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Now that's the build quality I'm talking about

^^^^^
Praise the Audio Gods!
If this review sticks, we can possibly buy this superbly built outperforming amp at 50+% off retail:).
Count me in if I'm in the market, risk on!
 
I have a CA610II and CT610II and can not say a whole lot in a positive vein as to their build quality, especially the tuner but will congratulate them on the quality of their marketing department.

Vintagear said:
Preface: This post is about build quality and real measurable specifications which are objective and not about sound quality which is subjective.

"Yamaha still builds ‘em like they used to"

"Remember those big ol' amplifiers with the level meters on the front? They were, and still are, the envy of many audiophiles, conjuring the glory days of overbuilt audio gear when sound quality trumped features and connectivity. But you don't have to scour specialty shops for the remaining few vintage amps out there. Yamaha has created a modern version, with all the benefits of those classic amps — even the level meters — alongside the latest audio technology. The A-S3000 integrated amplifier is a seriously sophisticated machine with an important mission: to get the best performance from your speakers while keeping every detail of your music intact."

That's quote is from the Crutchfield online catalog describing the beautiful Yamaha A-S3000. This beautiful amp was brought to my attention by an astute AK member as a modern alternative to the build quality and real power of a Sansui AU-20000. Although the power is lower and the distortion is higher on on the Yamaha I'll take it.

It seems like you really have to pay for that build quality of yesterday. The inflation adjusted price of the Sansui was $2,500 "street price" and $3,993 retail vs. the Yamaha at $6,999.99 "street price" and $7,999.95 retail. Notice how Yamaha highlights the innards of this bad boy (nice video too).

http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/hifi-components/amps/a-s3000_u/?mode=model

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-161292-yamaha-a-s3000-integrated-amp.aspx

I can't imagine what something with the performance and build quality of a 61 lb. Sansui AU-X1 would cost today.

http://audio-database.com/SANSUI/amp/au-x1-e.html
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So much for build quality. What is it with you guys and Asian products anyway? N. American made has always been better(looking too). Okay, maybe not McIntosh(looks, yes. Sq, no). Never liked that one. But the rest blows the Asian market out of the water. Always has. Especially if you include the Brits(Aussies as well...OH OH).
 
Vintagear said:
That's right, Yamaha is even highlighting that in the A-S3000 literature:

"Since the controls—the volume dial, switches and so on—are the parts of the amplifier which users actually touch and feel directly, their surface texture and design were created with the strictest attention to detail. Individual controls such as the volume or input switching dials, emanate a richly elegant feel
.
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Huge disconnect with me on what build quality of an amplifier is. I don't caress and fondle knobs and switches. I sit down in my chair, push plastic buttons on a remote, and listen. If it sounds great, is trouble free, and is durable it has great build quality. I think of knobs and meters as style, not quality.
 
8000 smackers? You could buy a huge pile of truly interesting vintage gear for that price, get it repaired/renovated/whatever, and still have enough left over for the party of the century.
 
I think build quality matters but for 7 grand I'd find a vintage Yammie,get it recapped and still have money left over for new speakers,since they make the biggest difference in sound quality.This Yamaha might sound better than some vintage units but the question for me is always how much better.Is my jaw gonna drop when I hear it or is it something that I barely notice.

As for looks everyone wants a piece of gear that looks good.You don't see a gorgeous girl at a party and say"Gee I bet she has a nice personality" although personality is what wins out in the long run.
 
For 8 large I could buy some darn nice gear that doesn't need any refurbishing, and the huge pile days are past...although I still have plenty. Just passing by more and more.
 
Yeah. When we start talking about sums of money in the thousands I'm not thinking refurb and resto wild card gear. I'm thinking plug and play. I'm not spending over a thousand dollars on something that has to go right to a tech. That's madness.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
just dave said:
I think build quality matters but for 7 grand I'd find a vintage Yammie,get it recapped and still have money left over for new speakers,since they make the biggest difference in sound quality.This Yamaha might sound better than some vintage units but the question for me is always how much better.Is my jaw gonna drop when I hear it or is it something that I barely notice.

As for looks everyone wants a piece of gear that looks good.You don't see a gorgeous girl at a party and say"Gee I bet she has a nice personality" although personality is what wins out in the long run.
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Go listen to both, at length, and then you will know.
 
All I can say is that it's a good job folks in the 70's weren't afraid to pay big money for gear. Otherwise, we wouldn't have all those monster receivers around that so many on AK seem to love.
 
1970s Receivers :smoke:

I like most of them in a romanticizing way having been around back then and listening to them. As far as SQ, present day, I rather listen to some of the lower wattage units
 
Here are a simple piggies thoughts:

From what I can see it does look to be nicely built, that certainly has to be acknowledged. The insides are just beautiful! It is also nice to see a mainstream company be willing to produce upscale gear, and not concentrate on the gear that moves in the big box stores, even though that is probably what makes them money.

How does it sound? I don't think anyone participating on this thread knows....I know I don't. Would I like to hear one? Sure, you bet! Would I buy one on faith? Nope. That is too much money to spend without knowing for dang sure you want it. So far all we got on this thread is speculation. Speculation of what it sounds like, what vintage gear from the same company would do in comparison, how the spec sheets stack up, and what is relative value for 7 or 8 large. But no one knows anything definitively.

I am glad to see it built. I am not a fan of meters, so I wouldn't mind seeing them disapear...but they surely aren't a deal breaker. I mean I wouldn't pass by an Onkyo M 510 Grand Integra because it has meters. I hope Yamaha can see enough of them to keep it viable, and perhaps expand their offerings. I wouldn't bet money on it, but would it not be cool?

Regards
Mister Pig
 
No one wants to define build quality? How can we talk sensibly about something we haven't defined?

Several years ago a discussion attempting to define accuracy in loudspeakers gave us many pages of stimulating discussion, I don't see this thread doing much more than going in circles.
 
Tom Brennan said:
No one wants to define build quality? How can we talk sensibly about something we haven't defined?

Several years ago a discussion attempting to define accuracy in loudspeakers gave us many pages of stimulating discussion, I don't see this thread doing much more than going in circles.
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No, what you're proposing is precisely what will have us going around in circles. All one has to do is, like Mr. Pig just did. is say whether they think the units in the OP are well built or not. If they choose they can say why they feel that way.

Let's not over think build quality. Most of us know it when we see it, whether its an amp or a can opener.
 
I know I can't afford it so there's no need for me to speculate. But I'm with Whoaru99 in that for that sticker price I wouldn't want to refurb anything.
 
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Vintagear said:
Let's not over think build quality. Most of us know it when we see it, whether its an amp or a can opener.
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That's an evasion. And you want to talk about something but don't want to over think it? That tells me can't define it but are content to rely on your emotions: "everybody knows" is not persuasive.

I know I can't define it; I don't know enough about electronics to do so. It seems to me that a knowledge of both old and new technology and techniques would be needed to do so. Several miles over my head. For all I know the things that indicated quality in 1970 don't indicate quality now. I don't know. I'd like to see people who do know explain their notions.
 
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