johnda
Addicted Member
I have the Yamaha A-S500 integrated amplifier in my study and am completely happy with that amplifier. In my living room I have a lower cost system because it needs to be kept out of sight when not being used. When Yamaha announced that they had made the R-S201 AM/FM receiver available, it really caught my attention. This was a basic stereo receiver available at a fine price of $149.00. Because I was so happy with my A-S500, I figured that I would give the R-S201 a try. I ordered the receiver from Crutchfield and exactly two days later it arrived at my home.
When I inspected the receiver I found that Yamaha had made cooling vents on the top, bottom and sides of the case and there was a large heat sink running along the middle of the interior.
The Yamaha website has published specs that are confusing and I think there is a typo stating a figure of 10% distortion at 8 ohms, 1Khz, @ 100 watts/channel. Based on the owners manual and my own listening experience I think this figure should have been 01%. The published specs in the owners manual are 100 watts per channel minimum RMS output power at 8 ohms impedance from 40 Hz to 20Khz with .2% THD. I think these figures are the proper ones.
This receiver does not have a phono input, and if you do want to play vinyl you will need either a turntable with an internal phono amplifier or use an external phono amplifier. The inputs are: CD, Line1, Line2, Line 3. Line 3 also has an audio out connection and can be used with a CD recorder or cassette recorder. I connected my DVD/CD player to the CD input, my Grace wireless internet radio to Line 1, and my TV audio to Line 2. The speaker wire connectors are simple spring loaded connectors, but everything hooked up just fine using 16 gauge wire.
The Yamaha website specs indicate that the receiver has power ratings that include speaker impedances of 8, 6, 4 and 2 ohms with increasing power as impedance is reduced. In the owner's manual there are cautions about using less than 8 ohm speakers, but it does exclude the North American model from this. My own gut feeling would be to stick with 8 or possibly 6 ohm speakers at a minimum, and I would only use one set at a time.
My speakers are the AR 215PS models which were highly rated by Consumer Reports a number of years ago. They are bass reflex, front ported, with a 5.25" woofer/midrange speaker. They are still performing well and although they are not being produced anymore, you can still find them at different locations. Rated at 8 ohms impedance, 89 Db. efficiency with a response of 75-20,000 Hz, they were a good match for the Yamaha R-S201.
I guess the big question is how did it perform? In a single word, it performed “excellently”.
I tested the residual noise of the receiver by choosing Line 1, but having the Grace radio off, I turned up the volume on the Yamaha to maximum value of 100. There was no background hiss whatsoever and it was absolutely dead quiet. I then listened to all my sources, and found a very nice room filling level of sound at volume level 51.
I listened to a CD of one of my favorite group of singers,” The Wailing Jennys” , and as I listened their beautiful voices just came through clear as a bell. I now have had the R-S201 for a few weeks and cannot get over how nice it sounds. The receiver paired beautifully with my AR 215PS speakers and it really made the AR's sing! Tonight I relaxed in the living room in my recliner while I listened to a piano sonata on the Linn British classical station via the internet. It was a mesmerizing experience.
The Grace internet radio sounded great and the FM performance was OK using the supplied antenna wire. Living in a rural area, far from major cities, I hardly listen to FM any longer with only about two stations in my area that I can hear that supply music I like. If I were to make more use of FM, I would add an external FM anrtenna. AM performance was not good with the supplied antenna and you would need to add an external wire if you want decent reception. Folks living in a metropolitan area would have better performance.
I have been playing music from different sources for a few weeks now, and the receiver never got hot. The Yamaha R-S201 has a nice appearance, and has a family resemblance to its bigger brothers in the Yamaha R-S lineup. At $150 I feel that it is an excellent choice for a low-cost system that can give you a very decent sound.
I have not been active at Audiokarma for a long while because of serious health issues, but dropped in to see how things were going. I was a bit distressed to see that some folks were dissing the Yamaha R-S201, without having tested it. I have no complaint with an individual who does not like the way something sounds, but for gosh sakes, try listening to it before making your judgement. I just figured it might clear the air a bit if I could write a review for you folks.
Is it a "world beater"? Your guess is as good as mine, but if you are looking for a low cost system that can bring you very enjoyable music, the Yamaha R-S201 can be paired with a number of low cost speakers available today from Yamaha, Polk, Pioneer, KEF , Dayton Audio and others. I wish I could try out them all!
When I inspected the receiver I found that Yamaha had made cooling vents on the top, bottom and sides of the case and there was a large heat sink running along the middle of the interior.
The Yamaha website has published specs that are confusing and I think there is a typo stating a figure of 10% distortion at 8 ohms, 1Khz, @ 100 watts/channel. Based on the owners manual and my own listening experience I think this figure should have been 01%. The published specs in the owners manual are 100 watts per channel minimum RMS output power at 8 ohms impedance from 40 Hz to 20Khz with .2% THD. I think these figures are the proper ones.
This receiver does not have a phono input, and if you do want to play vinyl you will need either a turntable with an internal phono amplifier or use an external phono amplifier. The inputs are: CD, Line1, Line2, Line 3. Line 3 also has an audio out connection and can be used with a CD recorder or cassette recorder. I connected my DVD/CD player to the CD input, my Grace wireless internet radio to Line 1, and my TV audio to Line 2. The speaker wire connectors are simple spring loaded connectors, but everything hooked up just fine using 16 gauge wire.
The Yamaha website specs indicate that the receiver has power ratings that include speaker impedances of 8, 6, 4 and 2 ohms with increasing power as impedance is reduced. In the owner's manual there are cautions about using less than 8 ohm speakers, but it does exclude the North American model from this. My own gut feeling would be to stick with 8 or possibly 6 ohm speakers at a minimum, and I would only use one set at a time.
My speakers are the AR 215PS models which were highly rated by Consumer Reports a number of years ago. They are bass reflex, front ported, with a 5.25" woofer/midrange speaker. They are still performing well and although they are not being produced anymore, you can still find them at different locations. Rated at 8 ohms impedance, 89 Db. efficiency with a response of 75-20,000 Hz, they were a good match for the Yamaha R-S201.
I guess the big question is how did it perform? In a single word, it performed “excellently”.
I tested the residual noise of the receiver by choosing Line 1, but having the Grace radio off, I turned up the volume on the Yamaha to maximum value of 100. There was no background hiss whatsoever and it was absolutely dead quiet. I then listened to all my sources, and found a very nice room filling level of sound at volume level 51.
I listened to a CD of one of my favorite group of singers,” The Wailing Jennys” , and as I listened their beautiful voices just came through clear as a bell. I now have had the R-S201 for a few weeks and cannot get over how nice it sounds. The receiver paired beautifully with my AR 215PS speakers and it really made the AR's sing! Tonight I relaxed in the living room in my recliner while I listened to a piano sonata on the Linn British classical station via the internet. It was a mesmerizing experience.
The Grace internet radio sounded great and the FM performance was OK using the supplied antenna wire. Living in a rural area, far from major cities, I hardly listen to FM any longer with only about two stations in my area that I can hear that supply music I like. If I were to make more use of FM, I would add an external FM anrtenna. AM performance was not good with the supplied antenna and you would need to add an external wire if you want decent reception. Folks living in a metropolitan area would have better performance.
I have been playing music from different sources for a few weeks now, and the receiver never got hot. The Yamaha R-S201 has a nice appearance, and has a family resemblance to its bigger brothers in the Yamaha R-S lineup. At $150 I feel that it is an excellent choice for a low-cost system that can give you a very decent sound.
I have not been active at Audiokarma for a long while because of serious health issues, but dropped in to see how things were going. I was a bit distressed to see that some folks were dissing the Yamaha R-S201, without having tested it. I have no complaint with an individual who does not like the way something sounds, but for gosh sakes, try listening to it before making your judgement. I just figured it might clear the air a bit if I could write a review for you folks.
Is it a "world beater"? Your guess is as good as mine, but if you are looking for a low cost system that can bring you very enjoyable music, the Yamaha R-S201 can be paired with a number of low cost speakers available today from Yamaha, Polk, Pioneer, KEF , Dayton Audio and others. I wish I could try out them all!
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