The list cost of the A-s801 is $1000, and I’ve had several other integrated amps at that price point and below - Rega Brio, Arcam A19, NAD 316BEE and 375 BEE, Jolida, and they were all very solidly made. The Yamaha binding posts and control knobs were like something you’d find on a $250 Target table radio. I am sure the Yamaha sounds good (based on the reviews), but the construction was so shockingly bad compared to others at its price point that I would certainly not recommend it to anyone. Perhaps the A-S1100 and above are more robustly built, but I have little desire to find out.
Yamaha A-S801 - horrible experience
I've read many good reviews of the Yamaha gear that I thought I'd give the A-S801 a try. Through Accessories4less.com, it was only $650 and had a return policy, so there was little to lose. I took the unit out of the box and set it in my rack. I noticed the that the speaker selector button had come off during shipping. I hunted through the box and found it under a layer of cardboard. Not a good start.
I tried to hook up my speaker cables and found out that it wouldn't take spades. The plastic guide has such a narrow opening that there is no way to fit an average sized spade through it. I tried to put one end of the spade in it and tighten down, but the weight of the speaker cables made the binding posts sag quite a bit. They have a very flimsy connection to the chassis, and I was afraid that I would rip them off completely. I found some old bare wire cables, and hooked them up.
I put on a Lucinda Williams song and it sounded ok. A little thin, but it wasn't warmed up. I wanted to see how piano sounded, so I put on a Thelonious Monk album. Here's exactly how it sounded: pop, hiss, crackle, silence. The amp died on the second song I played.
I know that every company has the occasional defective unit, but there were so many things wrong with this amp that it was comical. Just a warning that if you have speaker cables with solid spades, the unit will not be usable. I certainly won't try another Yamaha product after this. Live and learn.
I tried to hook up my speaker cables and found out that it wouldn't take spades. The plastic guide has such a narrow opening that there is no way to fit an average sized spade through it. I tried to put one end of the spade in it and tighten down, but the weight of the speaker cables made the binding posts sag quite a bit. They have a very flimsy connection to the chassis, and I was afraid that I would rip them off completely. I found some old bare wire cables, and hooked them up.
I put on a Lucinda Williams song and it sounded ok. A little thin, but it wasn't warmed up. I wanted to see how piano sounded, so I put on a Thelonious Monk album. Here's exactly how it sounded: pop, hiss, crackle, silence. The amp died on the second song I played.
I know that every company has the occasional defective unit, but there were so many things wrong with this amp that it was comical. Just a warning that if you have speaker cables with solid spades, the unit will not be usable. I certainly won't try another Yamaha product after this. Live and learn.
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- 26 posts total
- 26 posts total