Yamaha A-S3000 arrived...

Piano black-same wood and finish as their pianos I gather

 

. I have a vintage A-700 also

 

And do you use it regularely? I have to admit ultimately, I only look at it, but I use the R S700 (a remote control makes a big difference, since I'm such a lazy sod...)

 

Mine is hooked to TV and a pair of single driver Sansui bookshelf speakers-we use it mainly for movies or YouTube music vids.

 

I have only one regret since purchasing my A-S2100: not getting the 3000....

 

$7k on Amazon, high class.

 

Out of my league, but if I bought one it would Definitely be silver! I'll bet it sounds as good as it looks.

 

yeah, i prefer silver to black overall, except for speakers...then again, i haven't seen too many silver speakers! lol

 

So is my own modest 501. Bought a couple of years ago, it was my first Yamaha. And it's in black.

 

This morning I am listening to classical music as I do almost every morning. Solo piano Sviatoslav Richter-from DG Piano 101 box. Very colorful, rich, hear the acoustic-(and the tapenoise). I heard a slight cough-never heard that before. Very rich sound across the spectrum. Really hard to know how this could sound better. Heard a breath intake in tract 2. I do not want to get carried away with that sort of thing-but my point is that if it is there in the recording-you will hear it. The interesting trick with this amp is that you get amazing detail and still rich and liquid tone-like a great tube amp.

 

Glad you're enjoying your new Yamaha. I love my AS2100 which has much of the spec of the 3000 I can't fault it in anyway. I also have the SACD 2100 which again has the trickle down specification from the 3000. I get what you say when describing the sound warm Rich and full but clear lean and detailed great stuff indeed.

 

The entire line of Yamaha Integrated's from entry level to the 3000 are excellent. The company needs to finish the circle, bring back updated versions of the PF-800 & PF-1000 TT's.

 

I'd like to see them build a receiver with this current retro styling, at the $1K price point. I still listen to FM regularly.

 

The RS700 isn't too bad a unit, I have one in my bedroom.

 

I need mono, subsonic and tape monitor.

 

I would definitely like a mono switch.

 

Some more thoughts: the amp is absolutely dead quiet-even with the Lascalas which will reveal any noise whatsoever. For me they are the most revealing amp I have heard-if it is in the recording you will hear it. So if the recording is bad you will certainly hear bad but of course the opposite is also true. I guess every component has some type of signature and this one must have as well -so far I am hearing a very balanced presentation with wonderful extended highs and terrific bottom and tremendous midrange. I have Lascalas hooked up which are not generally known for bass and I do not use a sub but I hear Phil Lesh cranking out just fine-better than ever. This amp will do power without any sweat. You can just keep cranking up. Nuance of tone-yes-the best.

 

How is tuner sensitivity?

 

Last night I played a bunch of Coltrane from the Impulse years all on LP. Wow! It is always fun going through your collection and re-hearing your music while you evaluate a new piece of equipment. I guess these recordings were really special in terms of technical excellence( we know the music is excellent) because Coltrane is right there in your room with you and you hear everything in detail.

 

So the Phono Pre is doing a class job as well, right ?! This amp got high ratings in german mags. It got 125 points - reference class and at the price level it is one of the best bargains in that field. Only a handful of top amps got higher rankings - T+A#'s top integrated for 10 grand, The Musical Fidelity NU-VISTA 800 or Symphonic Line RG 10 etc. all in the 10 grand range got 140 points. The Luxmann 505x gets 115 points, so the Yamaha is def. better.

 

It amazes me to think that an amp for $7,000 could be considered a bargain.

 

So true! I remember in 1972 stretching to buy a MAC 2100 for $499.00 and 13 years later an ARC SP-10 mk 2 on sale for $2700.00. Stop already.

 

Hey Daedalus, are you running balanced XLR interconnects from your universal player?

 

I can imagine that the A-S3000 is really, really special. My A-S1100 is incredible. And the phono stage in mine is actually really nice. Recently I just upgraded from a 2M bronze to a Quintet Bronze, and the MC section is equally capable. These amps are designed to be loved!