YAMAHA A-S501BL Natural Sound Integrated Stereo Amplifier (Black)

I did a lot of research before purchasing this amp. This is my first purchase of an amp only. In the past I have always purchased "receivers". I have a separate surround sound system for my home theatre and for this setup I just wanted an amplifier for 2 channel stereo having returned to vinyl records again. With this setup I am using a high quality turntable, a high quality cd player, and another medium quality turntable with an entry level cartridge with elliptical stylus for my older records and quality tower speakers with a subwoofer. I do not care about a tuner anymore. At this point I am totally pleased with this amp. It is very powerful, in fact at 85 watts per channel it appears to have more punch than my older Sony 100 watt per channel receiver. The sound is crystal clear and drives my large speakers beautifully. The controls are precise and work perfectly. The panel on the back is nicely arranged with gold contacts for the phono and cd inputs. I believe for a non audiophile person you will be thrilled with this amp. Even an audiophile person would have to admit for the money it is awesome. Maybe they hear things we don't but I think it would take an expert to do it. If any flaw is audible my ears will know it. If I am not hearing something I should, well that is for the audiophile. So all-in-all I have to say this is a pretty nice amp as I am sure other quality brands of this classification are. There is only one thing I think could be improved upon and that is the LED indicators. They could be brighter because they are hard to see from a distance.

Me tomé mi tiempo para probar este amplificador. Llevo más de 2 meses con él, y puedo decir que es una excelente opción para un sistema HI-RES, suena excelente, y la nitidez del sonido es maravillosa. Lo uso con unas bocinas de torre Polk XT70 y las "llena" completamente. Para una habitación de 4x8 metros sinceramente nunca paso más de la mitad del volumen que da el amplificador, por lo que después de algunas horas de uso apenas y se calienta, usandolo a 8 ohms, aún así opte por comprarle un extractor de aire para disipar el calor. Me encanta el hecho de que se pueda conectar un segundo par de bocinas, y hacer sonar las 4 bocinas al mismo tiempo, o elegir a qué canal mandar el audio. Cómo tip, para sacarle el mayor provecho a este amplificador es muy importante que todo el sistema sea de alta fidelidad: audio lossless, DAC externo, cableado y bocinas. También recomiendo comprar un regulador de voltaje de alta capacidad, ya que acá en México existen muchas variaciones de voltaje que pueden afectar al equipo. Sinceramente, estoy muy feliz con esta compra, ya que por primera vez puedo escuchar música en alta fidelidad, es como pasar del blanco y negro a un mundo lleno de colores. YAMAHA es sinónimo de calidad, por lo que lo recomiendo 100%, sin ninguna duda.

This Yamaha A-S501 amplifier replaced an Onkyo AV receiver I’ve had since the mid-90’s. This amp doesn’t “sound” different per se, as sonic differences between properly functioning solid state amps are virtually nonexistent, but it blows the old receiver out of the water with regard to technical performance and aesthetics. Its noise and distortion levels are inaudible, including the noise floor of the phono input. I listen to a lot of records and can attest to the quality of this amp’s phono section. I have to turn the volume up a bit higher on this input even though I use a standard MM cartridge with 5mV output, which leads me to conclude that there’s not a ton of gain in the circuit. That doesn’t bother me, but people with fussy cartridge requirements are likely using standalone phono preamps anyway. If you’re running a “standard” turntable setup, this amp’s phono stage will treat you very well. The digital inputs are a nice touch on a classic-minded amp like this. DAC chips don’t really sound different from each other, so I won’t entertain subjective analysis of these inputs’ “sound,” but the inputs function like they should and let me connect my TV and Airport Express digitally, which is nice. Everything sounds crystal clear and problem-free. There are a host of analog inputs and outputs, as well as a decent headphone output. I say “decent” because it does have high output impedance, which means it will cause some frequency response issues with certain headphones. It gives my Sennheiser 58x headphones a bit of a bass boost as a result, which I don’t mind, but people who fuss over headphones will want to use a standalone headphone amp via the amp’s analog outs. I find it odd that plugging headphones into the port shuts off audio to the speakers, and I wish I could leave my headphones connected to the amp at all times. Oh well. The amp has plenty of power and current, driving my relatively inefficient C-Note bookshelf speakers to very loud levels with ease and without distorting. In a time where many integrated amps are forgoing tone controls in the name of passing an audiophile purity test, Yamaha have gracefully included them here, along with an adjustable loudness contour. This knob is a godsend, allowing the user to compensate for the shortcomings of the human ear’s natural frequency response at lower listening levels by filling out the low and high end, so that even if you’re keeping things quiet, you’ll hear a full, pleasing balance of sound that’s adjustable to your needs. And, should you want to take all of those nasty enjoyment-enhancing impurities out of the signal path, just press the “Pure Direct” button. Aesthetically, the amp is very handsome, especially in the silver finish. It was a major factor in my purchasing decision, as I find so many amps and receivers to be hideous black boxes. The remote is very functional, though I just use my Fire TV remote to control the amp’s power and volume, and select input by hand. The lack of a screen and menus is perfect, as I’d much rather control things with knobs and buttons. The knobs and buttons do feel a tad cheap, which is my only minor gripe with this amp. I wish the tone knobs had a bit more weight behind their movement. Since that has no impact on performance, it doesn’t really bother me. Overall, if 85wpc is enough for your speakers and you like this style of amp, it’s a great buy!

Me lo recomendó un amigo que al mismo tiempo también se lo compro su cuñado. Lo traigo con unas Jamo S809 + S8 y ahora estoy comprando un subwoofer SPS pb16 ultra para probar todo el conjunto. Sorprende la calidad y fidelidad costo/beneficio es fantástico. Todo sale por una tornamesa Technics y no veo las horas de poner este ampli a trabajar a tope. Nada digital, me ha encantado volver un poco el sentimiento atrás de cuando era pequeño. materiales de primera calidady muy buen hi-end!!!

I was looking for a new/modern amp to add to my rotation of vintage Luxman and Sansui amps. Something that sounds good and is dependable when my vintage stuff is on the bench. I first tried the Cambridge AXR 85 and sent it back right away. It sounded way too thin. I need something with a phono stage, line level inputs for Bluetooth, tuner input and A/B speakers jacks. In short, this amp is superb. Blew me away right out of the box and will hold its own with my Luxman and Sansui amps. The phono stage is is very good. My Bluetooth receiver sounds great through it, the speaker jacks are solid. I really dig that the loudness is on a dial/pot and adjustable. Full up on “flat” and the sound is clear, present, and defined. As the loudness is dialed back the sound warms up, almost tube like (think vintage Sansui) but doesn’t lose any presence. The pure direct button is also cool. It isolates whichever input input/signal path is being used and produces a clear “pure” sound. It is made very well. Huge heat sinks, smooth knobs and buttons, very clean and simple. Mellow yellow LED lights. I’m listening in a 20x32 room and the sound fills the space very well at all volumes. It doesn’t sound like the stereo is “over there”. The soundstage is rich and encompassing. It drives my vintage ElectroVoice Interface C speakers extremely well. These are very large yet efficient speakers. Completely blows the AXR85 away. Not even close. Onboard Bluetooth would be cool but so what. I ordered a subwoofer as it has a subwoofer jack. Not sure I’ll need it for music but I’ll likely hook up the optical to my TV for some surround now that I have the option. At $550 this thing is well worth it. I’d be curious to hear a better amp at this price point if one exists.