Yamaha A-s301!
- Thread starter Tbomb25
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Tbomb25
Well-Known Member
So far im dumb founded by this lil Big Amp..its such a compelling package and absolute Robbery at its MSRP and a Crime scene at sale prices. I loved my Rega Io and it had some real good times and late nights with the Dynaudio Emit 10 & 20, Polk Reserve r500, RSL cg5, JBL Stage 170&180, Mission Lx4 mkII, Wharfedale Diamond 12.2 even the Rega Kyte and of course my Trusty Wharfedale Diamond 8.1 they all made compelling music with great memories. I Went out on limb a cheap limb non the less expecting to be disappointed, but boy was i suprised and extactic to find out my doubts were crushed and all for the good.
The 301 bettered the Rega IO in every Category....and it even went toe 2 toe with the lil music maker in PRAT. The sound is much bigger on the 301, black backgrounds are more dense Macro dynamics much more explosive...and infinity better in Micro dynamics. Another thing i like about the Yammie is the gain on the Volume you actually get to turn it up like the old school days and not like Todays budget amps where its at max level at 10 o'clock. Of course the 301 is full featured like most Japanese amps....now i think at the end of the year i might go for A-s1200 Yamaha has my attention! So far the 301 is my product of the year its a stellar performer and not just for the price....The Price Is The Bonus! The Rega IO has been moved on to another audiohead/music head to enjoy like i did with it....
The 301 bettered the Rega IO in every Category....and it even went toe 2 toe with the lil music maker in PRAT. The sound is much bigger on the 301, black backgrounds are more dense Macro dynamics much more explosive...and infinity better in Micro dynamics. Another thing i like about the Yammie is the gain on the Volume you actually get to turn it up like the old school days and not like Todays budget amps where its at max level at 10 o'clock. Of course the 301 is full featured like most Japanese amps....now i think at the end of the year i might go for A-s1200 Yamaha has my attention! So far the 301 is my product of the year its a stellar performer and not just for the price....The Price Is The Bonus! The Rega IO has been moved on to another audiohead/music head to enjoy like i did with it....
ng0k
Well-Known Member
Good choice! I'm using an A-S301 with Monitor Audio Bronze 100 speakers (sometimes Elac UB5s). It's a neutral amp so pairs well with most speakers. Sources are the Yamaha WXC-50 streamer where I stream Spotify at 320bits and/or use Bluetooth for Apple Music. Onkyo 7030 CD player in the stack too.
Tbomb25
Well-Known Member
Thats not a easy speaker to drive...so that speaks volumes my UB5s never came together for me on my Onkyo Amps and Receivers they sounded lifeless and souless...
Tbomb25
Well-Known Member
I intended for it to be a quick stop gap which it still will....but i like it and its mind boggling good for this type of money, i have to make sure it doesn't make me content...lol
ng0k
Well-Known Member
The UB5s are loud enough for me personally, but I would recommend a 701 or 801 to have the extra dynamic power if you play them louder. My MAs are very efficient so 60 watts is more then enough.
Gotta be British to have PRAT; Yammies don't qualify.
Tbomb25
Well-Known Member
The 301 does....and not many if any on this forum has had more British gear than me...it easily replaced and out played the Rega IO on every speaker in this house...
Tbomb25
Well-Known Member
It really is for its price....i dont know about the as500, but i definetly know the as501 sounds different from the as301...As-301 is mind boggling really? Had as AS-500 some time back, it was very nice but not mind boggling. It was a nice integrated with a good feature set I'll give it that for the price. Guessing AS-301 is similar, but we don't know the price you got it at
zeka
Active Member
On what way?
Tbomb25
Well-Known Member
The
The 301 is warmer and more rounded....with a slightly less forward in the top end....
I was being facetious; I'm not too fond of British stuff or their press and all their PRAT nonsense. I'm sure you've read the Audio Science Review of the IO and also Whathifi has to say.
If they could engineer and build decent gear (yes, like my Heybrook TT) that didn't require a myriad of upgrades to make it work properly I wouldn't be so harsh on them.
lightcapture
Super Member
I'm still loving and have no complaints about the sound of my Rega Mira3. It continues to satisfy. There may be better for the price but I haven't compared and see no reason to.
noahBH
Active Member
My A-S301 was delivered yesterday at 5:00 pm. I didn't stop listening until close to 11:00 pm. I really like this thing. I'm mostly a vintage guy, but I wanted to see what a "budget" amp would sound like compared to my restored vintage receivers. In my opinion, this amp sounds most similar to my restored Hitachi SR-604; lots of detail, fairly flat/neutral sound, excellent soundstage in terms of width and depth (I credit that to the speakers primarily though).
I have it paired with my Elipson Heritage XLS 15 speakers, which I find to be a great match for it. Could I have been just as happy with one of my vintage receivers at less than half the cost (but many hours of labour to restore)? Probably, but I don't regret this purchase at all.
I have it paired with my Elipson Heritage XLS 15 speakers, which I find to be a great match for it. Could I have been just as happy with one of my vintage receivers at less than half the cost (but many hours of labour to restore)? Probably, but I don't regret this purchase at all.
SoCal Sam
Lunatic Member
The A-S301 Top-Art amp section has been a feature of Yamaha's modern 100 wpc receivers for at least 20 years. Here is RX-777 stereo receiver from 2001 which has amp section recognizable in today's A-S301. Some will snicker at the budget price of these receivers and judge on price alone. Yamaha put some effort into the design. Note dual extruded heat sinks and dual amp sections after the transformer. RX-777 runs at room temperature which means that it will happily go loud all day long. At normal to background listening levels, it is clear and objectively accurate. (Very happy to disclose that I have two RX-777's which I got for peanuts.)
Imgur RX-777 photo from another AK thread.
Imgur RX-777 photo from another AK thread.
