was never going to happen.

FM reception is clean for locals.

Hard to beat in a new unit at this price ($130 the day I ordered).

So... the more exciting part of all this - as near to excitement as this gets - is that I will be returning home with the old stuff that needs attention, and it all looks to be in good cosmetic condition. I think very good, though I haven't really looked much - Christine did the tear-down and loading.

However, something else came up which does excite me. I gave my sister the very first pair of real speakers I ever bought back in 1978, and which I had purchased back in '72. ADC speakers - forgot model number, but 202 sounds right. I have only walked past them, but in my mind I expected the veneer to be chipped and peeling and showing other signs of wear. But as I walked past, I didn't see even a scratch, grilles looked very good, no crushed corners... so I'll be looking them over more carefully.

Anyway, I'd been asking about the speakers now and then over the years, so she knew I'd like to have them back. She jumped at the opportunity to trade them for a new-ish smaller pair of speakers, thus these are now mine. I have several pair of smaller speakers to choose from as trade-ins. She trusts me to send something she will enjoy. So it costs me the speakers and shipping to get the ADC - better known for phono carts, of course. An okay deal, but for me an absolute no-brainer, since I originally bought them nigh-on fifty years ago.

Haven't had a restoration in forever, and I remember liking the way these speakers sound when I was eighteen, so I will be very interested to hear them again, all spiffed up. Which must include a recone, and there is no way I'd ever consider using the old crossover caps, either. Hopefully I can get my camera working back in OK and post pics in a resto thread. Looks like it may be an easy project.

I'm listening to the new Yamaha now and am enjoying sharing music with mom. Sounds great to her, she keeps saying with no prompts.

SUBSEQUENT EDIT:

Just looked at the speakers again. They are ADC 303AX. A few fine scratches, and a few very small (pin-head size or smaller) edge nicks. Will clean up nice. The original velcroed grille covers are virtually perfect, with emblems in place. My sis and bro-in-law did a nice job of keeping them safe all these decades.

Although I wrote above that they need reconed, I meant re-foamed, and they have no foam. Some sort of treated surround that appears entirely intact. Steve had told me years ago about a rattle, and from his poor description of the anomaly, I guessed it needed foam. Won't hear them until next week; we'll see.
How about an update ? I just purchased cant wait to get them looks like fun to restore :)
 
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