Why Does the Yamaha A S501 Sound So Good

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[@watermelonbeast]

I purchased the 501 amp last year. I am elated to have a Yamaha amp again. My first receiver was a Yamaha CR-620 that I got my senior year of high school in 1975. I had the amp until the late 90s but it became too expensive to fix. I now have the Yamaha sound back with the variable loudness control. My NAD 356BEE will now do backup.

[@robertwilson214]

Yamaha do a lovely 'analogue'sound.I would describe it as smooth but still detailed. I had a Yamaha surround amp and it sounded as good as some hifi amps.Then got the as301,it reminds me of the pioneer a400,never harsh with full bass and mids.

[@philchapman1463]

I sold Yamaha amp years ago when the yamaha introduced the loudness control, it was introduced to enhance bass naturally. All other amps would have a "loudness" button you would press at low volume to bump up the bass (a bass boost). So Yamaha came up with the idea of rolling off the mids and highs instead. Its work like this, you crank up the volume and get a nice bass tone going and then you use the loudness control to roll back the mids and highs thus bringing down the amp to a lower listen level but allowing the amp to drive the bass with full current going to it, thus no artificial boost but yet a strong bass response. Its quite a brilliant idea and works well when you understand what it does and how to teak it. It's great with klipsch speakers that can be a bit forward in it projection of sound. The loudness control helps tame that. This also help with speakers that have low bass output because you drive a lot of current to the bass.

[@alphinpeter2847]

Hahahah, r u comments every were yamaha amps , why man ? why?

[@ollil1923]

Hello, I'm looking for an amplifier for my Klipsch RP 280F. Would this amplifier be enough and would it be a good combination?

[@nathaneldogo]

Is a ok to hook up with 2 subwoofers 🔊 🔊?

[@dj_sorra8605]

Can I attach an equalizer to the AS 501?

[@SteveBonin]

I owned Yamaha in the 80's, then I wanted to try some "high-end" equipment in the late 90's into the 2000's. I really did not hear a lot of difference and had 2 amps from reputable high-end manufacturers go belly up within 5 years each. I went back to Yamaha sometime around 2014 with the RXA740, sold that in 2018 and bought a used RXA3040...and the 2 receivers I bought in the 1980's still work! It really is about build-quality! Too bad I wasted like $8000 on high-end amps in the early 2000's, if I had that money now I would own an RXA3070 or Yamaha Separates.

[@johnwhite797]

I have a Yamaha AS 201 and it's really not bad at all, as an entry level. Which is the difference between the AS 201, AS 301 and AS 501? I still dont understand pexle, how many watts (rms?) does my ampli have..some say 2x100...but who knows? the only flaw is that it heats up like an omelette pan...but for the rest is a very good object. Now I have to decide for a second ampli and I have seen, for the same price, an Onkyo and a Denon...Could someone help?

[@woodstock480]

I've had an A-S501 for the past 8 months or so. The Yamaha R-S202 that it replaced is my only other point of comparison, but I love the A-S501.

[@melvinoxl3589]

Is there differences in sound, say stereo soundstage/quality?

[@woodstock480]

I don't have the greatest speaker placement in my room, and I can't really speak to soundstage differences based on the amplifier alone--not to mention I don't have the most resolving system--but I recall noticing a much fuller sound when I first hooked up the A-S501. How much of it may have been placebo, I don't know, but I really liked what I heard. The R-S202 was especially good for its price, and has great features (built-in Bluetooth, and I frquently listen to the radio), if you need something budget-friendly and don't mind spring clips instead of being able to use speaker cables with banana plugs.

[@ehg1962]

I love my 501 I love the pure direct and I use the optical cable for my CD great amp all around

[@zkid1582]

what speakers r u using .. Me i have some generic floor standing speaker and sound not good when use with the As-501

[@ehg1962]

@@zkid1582 I'm using old Pioneer speakers from the early 80's

[@MERBABU-AC]

@@zkid1582 what brand of speakers do you use, I already have a Yamaha AS501 amplifier and am planning to buy Elac F5 speakers, is this a good decision?

[@johanvergote7985]

Great amplifiers, but i wonder why you don't use toroidal transformators for a small extra money?

[@Mr.Deeds.]

I have one and I love it ;)

[@mindriot010]

I just ordered a Yamaha A-S501 and I’m excited! But I keep hearing the phono preamp isn’t all that great. I only listen to vinyl with a vintage Sansui turntable and vintage Sansui speakers along with some newer Pioneer bookshelf speakers. I’m really hoping I won’t have to buy an external preamp just for good sounds. I’m already spending $550 for this amp 😅

[@stebennett3453]

I have this AMP and i love it and i also love the fact it has sub out :)

[@CM-dw3gh]

Yea I'm looking at a refurbed A-S500 for £179. Seems like a good deal.

[@stebennett3453]

@@CM-dw3gh Defo worth it for that price seeing as the A-S301 sells new here for like £330 now and if i remember right that is more than i originally paid for the A-S501 lol

[@user-el2zj3pw5r]

Hi, remote controller does not have bass or treble? Only manually can be done via amp controls only?

[@audioman3017]

correct

[@derekscancarelli291]

I just recently purchased this amp. I am using two Focal Chora speakers which are 8 ohm. I find the ohm setting on the back confusing. Do you know if it should be set to LOW or HIGH? The manual says that if I'm only using SPEAKER A and the impedance is 6 ohm or higher, it should be set to high -- so that's what I have it on. However, the whole "higher" or "lower" language confuses me because as I understand, the LOWER the ohms, the more power it needs? Any thoughts here?

[@audioman3017]

Leave it on High so it doesn’t limit the current output.

[@universerc7045]

What a best choise ? Yamaha A S501 vs Denon PMA 800 &?

[@ylcnblack]

Yes anyone give us an answer please

[@hardlygospel374]

@@ylcnblack Yamaha

[@evenaicantfigurethisout]

What's the difference between as801 and as501?

[@diavalus]

Mostly more poower from the as801.

[@marcgallant5270]

Mostly the DAC, I believe they use the same power supply and capacitors. The A-S501 has been measured around 95-100w on a test bench the 801 around 105-110w

[@audioman3017]

@@marcgallant5270 801 uses 4 output transistors per channel as well. The 501 only has 2. More output, and less distortion? my guess

[@revamp777]

Astonishing, this Yamaha amp design is almost component by component the same for the last 20 years!

[@stasiek6420]

30 lat. 1994 Yamaha AX 870 wygląda w środku bardzo podobnie jak AS 701

[@user-el2zj3pw5r]

Hi, s201 got more rms and same peak power comparing with s501, but s501 cost as twice, so whats the deal??

[@user-el2zj3pw5r]

@@SPPACATR s501 got more connections and slightly better internal part quality from what i was told, but this is bot something i can guarantee. Im using s201 and works fine with my b&w 606 and also tried monitor audio bronze 100 6g By works fine i mean its the bollocks! Plays beautiful But i have never had any other amp so cant tell the difference

[@marcgallant5270]

@@user-el2zj3pw5r the 201/202 has closer to 30-35 "real" Watts. Plus the a-s501 has a TON more dynamic power(stable down to 2 ohms) which makes a massive difference in dynamics and avoiding distortion/compression at higher volumes. Basically it will sound clear/precise/smooth at higher volume's.

[@ghimesiii]

And don t forget ,it has internal DAC from Texas Instruments and accepts only PCM signals from source connected,it works nice,not best of the best but works fine for me .I have connected four Klipsch RB 81MK II speakers on it and the sound is brilliant I don t need sub in my listening room .Stereophonic image is great ,but keep in mind not all loves Klipsch speakers and combination with Yamaha could be a bit bright for some users and Yamy can fill midle to big rooms with great sound, depending on what speakers are connected, so rock the house . ;))

[@stevekastner2825]

It’s great, except for the plastic freaking knobs Yamaha has no money, right

[@adjiw8408]

Hahaha... yamaha as501 amp so good..? Oh where are you been man dont be kidding..? For me yamaha sound is not bad but not so good just an ordinary for the price (and i dont know why this as501 seems to repeat the history of the release of as500). Marantz pm6005, marantz pm6006, marantz pm6007 etc will be the opponent for this yamaha... but in my opinion, marantz slighly has a more specific sonic signature and when direct comparison with yamaha seems like so-so... So I think for the amp lineup from yamaha should do a revolution rather than just an evolution as it is currently doing, yamaha should provide more bargain of quality if it wants to preceding with other opponents such as changing the as501 to as701 and reducing series options such as eliminating the as301 series because to much series & that series seems unclear. (Or maybe replace as201 to as301) That way it will destroy all its opponents both from sonic signature and price performance category from marantz pm6005/6006/6007, onkyo A9150, audiolab 6000a etc, that opinion is what I would say if I were a reviewer. (ps. i have yamaha as201, yamaha as300, yamaha as301, both yamaha as500, yamaha as501 and yamaha as701 so is marantz pm 6004 japan version, marantz pm6005 china & vietnam version and marantz pm6006 vietnam version)

[@adjiw8408]

@@patfrederick7327 so what do you mean?

[@adjiw8408]

@@patfrederick7327 Yes, it is natural if you are passionate about it especially if you are engaged in that field but in this case the reviewer in my opinion is not clear in explaining "why this yamaha as501 amp is so good" because in addition to being ambiguous, and when I listen to it it seems like an advertisement... and here I don't judge the item but rather the reviewer...