Raynald
Addicted Member
I remember selling these when they came out. The NAD 3020 and subsequent 3120, 3020a, 3020e, et al had attracted a tremendous amount of attention in the press and sold in pretty big quantities worldwide. Other companies responded, most notably Rotel with their UK designed RA-820/840 and the later B then BX versions.
I guess Yamaha wanted their piece of that action so they released an entry level amp that was a bit of a departure for them in the age of the A/V amp. It had tone controls and balance, but not much else. Four inputs and a headphone socket were pretty much the only other "features". There some interesting touches. Only one set of speaker terminals and these were nice beefy banana plug type, quite a bit more heavy duty than found on other inexpensive Yamaha pieces. The Phono and CD inputs were gold plated. The real surprises were on the inside. A couple of nice Nichicon caps (6800 uf?) in the power supply. Some other real top drawer touches: Rubycon Black Gates caps in the phono section and an Alps (not sealed) volume pot. The outputs were of course discreet, 4 nice SK devices. No heavyweight, the all up weight was only about 10 lbs. Price was quite aggressive as I recall, something under $300 Canadian.
This amp was not a great success for us. Folks coming in who really cared about sound could be easily convinced to spend more to get into a Cyrus One which was in a whole different league. Those wanting to spend the minimum for a good sounding amp felt much more secure going with the NAD that was on so many best buy lists. And finally, the Yamaha buyer tended to be looking for more features than were offered here. Maybe it did well elsewhere, who knows?
I always thought it was a funny, almost offbeat piece and have been keeping my eyes out for one. I finally came across one the other day, complete with original box. Needed a good clean up but is in good shape. I have really only listened to it enough to make sure it works at this point, and that it does. No problems to report.
I have included some pictures and here is a link to the manual:
http://www2.yamaha.co.jp/manual/pdf/av/english/IntA/AX-300.pdf
Anybody else have any memories of this obscure Yamaha attempt at entry level purist audiophile amplification?
I guess Yamaha wanted their piece of that action so they released an entry level amp that was a bit of a departure for them in the age of the A/V amp. It had tone controls and balance, but not much else. Four inputs and a headphone socket were pretty much the only other "features". There some interesting touches. Only one set of speaker terminals and these were nice beefy banana plug type, quite a bit more heavy duty than found on other inexpensive Yamaha pieces. The Phono and CD inputs were gold plated. The real surprises were on the inside. A couple of nice Nichicon caps (6800 uf?) in the power supply. Some other real top drawer touches: Rubycon Black Gates caps in the phono section and an Alps (not sealed) volume pot. The outputs were of course discreet, 4 nice SK devices. No heavyweight, the all up weight was only about 10 lbs. Price was quite aggressive as I recall, something under $300 Canadian.
This amp was not a great success for us. Folks coming in who really cared about sound could be easily convinced to spend more to get into a Cyrus One which was in a whole different league. Those wanting to spend the minimum for a good sounding amp felt much more secure going with the NAD that was on so many best buy lists. And finally, the Yamaha buyer tended to be looking for more features than were offered here. Maybe it did well elsewhere, who knows?
I always thought it was a funny, almost offbeat piece and have been keeping my eyes out for one. I finally came across one the other day, complete with original box. Needed a good clean up but is in good shape. I have really only listened to it enough to make sure it works at this point, and that it does. No problems to report.
I have included some pictures and here is a link to the manual:
http://www2.yamaha.co.jp/manual/pdf/av/english/IntA/AX-300.pdf
Anybody else have any memories of this obscure Yamaha attempt at entry level purist audiophile amplification?
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