A review of the new Yamaha R-S201 Stereo receiver

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!
 
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Thanks for the review. I think many inexpensive components get a "bad rep" just because of their prices, and not because of their sound quality. While this Yamaha receiver may not be the ultimate in sound quality, it should be a good choice for those who likes put together an inexpensive system.

Did you have a chance to compare it to your Yamaha integrated amp?
 
Great review. How would you compare it to the Sherwood RX-4109 ? Can you tell if it uses discrete output devices or IC based amp.
 
I tried to reply last night night while in bed and using my iPad. Somehow I kept hitting the wrong thing and my reply didn't make it through. Sorry about that!

I still have one RX-4109 in my basement powering my Radio Shack Nova 8's. It was the receiver I used in the credenza before getting the R-S201 so I can compare them. I guess the best way to describe it is that the R-S201 seems to have a bit more life or "sparkle" without being harsh. I even imagined using it with a pair of La Scala speakers because the character of sound favorably reminded me of my cherished Dynaco SCA 35 ampliifier. To use a window anology, the glass in the window of the R-S201 is clearer than than the glass of the RX-4109 to me.

My A-S500 powering a pair of KEF Q300 speakers sounds like there is no glass at all!

I didn't check the innards of the R-S201 other than to note the very good heat sinking, hopefully someone else might want to do that in their review.
:music:
 
Thanks for the review. I hope you are feeling better. Have a great Holiday Season.

cubdog
 
I was looking a little closer at the manual available at Yamaha and found a more honest (20-20khz) power output spec further down under total harmonic distortion, and it listed the power through the CD input at 50w@8ohms 20hz-20khz at .2%THD. Still very good IMO.
 
Great review on what seems to be the best receiver under $300. I do have to admit that I get my jollies by occasionally visiting the Yamaha & Sony facebook pages... and ranting on them for constantly producing "Black Monolithic Blocks" (My words) :)
Then I post that ANY ONE of the big audio companies could totally own the sub-$700 receiver market by simply coming out with a 45WPC 2-channel receiver with a glass & silver face, and oversized knobs. Yes: it can have iPod and USB inputs ;)
...keep on dreaming (Me!)
 
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Thanks for the review, it was quite helpful. I was wondering what other people's experiences were with this receiver.

I'm planning to buy it to replace an aging Sansui 5000A, because I don't have the money to get it repair by a tech. I was planning to pair the R-S201 with some Celestion F15s, and I'm wondering what folks would think.
 
Sorry for the late comeback. The Celestion F15 seems to be very similar to the AR215PS speakers I am using 5.25 inch woofer, 89 DB efficiency, 8 ohms impedance. I really love the sound or the Yamaha RS201 playing through those speakers and I think you will be happy too.
 
just last Monday I went out into the garage and turned on my stereo while I was working out there and the old Sony went into PROTECTOR mode. Even with nothing hooked up to it, it stays in that mode. so I went hunting for a cheap replacement. I just wanted something to drive my Cerwin Vega vs-100's that I recently re-foamed.

I stumbled upon the FRY's E flyer and saw that the had a "2 channel name brand receiver" on special this week. I called them to ask which "name" it was. and as it turns out it is the Yamaha R-S201BL.

This receiver was $99 shipped. Excited to try out my first Yamaha product, it is due in Friday the 25th.
 
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Ok unit is in and Hooked up. Since I am able to compare the new receiver using the same speakers it is a plus.

First off the unit looks and feels nice for the respective price. the only CON as far as looks is the knob, it has a awful feel. the edge feels like they glued a plastic disc over the end and it is slightly sharp. but it will mostly used with the remote anyway.

the basic functions are good and easy to figure out. nuf said there. it is a basic model.

the sound....hmmm. the sound. first off I am driving a pair of Cerwin Vega VS-100s they are 6 ohms. this is the first receiver I had to run the bass up on and down on the treble. it sounds like it is missing a small amount of a$$ in the middle range. I have the bass +8 and the treble @ +0

it does sound good there but I was surprised.

I am still happy for the price point and I would recommend it for the 99 dollars.

the unit it replaced was older but way more money at the time so I understand that as well

the only thing I would have wished for would be a 1 amp switchable plug in the back so I could run the CD player to it instead of running down the wall. and a bit more mid range umpf.

all in all my money was well spent for the garage!
 
Sorry for the late response. I wonder if it is the 6 ohm impedance of the CV speakers that's skewing things a bit. I don't have any 6 or 4 ohm speakers to experiment with.
 
after a few weeks I can say even though the bass is run up a bit I am still happy and the sound is good.

happy happy! it gets loud too.
 
Good for you! Perhaps, if I can get my wife to agree, those new NHT tower speakers might be possible. They are 6 ohms. How is the heat of your unit running those CV speakers?
 
I just picked up a pair of polk audio Monitor 4 speakers at a garage sale yesterday. At first I thought they were 4.6 models because there was an attached sheet from an ebay ad, but the dimensions don't match the ad. Serial numbers are 4 55xxxx so I am assuming that they are model 4s. I haven't pulled the grills to see what kind of tweeters they have, but I'll do that today. They look to be very clean and not misused. Not sure of the impedance, and polk lists 4 and 8 ohm impedances. No indication on the back. We'll just have to see how they work with the Yamaha R-S201.
 
The specs are certainly not impressive on this receiver: http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audi...s/stereo-receivers/r-s201_black_u/?mode=model

Power into 8 ohms is spec'd at 1 kHz with 10% THD! That's not a misprint... this is a 100-watt receiver only if you measure it the way you would measure a minisystem. Interestingly, the 4 ohm spec (140 watts), while also rated at 1 kHz, reports only 0.7% THD. 100 Watts is not an RMS rating.

By rating it at only down to 40hz, 100 watts x 2 into 8 ohms (40-20,000 Hz) at 0.2% THD, they can claim increased power or lower THD. Even with that manipulation, the best they can come up with is 2% distortion. That's pretty poor.

It's fine that the OP likes the unit of course, and it is cheap.
 
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The specs are certainly not impressive on this receiver: http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audi...s/stereo-receivers/r-s201_black_u/?mode=model

Power into 8 ohms is spec'd at 1 kHz with 10% THD! That's not a misprint... this is a 100-watt receiver only if you measure it the way you would measure a minisystem. Interestingly, the 4 ohm spec (140 watts), while also rated at 1 kHz, reports only 0.7% THD. 100 Watts is not an RMS rating.

By rating it at only down to 40hz, 100 watts x 2 into 8 ohms (40-20,000 Hz) at 0.2% THD, they can claim increased power or lower THD. Even with that manipulation, the best they can come up with is 2% distortion. That's pretty poor.

It's fine that the OP likes the unit of course, and it is cheap.

Sure it's a budget receiver and the 100 wpc is an example of marketing puffery. You don't find 100 wpc receivers at 15 lbs that cost slightly over $100. Realistically it's an 80 watt receiver max (20 hz to 20khz). I would like to know how 0.2% THD which is inaudible became 2% which may be audible under ideal conditions as in test tones using high quality speakers.
 
Great review on what seems to be the best receiver under $300. I do have to admit that I get my jollies by occasionally visiting the Yamaha & Sony facebook pages... and ranting on them for constantly producing "Black Monolithic Blocks" (My words) :)
Then I post that ANY ONE of the big audio companies could totally own the sub-$700 receiver market by simply coming out with a 45WPC 2-channel receiver with a glass & silver face, and oversized knobs. Yes: it can have iPod and USB inputs ;)
...keep on dreaming (Me!)

The R-S201 is available in silver face. Saw one yesterday.

James
 
A very useful review btw. Thank you. Reading this thread influenced my thinking and the result was buying the A-S201 sibling to your reciever. I'd say that your review is spot on, this is a very good value for the money.

One thing that I would add is that while it has the same 17"/430mm width as my other Yamaha gear the depth is only about 13"/330mm including wall clearance for rca plugs/ speaker wires. So for space limited installations this is a plus, it fits on my shelf with no overhang.

Cheers,
James
 
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