Customer Reviews

Yamaha A-S700BL Integrated Amplifier (Black)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The look of this amp is simple and straight forward. Nothing fancy here. Yeah, the plastic vertical knobs are a turn-off and the quality of the controls could be better at this premium price. What were Yamaha engineers thinking when they shaved a minuscule $5 off their production costs on a primo "audiophile" amp by employing plastic knobs? Jeeze! Inside is a different story. The build quality is every bit as good as what you'll find in a high-end Denon amp at the kilo-buck price point -- very clean and well laid out construction.

Overlooking the poor choices Yamaha made on the exterior, when you hook up a high quality CD and push the "CD Direct" (and "Pure Direct") switches, the sound becomes superb. Very detailed and high quality sounding. It gives you a real taste of the high-end. You can clearly hear all the separate instruments in a complex mix. The imaging, soundstage... all that stuff audiophiles like to rave about... it's all there! The bass, while not overly strong, is not bloated in the least. Very well defined and tightly controlled, as it should be. If you are a heavy metal fan and listen to lots of loud, distorted rock, then this may not be your amp. If you mainly listen to classical, jazz and folk then you'll be very happy with the clear and detailed sound this amp provides. Yamaha engineers have been straight forward in their public comments that they "voiced" this amp for the vocal/acoustic/jazz/classical music crowd.

In the normal, non-"CD-Direct" mode, the sound is good but nothing special. Don't buy this amp unless you plan on using the "CD Direct" magic juice switch. This switch by-passes all the tone controls and the preamp section and injects the CD signal straight into the power amp section for a glorious sound. The cheaper Yamaha A-S500 (~$400) only has the "Pure Direct" switch and no "CD Direct" option. While the A-S500 has received high ratings in the audio press, it's the "CD Direct" switch that seems to make the biggest difference. Go for the Yamaha A-S700 over the A-S500 if you can afford it.

With a list of $1000 and typical street price of $800, Yamaha is selling the A-S700 into a market with a lot of strong competition. Is Yamaha's first "audiophile" integrated amp entry in years really the best bang for your audio buck? If this amp was priced at $600, it would be a no-brainer to go with the Yamaha A-S700 for your audiophile amp "fix". At $800, it becomes a much harder choice. However, all the integrated "audiophile" style amps from the major Japanese manufacturers seem to be going up rapidly in price over this last year as the dollar continues to devalue with the Fed's constant money printing. I bought this Yammy as B-stock for $399 and at that price it was a good bargain. Look around for a bargain before pulling the trigger on the A-S700 if you decide it suits your musical tastes.

Great sound, no lack of bass whatsoever, probably depends on speakers, I have KEF IQ50 speakers connected. Natural and realistic sound, more than enough power. Beatiful timeless no-nonsense design. Sounds great with NAD C-525BEE cd player. Only stereo, 2 (A) or 4 (A+B) speakers, or 2 bi-wired (A+B). No subwoofer connection. Buy this amplifier if you want pure and realistic stereo sound and don't need the 5:1 dolby surround crap. Also check the international outstanding reviews on this amplifier on the net.

Sound is top here. I have heard and tested different amplifiers in the price range and this one has an edge in clarity that I've missed with other brands.
Yes, the plastic Knobs are somehow annoying. Agree with the other colleague here who asked why the Yamaha engineers would have taken such a strange design decision for such an Amplifier.
Anyway, with that been said, sound is great and you probably won't find anything at same sound & internal built quality in the price range.

To be considered before your purchase:
a. Will you need/use a Sub-Woofer ? In case yes, go for another amplifier with a pre.out connection
b. Are you going to buy the set with the CDS700 CD player? If yes, attention to the other strange flaw on the player - it does play MP3 via USB but there is no song navigation (feature available in any cheap MP3 player. If you do not care using the USB connection, it's a great CD player.

Summary:
The Yamaha 700 set (Amp+player) is a great value for the money, however, you'll have to live with the plastic knobs on the A-S700 Amp and useless USB connection on the CD-S700 CD player.

If it wasn't for these plastics knobs, I'd give it a 5 star.

Pros. Thick and heavy aluminum face plate. Low noise, above average sound quality - sound warm and detailed. (Depends on listener preference some would love it or hate it)
Cons. Despite relatively high cost for 2 channel stereo amplifier - Yamaha did their best to cut the corners in every possible way. Cheap plastic knobs with exception volume and input controls. Cheap plastic banana posts. Questionable third party none Yamaha brand power transformer(Similar are used in low end Yamaha htc /rx receivers). Cheap - few cents each electrolytic capacitors all over amp circuit boards would probably explain some weaknesses in a bass department...
Conclusion: Step up to as1000 model if you can or buy anything in ~$300 price range. Average listener won't notice $500 sound quality difference and so am i.

Pros. Thick and heavy aluminum face plate. Low noise, above average sound quality - sound warm and detailed. (Depends on listener preference some would love it or hate it)
Cons. Despite relatively high cost for 2 channel stereo amplifier - Yamaha did their best to cut the corners in every possible way. Cheap plastic knobs with exception volume and loudness controls. Cheap plastic banana posts. Questionable third party none Yamaha brand power transformer(Similar are used in low end Yamaha htc /rx receivers). Cheap - few cents each electrolytic capacitors all over amp circuit boards would probably explain some weaknesses in a bass department...
Conclusion: Step up to as1000 model if you can or buy anything in ~[...] price range. Average listener won't notice [...] sound quality difference and so am i.