A Musicphile solution that MOST people can AFFORD! Yamaha R-S202 Stereo Receiver Review!

[@ZeroFidelity]

I skipped riffing about those power ratings, didn't I? Man, I feel like the parent who promised you McDonalds, but ended up taking you home for PB&J Sammiches. In all seriousness, I decided to make a separate video about the subject. The short-short story is: There's no regulation on how an audio company comes up with power specifictions, meaning it's a total free for all that allows companies to stretch reality as far as they can take it. In the world of AVR's and stereo receivers, most of the power output ratings that you see on a website or price tag are 2-3x higher than their CLEAN (20hz - 20khz) power output rating. This doesn't happen so much with gear that's strictly sold to audiophiles. But it's practically a sacrosanct tradition with mass-market consumer audio.

[@bentackson8894]

Thanks for the education bit there. Sean, I believe you don't doubt the vast majority of Audiophile audience you carry alone. Therefore, this and many others (education) you carry out in the past have had positive impact in people's audiophile life's journey.

[@stvitalkid7981]

I think the FTC or some other U.S government agency tried to regulate how audio manufacturers were allowed to describe power ratings back in the 70’s. That’s when the X number of watts per channel RMS description came out IIRC. Too bad that seems to have gone by the wayside. I bought this particular Yamaha receiver back in March just before the price went up in Canada. I’m running it through 25 year old JBL MR 26 loudspeakers I just had re-foamed this year.

[@ta563]

I think at some point it reached a level where if a company is honest about their ratings they will lose a lot of sales to those that lie, because customers will just skip them for the products with higher numbers. Imagine a Yamaha listed at 50 wpc sitting next to a couple of other brands listed as 100 wpc when they all put out roughly the same power. It reminds me of Andrew Jones, when people ask him about his speakers being 6 ohms, trying to find a way to nicely say that a lot of the other manufactures lie and the speakers they list at 8 ohms should really be listed as lower than his 6 ohm ones. My pet peeve is the Klipsch bookshelf speakers that claim super high efficiency when they measure about 7 dB lower. Every time someone asks about speakers for low powered tube setups those get recommended because they are 'so efficient'. If they like the way they sound then great, but don't buy them just because of the exaggerated specs (I almost did). There are plenty of other 89 dB speakers (what they measure) out there to choose from.

[@canadianwildlifeservice8883]

Same thing with THD ratings. Most times the THD is only measured at about 80% of the total output. I saw a $350 Cambridge Audio amplifier list THD like this this in their specs too. That's why I refuse to even consider a class D amplifier because the THD is even more atrocious and I don't care how "good it sounds". Distortion means clipping, which is not GOOD for a speaker's voice coil over time, even if you can't hear it!

[@svalbard01]

So you're saying this Pyle power amp I bought for $80 new doesn't really have 500WPC? Why would it have all these awesome blue lights if it really didn't have 500WPC?

[@aceofspades6667]

It's fine it's a fine product... Glad that Sean is trying his hand at some budget products. I think his expensive ears in the bargain basement section would be welcomed by many of us. We are all looking for "giant killers" which may not exist but there may be some budget products that have some ingredients that they more expensive units offer.

[@basilcaesar9289]

show prize for product

[@sidneyalves1556]

Eu acredito que nessa linha de assassinos de gigantes nós temos a opção de comprar placas, transformadores, gabinete, dissipador e montar nós mesmos o amplificador . Isso pode dá certo e ficar uma fração do preço de um hi end.

[@Boring_user_name]

Own for a year. Great receiver for its price without any unnecessary bells and whistles

[@thisisnev]

Good to see there are still a couple of Japanese players in the entry-level field producing gear that doesn't disgrace itself!

[@vulcangunner58]

I've had one of these for about 2 years. I paid $150 at an online supplier, and I really like the value. It's clean and smooth sound is very satisfying at this price.

[@JoseOchoita]

You said "you had"... Did you upgrade to something? If you did, why did you do it?

[@lovehorses2669]

I like the thicker sound of NAD and Denon amplifiers.

[@vulcangunner58]

@@JoseOchoita I presently have 4 amplifiers, a hybrid, a class d, and 2 ab amps. (one the Yamaha) One Onkyo I rescued from the trash. Stereo is a hobby I've been enjoying for 50 yrs. and I like to experiment and mix/ match speakers and electronics. What I meant was using this as an everyday receiver, I'm satisfied with its performance over the time stated.

[@JoseOchoita]

@@vulcangunner58 Oh, I understand. Thanks for replying. I wish I could own multiple amps, but I need to buy one first, hahaha. Glad to know you enjoyed the Yamaha.

[@vulcangunner58]

@@JoseOchoita Good luck in your pursuit of great sound..it takes time with hobbies. Have fun, I'm 63 now and I love music just as much as I did when young. And I can't get enough of the "budget" gear. I'm the "old rocker" on my block!...peace.

[@JR-ho5qm]

I have one in my garage for about 5 years. It does a decent job at powering 4 ohm CerwinVega speakers. Great bang for your buck!

[@condor8142]

I have one in my living room that I use for streaming (laptop stream, cell, etc). When i hooked my vintage KLH, with all tweeters, woofer and medium speakers like you would do with a regular old amplifier, the sound was beautiful! Adding a Yamaha subwoofer, I use wires instead of Rca Y- shape cables, I even was shocked by the bass frequency relatively clean. And, you control all that with the easiest and complete remote control I have ever seen. Thank you for your accurate review! You are amazing!

[@PresidenteHollanda]

I just got a Yamaha R-N602 and hooked it up to my Triangle BRO3 speakers ... the sound experience is amazing. I do not use the tone controls ever, it sounds for me just perfect with al lot of different music types.

[@quentin537]

I keep this receiver in my working station with a pair of Polk Audio T-15 bookshelf speakers. Now for the amount of money I spent on both Items I get some nice sounds. I enjoy my old CDs and music from my smartphone thanks to the bluetooth. Also with a RCA to 3.5 connected to headphone on my pc I can play music from KZbin and Zero Fidelity without any problems. Thanks for reviewing this very nice entry level receiver because it deserve some recognition for its price & quality.

[@kaivrock]

He forgot the most important thing. It’s made by Yamaha.Their tuning fork logo is there for a reason. They do sound and they do it incredibly well.

[@slash7303]

Definitely I'm here cause my 15yr Yamaha receiver finnaly stop working

[@FabioGnecco]

​@@slash7303I'm sorry for your loss !

[@Harald-MacGerhard]

😍

[@jonshams]

I have the A-S202 which is the same unit without bluetooth and radio. It drives my LS-50s very well. I love that I can adjust the base and treble from a dedicated button from the remote. This is a huge value for your money.

[@ramondelgado6778]

I LOVE when you to these budget reviews, and this one was awesome!!!! I agreed with all of your pros and cons. It got me wondering, what can you get, for just a bit more that would cross of the cons? The Onkyo TX-8220 for only $249 uses binding posts for banana connectors (push terminals.....gross!), a sub out, 1 optical / 1 dig coax out, pre-outs for an external amp, and also has tone control knobs on the front! Looks like a bargain champ! Keep the great work coming! God bless!

[@reidbounsall9098]

Thanks for reviewing this reasonably priced Yamaha receiver. I've had this model for just over 2 years and it has performed flawlessly, and, to my ears at least, sounds pretty good, too. I live in a bachelor apartment so I must of necessity use restraint with the volume control, so this unit has more than enough power for my Infinity Tower speakers which I bought new about 15 years ago for roughly $500 Canadian. It's refreshing to hear a review like this, i.e. something that has a decent sound that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg. Well done Sean!

[@Bob.martens]

For most people nowadays this is all they want. Works all day, everyday, for decades and lets you throw a small party if you like distortion:)

[@AaronR-p2r]

i thought it was a great amp till i bought a higher end yamaha amp and i realized all the details/resolution in my music i was missing!! i never looked up specs on the amp till today and it is @ .2% THD!! That is insane!! That is not going to give clear detailed music! i picked up a yamaha a-s701 and its a night and day difference...

[@jacquesmertens3369]

Do you still have this model, and do you hear a little bit of hiss/white noise when using headphones? I mean a constant noise on the left side, independent of the volume, very audible when the volume is almost zero. It disappears when you mute by turning the volume to zero.

[@mikelaplante7873]

I have this very receiver connected to Sony SSCS5s and a 70w Sony active sub, and this is my PC workstation sound system. I use a Schitt Modi3 DAC and USB to get clean data to the receiver. The sound stage is unbelievable. I think I found the sub at a thrift store! True budget system, but the fidelity is amazing. The R-S202 has plenty of power for a large room, it drives the Sonys' to concert volume easily in my den. The Bluetooth works great, so you can use your phone as a streamer. Great, inexpensive system.

[@erwingarde8922]

Wonderful review, Sean. I too have this Yamaha R-S202 hooked to a vintage KLH 23 and I think the music it produce sounded beautiful. Happy listening 😃

[@JohnnySavage11]

I think you gave the Yamaha amplifier/receiver a fair review. I bought one a year ago,& i love it. Not my first ever stereo system but i wanted to build a nice sounding system on a budget for my mancave. I have a bit if a different set up on mine with 2 polk audio ps10 subs coming from A & B. Coming from those subs i have 2 T series polk audio book shelf speakers,& the other subs i have the Dayton audio book shelf speakers. The ones dubbed as the best $50 speakers on the market. At the end of the day it sounds really good at about 60 to 70 percent volume in a small room. I built this set up for under $700 total by the way.

[@titan90000]

I have been running aRaspberry Pi with Volumio through a Topping E30 into this receiver into a set of Sony SSCS5 speakers for the past 10 months. I have been very happy with this setup. You can definitely shake the walls with this setup very easily if you wish in a medium room.

[@tellthemborissentyou]

I bought the Yamaha R-N602 three years ago in a January sale. I didn't know how much I would use it. Turns out almost every day. One day I will upgrade but for now it is a lot of fun to listen to.

[@OoDoRFoO]

Nice review. At this level I would *strongly* recommend the R-N303 which is a huge step up over the R-S202 because it has 1) A phono stage 2) digital input 3) lossless networked audio over UPnP or AirPlay. I am researching much higher-end stuff, but the R-N303 is such a complete package that it holds me back from dropping thousands. Plus instead of those crappy spring terminals you get crappy plastic binding posts, but it is a little better :)

[@mfdanlamb]

Do you think it really worth it? Thinking about buying this receiver, but I just saw a lightly used R-N303 on eBay for $120, I immediately felt tempted. This R-S202 is at $150 right now.

[@robofguelph]

I enjoy my rn602 very much. It’s a complete package and the Yamaha app works well too. Good luck!

[@rft2001]

The 303 has the same internal amp as the 202 with added bells and whistles and a higher price. You can add a phono stage or dac on your own so it depends on what you want.

[@kirill_gusev]

@@robofguelph Hey, just searched your comment as want to say think you for your posting this! after reading it I researched R-N602 , found one one eBay and enjoying it for a week! Amazing unit.

[@JR-ho5qm]

@@rft2001are you sure the 303 and 202 have the same amount of power. I herd that the 303 has more real world power and current than the 202

[@leeQue]

So, I am happy to announce that it’s almost 3 days in play this machine in different ways - so happy I decided to buy it. Thanks for your work, man!

[@azureoval]

I have this Yamaha in my Garage hooked to some old Polk RT25's. Perfect for FM and Bluetooth listening out there.

[@linuxpyle]

I've had one of these for a few years and recommended one to a good friend and for the price, it's a super solid great sounding choice!!!!

[@goobfilmcast4239]

I am glad there are more reviewers looking at "beer" rather than "champagne" audio products. At my age and the environments in which I listen to music most days, multi-Thousand dollar, high-end "audiophile" grade products would just be a waste of money. For my near-field listening I have a an HK 3700 Reciever with Pioneer BS-22s and a budget Dayton Audio 10" Powered Sub. For more critical listening I have a TEAC HA-P50 DAC/Amp, Sennheiser/MassDrop 6XX headphones and use Tidal MQA and my own FLAC titles from my shiny new M1 Mac Mini... all of which offer a great experience at a relatively low cost.

[@cristim9779]

I got it. Is really great. Really loving its realxed sound and sweet treble. My type of sound just like the hi fi from the 90s.

[@torriejohnson6347]

Does the Bluetooth connect to your tv?

[@keithdaniels1994]

Just picked up one a couple weeks ago. Hooked it to my desk top with a Modi DAC, for speakers I had an old pair of JBL Control 5s and picked up a Polk Sub. It mops the floor with the the old Logitech powered junk. I can actually enjoy music on my computer now and for not a lot of money. Winner. Oh and thanks for the heads up about the head phones, haven't even checked that out yet.

[@Wheelin_Dylan]

I’m upgrading to some amp driven speakers for the first time (previously just had a Sony all in one Bluetooth home audio system thing) and have just picked this up to power a pair of Klipsch RP-600M’s I got for a good price. All I wanted was something decent to stream music through and connect a pretty entry level turntable. Can’t wait to get it all going! Thanks for the review and talking me out out of getting sucked into spending twice as much.

[@terencemayo662]

I got one for my emergency covid home office last year. Hooked up some old polk towers. Sounds great. Got me thinking i should upgrade the old HK to a higher end Yamaha with bluetooth.

[@TheBrigar]

Don't sleep on the older HK's...

[@andrewmorgan6734]

I bought one these for my first hifi system, it’s great budget receiver. I bought mine for 90 bucks, and reused it to build another budget system for my brother as his birthday gift.

[@andreassouth1523]

In Europe this amp cost 239 euros(276 dollars)!!!

[@petethegreekre]

A few days ago I had a listen to a cheap amp of there's with a set of budget Yamaha speakers and I was really astonished by the performance. I always avoided Yamaha amplifiers due to them not being warm at all back in the day. Had no idea it could be so good for so cheap. It's like you can't go wrong these days, everything sounds decent enough.

[@emmemmemm2360]

would you describe these as sounding warm?

[@luism8612]

@@emmemmemm2360it’s all bs

[@RennieAsh]

The only thing spring clips don't do is accept larger wire gauge and banana/spades unless it's a big spring clip. Otherwise, still has ok contact area. In fact many twist terminals attach to the board via the same piece of metal that spring clips are made from.

[@pm4898]

Thanks for taking the time with the budget stuff. Reminds me of earlier ZF vids. Great job.

[@CissyGeorge]

I have paired NS-8390 set of speakers with this receiver and I find it satisfactory. Later on I added an Edifier T5 subwoofer too. I even added a Stranger equaliser to take control of the sound output to my liking. Everything is set and now I have amazing performance in my living room.

[@Frantsov_]

how much ohms are your speakers ? Can I go with 6 ohm ?

[@northcorrea8263]

How did you wire the sub? Was interested in this unit, but no phono or sub out were deal breakers for me?

[@jawadtaheri4989]

I got one of these and it had made me very happy its decent enough

[@ptomp6167]

Very good review. Right on about the laid back, non-fatiguing, and fun sound signature. I'm a musicphile that enjoys well recorded music - I don't see myself as an audiophile. I've had this receiver for about a year and I can say that I'm in one of the categories that this is perfect for. I have 2 home theaters in my house, but I wanted to put together a decent 2 channel system for my home office (approx 13'x14'x10'). I paired the receiver with the Dayton MK442T tower speakers (best budget speakers of 2019, according to Audioholics) they're 4 Ohms and the receiver drives them effortlessly; and a Wiim Pro streamer. This system absolutely rocks in my room. I like many types of music and everything from rock, to jazz, to electronica, to classical sounds amazing to my ears. I cannot push the volume all the way up in my room, it gets too loud for me, but I can't hear any distortion. I listen to music while I work, but I stop working several times a day just to listen to the music in the sweet spot. I don't claim to have "golden ears" but this receiver knocks it out of the park for me. I can't be happier with it. I haven't tried it with headphones, but I also have the Grado SR 60. I'm going to plug them in RIGHT NOW!!!

[@sdtx1112]

Either this receiver or the Sony paired with the Sony SSCS5 or Jamo 803, and you've got a great starter system for just over $300. Pretty incredible.

[@rhapsodyd6339]

Who sounds better, this or the strdh190?

[@sdtx1112]

@@rhapsodyd6339 I don't own either, but Sean spoke about the differences he hears. Plenty of reviews of both on the web. If you can hold off for a little over a month, the Sony for sure will get a price drop on Black Friday, and probably this unit also.

[@tpr299]

I bought this receiver, the Sony SSCS5 speakers, and a Dayton 8” subwoofer for my wife’s office. It sounds great. I love listening to it.

[@Ratchet98]

@@tpr299 how do you hookup a powered sunbwoofer to the receiver?

[@tpr299]

@@Ratchet98, you run the speaker outputs to the subwoofer, and then run the left, and right speaker wires from there.

[@kenthobbs9527]

Own one. $119 paired with Elac Debut B6's $189. Sounds great!

[@Allaces305]

I have the exact same set up paired up with a topping E30 dac and an Android tablet...i think it sounds amazing.

[@Extremesam43]

Thanks Sean! I'm a lover of great cheap audio and will have to look deeper into this one.

[@991carreras3]

I went thru 5 new integrated receivers all 500-1000 testing all of them over 4mths and the best one that I kept was the Yamaha A S801 in silver. Yamaha makes a great well made great sounding product.

[@cartilagehead]

The immediate step up from this guy (RN-303) has stuff like Bluetooth/Airplay/Network, Five Way Posts, phono pre, and a (basic) built in DAC. It’s literally double the price right now (it was notably cheaper before COVID) in the low-$300s but if you were going to cobble together a cheap DAC + Bluetooth puck/etc with the 202 you’d still end up in the same territory pricewise. If you need a new all-in-one box as cheaply as possible the 303 might be the sweet spot.

[@ZeroFidelity]

Good point!

[@daniannaci3258]

Thanks Alex! I was going to make the same point except to add, when comparing the power amp specs, the 202 and 303 seem to be identical which would lead me to believe that the two have identical, or very similar, sound signatures. That being said, on Yamaha’s website the 303 power amp specs add a 100WPC into 8 ohms 40-20,000 kHz at 0.2% distortion. Juicy enough to forgive that 140 WPC at 1 kHz @ 10% distortion rating. Sounds like the marketing guy pressed for that one…Oh, and the 303 weighs one pound more.

[@daniannaci3258]

Are we ready to trade in our Luxman’s now?

[@remi2206]

Thanks for doing these budget reviews🙋‍♂️

[@crob1612]

I utilize this receiver with a emotiva 2 channel amp to play my pool side music speakers, with Bluetooth to my Apple iPhone.. sound it outstanding.

[@jamessouthworth1699]

I bought one of these and I love it. It's everything I want and nothing I don't. I just wanted a two-channel receiver with lots of clean power. The only tech feature is the Bluetooth and frankly that's the only tech feature I wanted.

[@michaelcollins2473]

For a person just starting out (maybe their first "real" stereo system), how can you go wrong? Under $200. Pedigree name brand. Simple, and sounds good! Amazing what's out there these days.....

[@aggonzalez8096]

This was the first stereo equipment I bought, along with an onkyo c7030 cd and some pretty cheap Klipsch bookshelf speakers. I think everything at that time (2017) was about 500 bucks and it sounded great! I ended up getting a Yamaha as801 recently, being faithful to yamaha, but the RS202 was great starting out.

[@qwkimball]

There are some good deals out there these days. I have a Pioneer receiver I picked up for a workspace with a harsh environment. AM/FM, Bluetooth, acceptable sound all for $125 new on sale, and no worries when the sawdust inevitably takes it to the grave.

[@Synthematix]

A properly set up stereo system can sound absolutely stunning

[@michaelculhane7227]

I really liked this review!!! I don't think I ever commented on one of your videos before.

[@S_Rizvi]

I have this unit for the last 4 years. It really is a wonderful piece of equipment. I bought it for Can$200 from visions. I want to upgrade now but i fear if the new more expensive one may not be as musical as this one.

[@danielhifi3147]

Great review Sean. Room looks great too.

[@hugobloemers4425]

What a breath of fresh air.

[@bigdallyc]

Holy shit, that's my first amp! I still have it hooked up to a couple of paradigms and a sub in our tv room.

[@marcomolini9338]

Spot on review, Sean! I own the next step up, the R-S303 paired with the WharfDale Linton Heritage speakers and can honestly say it's fantastic sounding and all I'll ever need. Sure I could have spent a lot more on a higher priced receiver but the Yamaha is great as-is.

[@HanifBarnwell]

Are you using a subwoofer with the Linton’s?

[@marcomolini9338]

@@HanifBarnwell Not at first but I did eventually add a 10" Polk Audio sub and now it's awesome!

[@HanifBarnwell]

@@marcomolini9338 I ordered a pair yesterday (mahogany) to replace my klipsch 5000f and was concerned about that I have an svs subwoofer so I guess I should be OK. Thx for the response.

[@marcomolini9338]

@@HanifBarnwell Should be great!

[@dm95422]

I think you meant the R-S300 with ToP-Art chassis 50 wpc @ 8ohms.

[@stevenholt5484]

Thank you Sean, excellent review of a fine product.

[@thomasanonymous594]

Thank you for this video, sir! God bless you and your loved ones!

[@darrylsh]

I just bought this because the sony was sold out. I'm not disappointed. It sounds great. I'm replacing an old kenwood that is twenty years old and driving "15 mtx towers. Sounds fine.

[@bikdav]

I have the R-S202 and I’m very satisfied with it. As for the transformer? Mine wasn’t audible.

[@wallstreetcrash1]

For the people that need to know…. I picked up this amplifier for £170 as a reverb deal here in the uk.🇬🇧 (actually a returned item) hooked up my brand-new Klipsch KP 600MK2 SPEEKERS more three times the price of the amp …(£699) which I was told, are always the most important thing to start with. So… that said…. All in all this amp works wonderfully considering my input needs, i.e. streaming and CD…. ITS A YAMAHA..! 😁👍👍👍. Audiophile Newbie.

[@jpaleas]

I have three of those .. one for my business connected with an older Rx 777 , basically using its Bluetooth feature and to drive an extra set of speakers while feeding sound into the Rx777 thru rec. out . The other two at home, again using the Bluetooth feature and feeding sound into bigger Yamahas and each one driving a pair of extra vintage speakers ! I find the sound to be satisfactory for only one pair of speakers at a time, it is a little weak otherwise... but for the price point definitely good enough to play around while driving extra sets of speakers through out the house while collaborating with stronger amps.

[@LorDarkGoose]

I had a pair of the fantastic Stirling Broadcast LS3/5A's some years ago. I had them on a few great amplifiers (Prima Luna, Unison Research, Marantz etc.) but my favourite pairing was from a little Monitor Audio A100 desktop amp that cost a fraction of the price of some of them! I still have that little amp tucked away should I ever pick up some more LS3's again. The value you get from some "budget" gear is just unbelievable. Thanks for the review Sean!

[@ta563]

When the synergy between the components is just right, the results can be amazing.

[@Starch1b2c3d4a]

Had one of these. Was not bad at all. It has a lot of punch. Paired it with kef Q150’s

[@benegesserit9838]

how about noise? hum there?

[@matthewhilty4209]

This reminds me of my little Rega Brio (headphone jack version). It is not powerful or has any digital features but it always sounds good , not the most articulate or fast but "fun" sounding. It probably measures like crap also, but I don't care. I think there's some magic in the old school simple Darlington pair design. Try to find one used since new prices are a bit nuts lately.

[@Extremesam43]

Great video Andy. Hopefully too, because of it's price, it will bring more new music lovers into the store.

[@mbear709]

I just now have it hooked up. So far I love it. spring terminals are not good also they do not accept #12 speaker wire

[@fredericfouquart9986]

Hi Zero Fidelity, Thanks for the review ! I was looking for feedbacks on this amplifer since, odly enough I use it:) ... I'm looking for its replacement and so to compare with reviews of some higher ends gear (Yamaha R-N803D, NAD C368 ...) I wanted to compares how it goes. I completely agree on the 8/4ohms speakers consequences, since I have replaced a pair of Triangle Comete 902 in 8ohms for a pair of Sonus Faber lumina II that work in 4 ohms. While the sound is overly better (way higher price range ..) the R-S202 become very limited after 50/60 watts. Point is, as you said, for its price range this amplifier does frankly an astounding job, and I'll replaced it for a matter of "even better" quality choice. best of all!

[@bobb.9917]

Good stuff…nice to see lower-end gear talked about intelligently! I may have missed it, but you kept alluding to the output power "lie" and saying you would explain the discrepancy…but you never did? I am interested to hear what the "game is" and how to detect it as a consumer. Thanks!

[@errorsofmodernism9715]

There is no objective industry standard to measure power. It is subjective based on how one decides to measure it.

[@ZeroFidelity]

Yeah. I decided to leave that rant for a separate video. See the stickied comment!

[@RennieAsh]

A lot of power ratings are listed as at 1kHz and at 10% thd. I'd be more interested if they used 20-20k and at 1% or 0.1% thd. Who's going to be listening to music at 1kHz and 10% thd lol

[@bobb.9917]

@@ZeroFidelity Thanks Sean!

[@SaabKen]

Haha when you talked about the headphones performance you referred to the Yamaha as the "808" 😉 But great review, as always.

[@georgefortlauderdale]

I have this in my bedroom paired with Klipsch RB 51’s. Considering the price, I couldn’t be happier. It’s actually very enjoyable and has enough power for a bedroom. The speaker ports are a joke but somehow seem to work. However, my 30 year old cd player recently died on me. It was a Sony ES single CD player with RCAs. Do they still sell component sized single cd players with rca plugs?

[@josephcangelosi4414]

Sean, I really enjoy your thorough, artticulare and brief reviews! I can't get over how much quality information you provide so bonestly. I've been watching your reviews for a few months and I would love to know what are some of your favotite jazz CDs.. Could you please provide a list? I enjoy artists like Dave Grusin or David Benoit on piano, or Jack Jezzro on jazz guitar (mellow jazz).. Thanks Joe C

[@billmcpheeters1888]

I'm an old school fart who got into hi-fi in the early 70's. That inspired me to get my AS in electronics technology, although I never really used it, it did get my foot in the door for technical sales. I have 2 comments of your points on the receiver. (1) I like the spring loaded binding posts better that the screw type banana plugs on most electronics today. They provide a better connection with constant tension. Most people don't know the proper way to connect the screw type. Should the insulation go under the screw cap or only bare wire? How long should the wire be stripped? Also, they frequently loosen due to vibration. (2) There is a definite formula for wattage. If a manufacturer does not specify wattage as RMS (root mean square) then they are likely using peak power as the specified output, which is considerably less than RMS. Any true 50 watt RMS peer channel amplifier should be able to drive a pair of most speakers as loud as you want quite well. Many people believe that the old receivers were more powerful and cleaner than current models, even though electronics technology has progressed light years from the 70's. It's more about marketing and bottom line now days than it is about producing the best product for the money.

[@riccardoantonelli1977]

Please, I can't get an answer to my question... : a man from Yamaha Customer Care told me that I can use this amplifier with two Yamaha 6 ohm speakers (NS-PB182PW). But I'm reading everywhere that it's not safe for it (here we have an 8 ohm impedance, right?) I love this amplifier and I'd like to buy it, but I'm searching for more opinions about this. Could you hwlp me?

[@danwheetman6914]

Great clear and concise review. Thanks.

[@gene8933]

can you control balance from remote on Sony? On the Yamaha you can.That's important to me to lock center stage. Even on some high end gear that feature is hard to find.

[@mikephillips5551]

That out put is powering my sub!!

[@bentackson8894]

Ayekoo Sean!!! More room should be dedicated or given to budget and low-end gear as rightly done. But Sean, you kept us in suspense with the power output bit. Please, enlighten us to know the difference in order to put the manufacturer on their toe and not to continuously taken us for a ride.

[@ZeroFidelity]

Made a sticky comment. :)

[@temp7774]

Great review Sean. Thanks

[@jacquesmertens3369]

Is there anyone out there who has a R-S202 and can tell me whether a slight noise in the left channel is normal? I hear it when using headphones. The noise is the same regardless of the volume. It disappears when you turn the volume off. So what you want to check is the difference between volume level 1 and 0, using headphones. Am I just unlucky, or this is a flaw that comes with every R-S202? FYI I have the DAB version.

[@bjarnhedur]

make sure everything has a secure connection to power, and that every cable is connected securely

[@GameboyDiamond9051]

I actually bought it and I'm using it for my big speakers and that's why the base is okay I'll probably just upgraded

[@sonicjackalopeproductions3342]

As an actual Audio and Acoustics engineer, I can attest that this is the PERFECT turntable companion. A/B channels @ 8ohms makes this killer for home dual deck listening setups, simple interface, even a decent Bluetooth receiver! My partner has her nice AT-LP120 and a belt drive turntable, and she has her Polk T15's on channel A and her Vintage Technics SB-L30's on B (because some records just sound better out of different speakers w/o the need for a graphic EQ). It's bulletproof, simple, clean and really classes up your vinyl setup! This, a nice direct drive turntable and some decent sub 100w 8ohm speakers will fit 90% of the record collectors that you will be proud to put your expensive disks on. Don't listen to "audiophile" gatekeepers who couldn't read a note of music. He's right: These are the people's "musician grade" listening amps

[@kbobdonahue1966]

I bought a Sony STR-DH190 mainly because of the phono jack and I just prefer the sound, but I did buy a Yamaha RX-V385 for home theater and Yamaha’s great reputation for great sound.

[@scottbaylor6215]

Excellent review. Keep it up.

[@woodstock480]

I used this receiver for a few years before stepping up to the Yamaha A-A501. It's a great, feature-filled unit. I temporarily swapped it back in to my system a few months ago and still love it. What a value--particularly when I purchased it at it's old price of $130. Oh, and I upgraded to the A-S501 because I hated the spring clips. I also have the Grado SR60e headphones, which I also love and contrast well with the Sennheiser HD6XX cans.

[@cmkilcullen8176]

Have one these in my office with a pair of polk bookshelf with cd player and it sounds pretty awesome for an office. Takes Blue tooth for streaming. Awesome for some office or bedroom audio.

[@scottygdaman]

Recently got the yamaha rn 303 Its ok. Better than ok in some phases but antique bluetooth codec on new gear? Why? Im using a pair of jammo towers and edifir book shelf usually i use all four also wired in a small polk sub. Via the subs speaker in. Not real happy with that. But for a back bedroom not bad. The 303 has some decent features for the cost and full volume no clipping. The nas feature is ok and while Yamaha music cast sux it does work well.

[@Bakamoona78]

Excellent review, on point!!

[@timtravasos2742]

Good review but I wish we could have heard a side by side comparison with the Sony.

[@tee-jaythestereo-bargainph2120]

Is that a real tree 😆 Great Job Sean under 200 🇺🇸 😃 warranty and relability of Yamaha thats a no brainer thanks for the speaker reccomendations that will help alot of people

[@khalid969]

Thanks for the review. What is the difference between an integrated amp and a stereo receiver?

[@mauricecanham687]

a receiver is an integrated amp with a built-in FM/AM tuner.

[@stevenholt5484]

A stereo receiver has a built in radio tuner, whereas an integrated amp does not.

[@khalid969]

@@mauricecanham687 Got it. Thank you!

[@khalid969]

@@stevenholt5484 Thank you!

[@shoerice5083]

Just ordered this amp, very sad that in my country the price in dollars is about 500$... yes 500$ It is what it is, i think im still gonna enjoy it

[@rlwings]

Most people who would buy this receiver are probably using bare wire speaker cables; so spring-loaded binding posts make sense. They're functional, sound the same as banana's and are cheaper.

[@analogaudiorules1724]

Exactly

[@Anonymous__Prime]

Would this power a set of vintage Cerwin Vega D3s?

[@sonicjackalopeproductions3342]

As long as the cabs are 8Ohm @ at least 20W RMS, you can't go wrong

[@thedarkknight1971]

04:00 - Erm, isn't it the other way around? 4 Ohm easier to drive than 8 Ohm, which in turn is easier to drive than 16 Ohm? Or are you talking power of the PSU to drive the Amp chip/circuit and not the circuit itself? 🤔

[@perryantonio20]

Receiver line in and line out inputs and outputs are for tape recorder monitoring.

[@blakenewton2781]

I own the IotaVX amp. If this is half the performance of it it's a good recommendation. Most speakers like Polk's, Klipsch or B&Ws are going to go well with this.

[@itsthekushguy8701]

I have this product works amazing

[@erikalexander6602]

The description on this unit sounds completely opposite of what Yamaha’s have historically been over the decades. Used to be clear, hollow mid range, leaner bass, tipped up highs. Sounds like not anymore, more towards Denon sound, minus fatter bass

[@Heyzeus71]

I have a powered sub connected to the output and it works fine.

[@OTovias886]

Great video, I wanted to get your opinion on a amp for my patio that won’t break the back. Mostly gonna be used to watch sports on my Tv and music of course. I’ve been doing my KZbin Amazon research and found you to be a guru of said topic.

[@NemoPropaganda]

Will this work with double impacts?

[@amb3cog]

Spectacularly!

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@amb3cog Nice lol, the irony is it'd probably be alright.

[@amb3cog]

@@NemoPropaganda I was joking a bit, but not really. I bet it would sound really good actually. Why not right? They actually match up well, on paper anyway. ✌️

[@pumapunkudevelopment3376]

I compared both and the DH190 on sale was the winner.

[@dankaufman6054]

Sir, I am considering this receiver for my woodworking shop where I am surrounded by KEF KHT2005.2 speakers (8ohms). I insist on being able to play Rush, Motörhead and Black Sabbath sometimes at loud levels. Go or no go? Thanks.

[@dankaufman6054]

P.S. great review

[@Harald-MacGerhard]

Thanks a lot for doing this Sean.... this looks really great for an application of driving audio at home office, married to some small studio monitors. Really tempting thing, but then I also need an external dac which adds to cost 😎 .... but those binding posts 😥 The Yamaha A-S301 integrated amp at slightly higher cost has dac and better binding posts 🤔