Amp Decision: Rogue or Yamaha - which amp brings the warmth?*

It’s a factory refurb and they only have one. Just sayin’

 

Refurbs are good! Manufacturers don't want to see the same item back twice so most have vigorous testing workflows to stress the components and ensure the issue it was originally brought in to fix won't occur again. Plus, the warranty is the same as a new one.

I've never had an issue buying a refurbished item. In fact, I've never had a refurbished item become defective or die on me.

 

If I'm in the market for that amp I'd definitely be buying a factory refurb.

 

Yamaha is more bright on top, than it is warm sounding. Some like this sound.

 

An extra 1K to spend elsewhere ; phono preamp, cart, speakers, turntable, etc...

 

From what I've read, that's the traditional Yamaha house sound but these A-S2100 amps are different... supposedly. I have no idea whether that's true or not. Merely relaying what I've read from users who have owned one.

Wasn't there a gigantic thread on it at one point?

 

I’ve been burned twice buying factory refurbs. I won’t do it again.

 

Really? Don't most factory refurbs come with the same warranty as a new unit?

 

Not true.

 

That's definitely a good reason for you to steer clear. What items were they?

 

True. However, this refurbished Yamaha has a 1-year warranty. If you bought it and it would die within 16 months, you'd be pretty steamed I'm sure.

I will say there's no way to determine whether a new (i.e. non-refurbished) unit would have ended up the same way in this hypothetical example but the fact it was a refurbished unit would nevertheless be stuck at the back of my mind.

 

One was an Apple TV...which worked for a while, and then started having issues every time it went to sleep. We restored it a number of times. We would have to unplug it and plug it back in. Finally it just crapped out...just past the one year date.
The other was a Dell laptop my wife got. Being disabled makes it very difficult to get out and return stuff like this, so it would fall to my wife to do...and she’s so slammed at work.
For my recent stereo purchases (Parasound Halo Int and ProAc Speakers), I found a local dealer who was willing to deliver and set up everything to my home...with a 100% trade in allowance for the first year.

 

And yes, this is not a Yamaha which sounds like most Yamaha's. This is a warmer sound than typical Yamaha is. I like the A-S 2100 better myself sound wise.

 

In my experience that only applies to their cheap AVRs.

 

Curious to know if you called Apple. Some companies are less strict with cutoff dates than others.

 

Non-refurbs come with a two year warranty.

 

I stand corrected. Thank you, sir.

 

Well I got a steal on mine. I would just look for a used one and swapping the kt120 out for new ones. My dealer has had 2-3 used in since I bought mine. I would not hesitate to buy a refurb.

The CM2 seems to be carrying the new load pretty well. The installers thought it sounded better at my place vs theirs....

 

I am curious about the tubes used that got the brightness....

 

Yamaha AS1100 owner here. Incredible amp. Cant speak highly enough of it. Theres a very detailed 4 part series on youtube about the As1100 at the moment.

The guy doing the video seems to know his stuff. He basically says, other than the mc/mm switch being on front of the amp, and a built in headphone amp, (which the 2100 has both) there is no difference between the 2100 and 1100. Also states the 1100 is the best amplifier he has ever heard or owned.



So with that in mind, you could save yourself around a grand by getting the 1100.

I absolutely love mine.

 

Happy owner of a CMI and CMII. As has been said by simply swapping that center AU7 tube you can make the CMII sounds as warm or as bright as you like. Want bright, throw a Cifte in there. Want warm, pop in a Mullard. So many choices and so many depths of flavor. It is an AWESOME amp.

 

That's not entirely accurate. The 2100 has a larger capacitance reserve, balanced inputs and convertible feet. I went with the 1100 because it still has a healthy 72,000 microfarads (more than most amps) and I don't feel balanced cables bring much to table unless one has long cable runs or routing challenges.

 

Honestly, if the 1100 hasd 4 ohm specific taps I’d probably go with that.

Every dealer I’ve talked to about the Focals has told me to ALWAYS run from the 4ohm taps.

 

Rogue warmer

Yamaha more accurate and wider frequency response. Simply sounds better.

 

Only tube amps have separate taps based on speaker impedance. You can run any speaker off the Yamahas outputs. It's 4 ohm stable and then some.