New Yamaha a-s3000 and a-s2100 integrated amps ??

Audiolabyrinth, I do think that a lot of audiophiles will overlook the Yamaha as just another mass market mid-fi product. I can assure you it is not. First and foremost, the sound quality is really unbelievably good, so balanced, smooth and dynamic. I love the MC phono section, which utilizes discreet parts and a step-up transformer. The build quality is excellent- better than most British integrateds, if not quite in Boulder territory. I took a bit of a leap of faith in purchasing this after reading several excellent worldwide reviews (the best one was in a Czech audio magazine), but I'm happy I did!

Tasos1, I would say the Yamaha is not so much overlooked as lacking the snob appeal that is so important to many.

Tasos1,

Excellent review of the Yamaha A-S2100. Your thoughts and descriptions mimic almost exactly what I feel about my new(4 months) Yamaha A-S1000 integrated. As the little brother(48 pounds) to the 2000, 2100, and 3000, this 1000 is no less overbuilt with high quality parts as it's siblings and does not take a back seat in sound quality if only slightly I'm sure.

Those cool meters on the 2100 and 3000 are awesome.

Enjoy,

Bill

Tasos1,

Thanks a lot for your informative review! Are you sure the A-S2100's MC-section has a step-up tranformer? In a different sourse of info I read "The phono amp on the Yamaha A-S2100 is made up of an MC head amp and an equalizer amp which are discretely configured".
Where did you get the info on the step-up? Does operation manual say anything on this?
Thanks again!

The last Yamaha integrated I heard sounded kind of hard and dry. I think it was the SA-2000. Have you guys heard that one and is the S2100 and 3000 smoother/warmer?