A new A-S501 or a used A-S700?

So for the same price I can either get a new A-S501 (silver faced) or a used A-S700 (black face) I'm having a hard te deciding between them. The amp will be used to drive a great pair of KEF 103.2 (86db/1w) and used mainly for streaming. While I want a better dac then the crappy airport express built in one, i'm guessingvthat the build quality on the 700 should be better then the 501. I prefer the silver face, but I guess that I should ignore that.
Which should I choose?

I own the as500 and have been really happy with it. From what I've read the dac on the 501 is really good plus you get the warranty on a new one 2year If I remember rightly. I don't think there is much in it for build quality between the 501 and the 700. Can you get I listen to both ? See what you think

Only a 5 WPC (85x2 vs. 90x2) difference in the 700 as opposed to the 501. Interestingly enough the 501 is actually heavier by 1/3 of a pound. You'd be getting a newer model in the 501 which means they've passed down some refinements from the last product cycle. Considering that you'd rather have the silver and presumably the factory warranty. IMO this is a no-brainer for the 501.

boza said:

I own the as500 and have been really happy with it. From what I've read the dac on the 501 is really good plus you get the warranty on a new one 2year If I remember rightly. I don't think there is much in it for build quality between the 501 and the 700. Can you get I listen to both ? See what you think

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Thanks for the input! Unfortunately, I can't listen to them around where I live.
About the warranty - i'll be ordering the A-S501 from Amazon.de so i'm not sure that it will apply abroad (I assume it doesn't) so that's not a factor for the decision.

Roboturner91 said:

Only a 5 WPC (85x2 vs. 90x2) difference in the 700 as opposed to the 501. Interestingly enough the 501 is actually heavier by 1/3 of a pound. You'd be getting a newer model in the 501 which means they've passed down some refinements from the last product cycle.

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Interesting information! Thanks!

If your primary reason for contemplating the purchase of a new receiver is simply the DAC, you may just want to invest in a decent stand-alone DAC rather than a whole new receiver.

DAC technology is changing as fast as you are changing your socks, so even a brand new receiver with a current DAC will be outdated by the time you take it out of the box and hook it up--kind of like home computers in the 90's and 2000's.

If you already have a receiver/amp that you are happy with, just buy a DAC and that way you can upgrade just the DAC as technology changes.

BTW--streaming music is only going to sound so good, as it has serious limitations vs other sources, so you might just be expecting too much from it as a source.

I currently have a vintage harman kardon 330c which at 20w rms is just not strong enough to drive the KEF's. So I do need a new (or at least different) amp anyways...
About the straming - I guess that sometime in the future i'll get some sort of a digital player to replace the Airport Express, but currently thry are too expensive for what they are IMHO.

Go with the A-S700 if it's in good shape. It has twice as many output transistors which is a sign it will deal with lower impedance and trickier speaker loads better. They are both great amps though and you can't go wrong with either. But my gut tells me your KEF's will like the A-S700 better.

Here are reviews and bench tests for both amps. The A-S501 is the same as the 500 aside from the DAC.

http://www.avhub.com.au/product-reviews/hi-fi/yamaha-a-s500-amplifier-review-test-395710

http://www.avhub.com.au/product-reviews/hi-fi/yamaha-a-s700-amplifier-review-394235

If you don't need the DAC, go for the 700. The 700 has a softer presentation than the 501 so it is better suited to speakers that are not too laid back...

I'd go for the 501. Power difference is negligible. Has the dac and you can stream from your bluetooth devices with the available dock accessory. Not to mention the optical and coaxial inputs. If I didn't already own a 500 I'd grab a 501.
Depending on what you want to spend you can get a customer return 501 or 701 from Onecall for a good price with warranty.

arclight73 said:

Here are reviews and bench tests for both amps. The A-S501 is the same as the 500 aside from the DAC.

http://www.avhub.com.au/product-reviews/hi-fi/yamaha-a-s500-amplifier-review-test-395710

http://www.avhub.com.au/product-reviews/hi-fi/yamaha-a-s700-amplifier-review-394235

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Great links! look at the opening paragraph of the A-S500 review: "the fact that the larger, more expensive A-S700 has picked up hi-fi awards right around the world should have been a dead giveaway. But even so, who would have guessed the smaller and less expensive A-S500 would be an even-better amplifier?"

nadavs123,
I have to wonder which set of measurements (A-S500 or A-S700) Greg Borrowman is using for his conclusion when I see this in the A-S500 review: "At output levels of one watt, the spectral signature was almost identical irrespective of whether the Yamaha A-S700 was driving 8Ω or 4Ω loads." It's probably just a typo, but I'm not 100% sure.

bmanone said:

nadavs123,
I have to wonder which set of measurements (A-S500 or A-S700) Greg Borrowman is using for his conclusion when I see this in the A-S500 review: "At output levels of one watt, the spectral signature was almost identical irrespective of whether the Yamaha A-S700 was driving 8Ω or 4Ω loads." It's probably just a typo, but I'm not 100% sure.

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Yeah, I also wondered about that. I'm pretty sure it's a typo...

Anyway, I decided to go for the A-S501... Hope I made the right choice!

Good choice. I use the A-S500 and it's a great amp.

savatage1973 said:

If your primary reason for contemplating the purchase of a new receiver is simply the DAC, you may just want to invest in a decent stand-alone DAC rather than a whole new receiver.

DAC technology is changing as fast as you are changing your socks, so even a brand new receiver with a current DAC will be outdated by the time you take it out of the box and hook it up--kind of like home computers in the 90's and 2000's.

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Every now and then the totally useless argument of "outdated" or "obsolete" DAC's comes up. So, do they suddenly sound bad when a new technology arrives? I guess not. Keep in mind that many of your albums have been recorded with "outdated" DAC's. I have heard some digital equipment with "obsolete" DAC's which sounded simply outstanding.

Dr. Ear said:

Every now and then the totally useless argument of "outdated" or "obsolete" DAC's comes up. So, do they suddenly sound bad when a new technology arrives? I guess not. Keep in mind that many of your albums have been recorded with "outdated" DAC's. I have heard some digital equipment with "obsolete" DAC's which sounded simply outstanding.

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I wholeheartedly agree with you on most points. Most of the music I listen to was recorded in analogue. Will a DAC suddenly sound "bad"?--NO. Will a newer DAC with "better" chipsets sound better?--YES, they can--not an absolute guarantee, but they can--so make that a MAYBE. I still use a 1980's cdp--a DBX DX5, one of the first units built with the Burr Brown DAC chips and (to me) it still sounds great and is built like a tank in terms of the transport.

I guess that my response was influenced by my preference for separates. The more functions you cram into one box, the more compromises that are made in the process, and you lose the option of replacing individual components, rather than throwing out the whole system to upgrade one function.

If you only need to "upgrade" one function--be it a phono stage or a higher sampling rate DAC, it is much easier and cost effective to "fix" that one issue with a stand alone unit.

No offense intended, just offering a simple solution to a single issue--if only one issue needs to be addressed, no point in "throwing the baby out with the bath water" if you are happy with everything else in the system.

In this case, the OP wants to do a full upgrade, so the point is moot anyways.

Sorry to revive an old thread. I to am in this same boat and don't really care for the DAC. I am though wondering how much weight you would give the sub out on the 501 in your decision making.

Jetmech said:

Sorry to revive an old thread. I to am in this same boat and don't really care for the DAC. I am though wondering how much weight you would give the sub out on the 501 in your decision making.

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The dac on the 501 is a nice feature when I just want to randomly stream from my iPod. It sounds very good. The sub out is also a great feature if you want to add some extra low end if your current speakers don't make it for you. I personally don't use the sub out but I'm glad it's there...just in case.