Yamaha A-S500 initial review

mforys

Active Member
I recently purchased a set of Polk LSi-7s in Bartertown and my modified Magnavox 9302 tube amp did not seem up to the task of driving the new speakers. That put me on the hunt for a modern integrated amp. After much research online I decided to purchase a Yamaha A-S500.

The key factors in my decision...
1. 85 watts per channel at 8 ohm. Roughly 100 at the 4 ohms of my Polks.
2. Yamaha's pure direct mode. This feature removes all of the other controls allowing for the signal to travel the shortest path.
3. Quality build and design choices.

I received the amp on Friday. Thus far I have listened to 6 of my reference albums. Please keep that in mind, as I will follow up. I am coming at this from a restored tube amp, please also bear that in mind.

My initial thoughts are all based around speed and clarity. This amp sounds crystal clear, with the music arriving with a special sense of urgency. Last night I was listening to Rome (Danger Mouse and Daniele Lupi) And I heard an overdub/backing vocal that I had not recognized before. A good start to my new amp.

I will be posting pictures and further thoughts over the coming week.
 
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Congratulations - several folk have said good things about this amp on AK of late. If I can purloin something johnda said in the Recommended Amps thread, it may be of use to you. Loudness controls - along with tone controls - seem to have their critics, but my attitude is that if it works, whats the harm ?

I found it to be extremely detailed using direct mode but have learned to use the variable loudness control to give music the right amount of warmth at the listening levels I prefer
 
Here is the system as she currently sits. Our house is on the market, so I was forced to set it up in the basement for the time being.

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Here are a couple of nudies.

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System is a pair of Polk LSi7 speakers.
Polk PSW125 Sub (used only on certain albums/types of music)
Yamaha A-S500 Amplifier
NAD 521BEE CD Player
Mono Price 1 meter interconnects
Early 1990's monster cable speaker wire (before the brand went to crap).

I am really loving the amp. It has a power and urgency that none of my previous amps possessed. The power comes easily and the music seems to flow out of it. The amp is what some would call "clinical," in that the sound is not colored or warm. This may change as the amp breaks in, but I think that the clinical sound is also a reflection of my system. The LSi7's are that sort of speaker.

I briefly tested the phono stage today, but I do not want to give a review until i am properly able to setup my turntable.
 
One more follow up. I plan on buying the Ipod connection kit and will provide my thoughts on that in the future.

I may be looking at the matching CD player as well. As they say...

One remote to rule them all.
 
Congrats! My son-in-law is a professional musician and this past weekend we played cuts from his cd's. He picked one song where there was a trio playing, violin,guitar and cello. My system is the AS500 integrated amp, a pair of KEF Q300 speakers and a Denon CD player. 10' by 11.5' study.

He was not only totally impressed with the sound but said the imaging was also exact as to the placement of the people. The violinist was on the right, the guitarist (him) was in the center and the cellist was on the left. He said the system made him feel that he was back in the recording studio and he had never heard a better reproduction! You can't get much better than that.:music:
 
I recently purchased a set of Polk LSi-7s in Bartertown and my modified Magnavox 9302 tube amp did not seem up to the task of driving the new speakers. That put me on the hunt for a modern integrated amp. After much research online I decided to purchase a Yamaha A-S500.

The key factors in my decision...
1. 85 watts per channel at 8 ohm. Roughly 100 at the 4 ohms of my Polks.
2. Yamaha's pure direct mode. This feature removes all of the other controls allowing for the signal to travel the shortest path.
3. Quality build and design choices.

I received the amp on Friday. Thus far I have listened to 6 of my reference albums. Please keep that in mind, as I will follow up. I am coming at this from a restored tube amp, please also bear that in mind.

My initial thoughts are all based around speed and clarity. This amp sounds crystal clear, with the music arriving with a special sense of urgency. Last night I was listening to Rome (Danger Mouse and Daniele Lupi) And I heard an overdub/backing vocal that I had not recognized before. A good start to my new amp.

I will be posting pictures and further thoughts over the coming week.

Nice! I am working on a game room in the house and just ordered the A-S500 to power a new system I'm putting together in there. I love my A-S2000 and I have read rave reviews of the A-S500 as well so it wasn't a difficult decision to have it carry the load.

I also ordered an Olive 03HD as my music server based on my experience of the 04HD and then I have a pair of Polk TSI-300's as well.
 
It sure is a pretty looking amp.. Make sure and post about that Olive when you get it!
 
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UPDATE

I received the Yamaha YDS-12 in the mail over the weekend. I am very impressed with the Ipod dock. It has a good weight, fit and finish, and the cable is thick and very nice. The dock itself has a sleek plastic top and solid metal base. Connection to my Iphone is snug and secure.

It sounds good, but I will wait to make a full judgement (my system is not properly configured at this time).
 
If today I had to buy a new amp,I guess Yamaha would be one of my first choices.
I have seen it in the shops,and one thing that I like is that it has a REAL pot,not the infinite turn type.
Nice amp :music:
 
There was one thing about the A-S500 that I found wanting, but it was an easy fix. The volume control is powered, which is great, but the small mark on the control to mark where it is set, is black on black and not easy to see from a distance. I used my label maker and cut out a small white marker that fit over the volume mark. Now I can easily see what volume setting I'm on, which comes in real handy when starting up with different sources. I would like to get the matching Yamaha tuner as my next piece of gear. In any case, I am extremely happy with the A-S500.
 
Interesting...I've got Yamaha A-S700 about a month ago. Didn't do a lot of listening yet for a review. So far I like it. Seems like it's up to a task in a system comprised of new and vintage gear. It drives EPI-202 with ease...
 
Listening to the A-S500 right now and loving it. Looking into a matching Yamaha CD player now.
 
It's great to know that Yamaha is still making excellent equipment. I very much like my 70's era Yamaha gear. The A-S500 is a nice looking amp too, enjoy!
 
Last night I was listening to Rome (Danger Mouse and Daniele Lupi)

That is a fantastic album and one of my references as well. If you haven't checked out Electric Guest, check them out. Their album Mondo was also produced by Danger Mouse.

Congrats on the new amp.

- Woody
 
This is good to know, even though alea jacta est, IOW, I'm awaiting delivery on it's cousin, the R-S700. I liked it enough when I demo'ed it in a store a year ago, despite abysmal choice of speakers on which to try it...

az
 
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