Customer Reviews

Yamaha A-S2000BL Natural Sound Stereo Amplifier (Black)

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I am immersed and drenched in the A-S2000 sound. WOW. The sound is super smooth and crystal. I am hearing new instruments that barely showed up from the other amps. I had an Yamaha A-1 Stereo Integrated of early 80s which delivered smooth 2 ch sound. After it went kaput, I can't find the smooth sound from any digital amps. I replaced may be around 10 different amps & finally I landed on a good analog amp. The A-S2000 beats my A-1 to the corner. If you are into moderate peaceful volume listening, this is the last amp you might ever need in your life. Period. If you listen at cranked up volume the sound might go a little bright sided(This is after 12 `o' clock volume position. Custom amps like Cambridge, Paradigm, anthem which will blow the speakers out loud & powerful but won't be as crystal clear & smooth as A-S2000. I listened to it. I have a builder authorized AV installer for new homes. He has all high ends testing room in his show room. You can just walk-in with your CD & play with the so called custom amps. The power & clarity is just what most of the audiophile / enthusiast music lover will ever need.

Now that I have had the A-S2000 for over a month, let me compare the sound quality and performance with the other Yamaha AX-596 which is a 2007 model & the A-S500 which is the latest - to give an idea of what & how Yamaha's circuit by itself differs in music reproduction between these models . It is very hard to find user reviews for A-S2000 online, so I will be giving a little detailed comparison which might not be useful for some. Please read this review with patience '
The speaker that I am using is Yamaha SOAVO1. I tried the B&W at big chain store which is $2000 each but it can go only up to 45Hz low which lacks the bass completely for a full size tower. They have good high end Polks that can go down to 35Hz. I like the sound from the Definitive Technology 700 series. But overall, the SOAVO just sings. The mid-range is a little recessed for my taste so even if I pump up the volume, the mid won't blast on my face. The listening is very musical at even very high volume.

Volume level and presence of the sound stage -With A-S500 is the same upto 12'0' clock position. Go pass that level A-S2000 doesn't show any bit of a sign to give up. You crank it up, it cracks your heart. AX-596 sounded a little louder at the same volume because the attenuation is a little narrow in older units. Yamaha changed the attenuation a little wider in the latest to give more control in volume when using remote.

Smoothness, definition and clarity - is definitely from the A-S2000. Nice well balanced warm sound. Not too bright, Not too shallow. The music that comes out of the A-S2000 is very mellow and strong with very well defined separation between instruments. There is literally zero frequency overlapping that makes the tiny instruments come out and sing for you. I am floored here. I tried Maranz at big chain store and didn't like the normal 2ch sound for its beefy price! It had the power though.

Bass - A-S2000's Bass is BONE BREAKING even without the Sub. When the sub is hooked up, it rattles the whole house. I can feel the vibration even in the basement concrete wall and the system is at two levels up. A-S2000 & A-S500 produced the same level of Bass but the smoothness in bass is more obvious in A-S2000. When you turn the bass control to more than 3'0' clock position, the A-S500's & AX-596 bass turn very tight while A-S2000 seamlessly increases the same full bodied bass all the way to the closing position at 5'o' clock position. When you turn the volume knob to more than 1'o' clock position, the Bass becomes distorted a tiny bit in the two low budget amps. Common listeners won't notice it but if you have ears for clean music, you will. A-S2000's bass comes full bodied with weight and depth to it

Treble - A-S2000 is a little lean and behind than the A-S500 & AX-596. I consider A-S500 to be on the bright side while A-S2000 is on the warm and smooth. You have to turn the Loudness & Treble control on the A-S500 to 11'o' clock position to get the A-S2000's Treble at its flat position. But still the Treble smoothness of A-S2000 is remarkable. When you turn the Treble on A-S500 to 9'o' clock position, it somewhat achieves the smoothness effect but still not as defined crystal clear + smooth Treble from A-S2000.

Mid - A-S2000 produces fantastic lively mid range. The voice clarity is stunning and lively. It makes the singer come home and sing for you. Not too shouting, not too shallow. It is just seamlessly increases along with the high & low frequencies and is just produced at the right level at the right way at any volume level. The smoothness in the voice changes a bit to bright side when the volume level goes beyond 12 `o' clock position. Honestly I cannot listen more than 11 `o' clock position. It is very loud and I fear of calling the police.

Heat - I ran the A-S500 for two hours at 10'o' clock position. It was barely warm. When I increased the volume to 12'o' clock position, after 10 minutes, it becomes hot (you can still keep your hand on it). When I let it to run for 30 minutes at 12'o' clock position, it becomes real hot that I can keep my hand barely for a minute. I ran the A-S2000 for two hours at 10'o' clock position. It was barely luke warm (slightly out of stone cold). When I increased the volume to 12'o' clock position, after 10 minutes, it becomes warm. When I let it to run for 30 minutes at 12'o' clock position, it was still at the same warmth. Now I let the A-S2000 to run at 3'0' clock position driving everyone in my family go crazy, it was hot you can still keep your hand on it for long time.

Remote -A-S2000 remote is a complete waste of time being designed, built and we cannot use it. I might have designed a standard useful remote for all A-S line of amps. The is no way you can put the amp in standby via remote. The smaller A-S500 has that feature which will let you to just standby the system while lying down in the bed. The Yamaha CD player remote has NO volume control or input selector. Adding just two functions on a CD player remote will be suffice. 1-volume control , 2. Standby. They do have the amp section in the player remote but that has just the Input selector - which is a waste stupid decision in my opinion. You are in the CD player input anyways and listening to it. Why do you need to change the input in the amp while you listen to CD and hold the CD remote. Even though you change the input, you need to go grab that particular input source remote to control it. Instead a volume & standby for amp will be more friendly. Common Yamaha, A $2000 amp comes with 6 useles button's on its remote ? AND you cannot use A-S500 or any other remote to A-S2000. Harmony One, A-S500 & AX-596 remote never worked with A-S2000. But on the other hand, all those remotes worked with all those amps. I can use AX-596 remote on A-S500 & the other way around. Bummer. Not to mention A-S500 remote is VERY VERY functional and flexible.

Verdict -The 4 x 24000 microfarad capacitor + 6 x main amplification chips per channel in A-S2000 really shows it's guts here with deep well defined Bass at any volume + running the unit cooler. There is zero strain and distortion at any volume. I gave up at 3'o' clock position because the whole 3000 sq.ft single family house shakes. You can feel the vibration in the basement concrete !. Four of my next door neighbors stepped in to see what I am doing and jaw dropped in front of the system. As you know the A-S2000 weighs a ton and the first time I lifted it from the door step to my music room gave me the feel of I am pulling the monster truck out of the mud. This monster is real heavy to break the components under it if you plan on keeping on top of any other unit.

If you are not spoiled by the 80s pure analog warm sound, you will fly in heaven with just A-S500 for very little money it takes out of your pocket to please you. If you are searching for the warm smooth sound over the A-S500, the A-S2000 is the only answer. It exceeds the 80s warm smooth sound with super smooth and crystal clear definition in sound. Definitely A-S2000 will create another history over the period. People will be talking about it for over a century for sure. I can boldly say, THERE IS NO AMP THAT MATCHES THE SOUND QUALITY, DEPTH, SMOOTHNESS & DEFINITION OF A-S2000. One amp for your life. PERIOD.

I am completely seduced by the overall sound. I can't find weakness. I tried this amplifier with all high end speakers at the chain store that needs power with authority and refinement. Highs are neutral, soft and not aggressive, the mediums are superb and bring to life voice and instrument, the bass is BONE BREAKING awesome, fast and powerful. At home, with my SOAVO, it just SINGS... The soundstage is deep and wide.

On classical music, you can literally BRING the musicians home, SEE them and feel the recording right at your music room. I MEAN IT. On a wide scale mix of multiple musical instruments playing a at the same time, this amp has ZERO overlapping and plays every single instruments un distorted with some air and room between them crystal clear as it is played in front of you by the musician. Just keep the volume @10 `o' clock position & sit back closing your eyes, you will feel the music and picture the musicians in front of you. IT IS THAT FREAKING AWESOME... The A-S2000 is always under control and excels in multilayer recording. This amplifier is also amazing with Jazz, Blues and pop music. It has enough power reserve that can handle the most demanding recording and dynamics. It delivers so much for the money.

I am a long time audiophile who has owned and has listened to a broad range of very high-end equipment over the years. I did a lot of up front research on the A-S2000 and was finally convinced to pull the trigger and buy based on the quality for dollar value. I was not in the least disappointed! As a matter of fact, I was rather taken aback! Upon unpacking this hefty integrated amplifier you immediately perceive the undeniable through and through quality of the A-S2000. The physical build quality is akin to that of Accuphase gear- not to the nth degree but really close. This is REALLY a special integrated amp and I just can't speak highly enough about it. The resolution is so spot on. The rated power is deceiving because it sounds like it's driving 200WPC and feels like it too at 50 lbs. Yamaha's world class engineers really made a breakthrough with this model with the fully balanced throughput which (and where the rubber meets the road) translates into utter detail resolution, outstanding signal to noise ratio and authoritative and defined bass with no grain, sizzle or fuzz in the highs- just perfect musical precision against a black-silent background.

There is no doubt in my mind, the A-S2000 is a world class, high-end audiophile's integrated amp which doesn't get the respect it deserves. It is a prime example of the major breakthroughs that are happening in modern hi-fi. The irresistible icing on top of this masterpiece of a cake is the price! After spending time with the A-S2000 I am astonished I was able to purchase it at the price I did. It is truly a bargain at its full retail price!

I would recommend high quality efficient speakers for the best synergy. I have my A-S2000 running through a set of PSB Synchrony One towers. The Synchrony Ones are simply amazing speakers that convey every dot, tittle and nuance the A-S2000 is able to wring out of the music and the bass is so authentic and powerful. I have never perceived any lack of power with the A-S2000, on the contrary, I found the Yamaha to seem at ease and effortless in producing a full powerful musical presentation which only gets better as the volume goes higher. That is one of the greatest attributes I have found in the A-S2000 compared to many other amps, its uncanny ability to sound excellent at low listening levels as well as when the volume knob is turned clockwise. This setup has proved to be a pairing that is the best I have ever heard! For the money spent, you just cannot go wrong with the Yamaha A-S2000 and I give my highest recommendation!