Yamaha A-S3000 arrived...

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Daedalus, Jan 14, 2017.

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  1. PTW

    PTW New Member

    Location:
    Abingdon, UK
    Last week I took delivery of a Yamaha A-S3000, in silver and piano black. Part of the reason for choosing this unit was nostalgia for my old Yamaha CA-1000, purchased in the mid 1970s and still going strong.

    A slight concern was a number of web reports from users of the A-S3000 and other recent Yamaha amplifiers, where the protection circuits had gone into operation for no apparent reason and in some cases did not come good on restarting or the factory reset procedure (powering on while depressing the mute switch and having rotated the balance control fully to the right). And there are YouTube videos about a certain power-supply-capacitor having to be replaced. But I thought it unlikely there would be a design fault in such an expensive item, or that quality control on the Yamaha production line wouldn't weed out the occasional rogue unit.

    But guess what - within hours of switching the amplifier on, the power light was flashing and the amplifier was kaput. And it wouldn't restart, nor did the factory reset procedure do anything more than produce a couple of relay clicks. All this without connecting anything dodgy, and with very low sound levels. Just what I dreaded. I should perhaps add that in the lead-up to the failure the top of the amplifier got too hot to touch, which I wasn't expecting.

    A replacement is coming next week. If anyone who is reading this can explain what this fault is and why I can be confident I'll get a good one next time I'm all ears.
     
  2. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    Is this the $7000 model?
     
  3. PTW

    PTW New Member

    Location:
    Abingdon, UK
    Yes (£4000 in the UK). Beautiful object, and enormously heavy.
     
  4. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    Sounds like the power supply cap issue you mentioned others having.
     
  5. RPM

    RPM Forum Resident

    Location:
    Easter Island
    Any such reports about A-S1100 and A-S2100 models?
     
  6. ThorensSme

    ThorensSme Forum Resident

    Location:
    Spokane
    I have not heard of anyone experiencing this with the AS1100/2100. I have owned the 1100 for about a year and a half and have zero problems!

    Unfortunately I have read about several people having this problem with the as3000.
     
  7. Memphisflash

    Memphisflash Forum Resident

    Location:
    Netherlands
    I have the A3000 for over a year now and never had such problems, it's at least powered on for 12-16 hours a day...
     
  8. sfoclt

    sfoclt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Same here with an AS2100. Zero problems, with heavy use.
     
  9. PTW

    PTW New Member

    Location:
    Abingdon, UK
    A replacement unit has failed in exactly the same way. :realmad:

    I heaved it out of the box and stood it on a table, connected it to the electricity supply and switched on. After an hour's operation it was pretty warm, though probably consistent with the specified 350w power consumption, but still powered on. The placard on the rear of the units shows the correct power (230v 50Hz) for where I am (UK).

    I powered it off and placed it in my hi-fi rack. Ventilation is, I think, adequate: the rack is only a couple of inches wider and deeper than the amplifier and open on all four sides, and is freestanding in the room; the top of the amplifier is 54mm from the (glass) shelf above. The room temperature was about 21C.

    I connected the loudspeakers (KEF Reference 3, a year old), to the Speaker A terminals using basic copper wire and with no short circuits. I connected my Pioneer plasma TV to one of the RCA inputs (CD in fact) and my Audiolab CD player to BAL 1 with -6dB attenuation selected. After switching on, performance was normal and everything sounded fine, from both sources.

    After two hours of listening at ordinary domestic levels I muted the TV but left the amplifier on.

    When I returned half an hour later, the amplifier was inoperative, with the power light flashing, just like on the earlier unit. Nothing would bring it back to life.

    I struggle to find an explanation that involves incorrect operation, and if there's anything wrong with the electricity supply it isn't bothering my trusty Audiolab 8000S amplifier or any of the dozens of other devices currently using it.

    I will be delighted if anyone can show me what I am doing wrong.
     
  10. sfoclt

    sfoclt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
  11. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    I'm not saying this is the reason for the problem, but for future reference 2 inches (54mm) is not enough space for proper cooling. Generally, 6 inches is considered a minimum.

    Convection cooling relies on pulling cooler air up from the bottom, so space above helps that air flow. This is even more important when the heatsinks are internal.
     
  12. PTW

    PTW New Member

    Location:
    Abingdon, UK
    Thanks for the suggestion. In fact I checked the switch when I unboxed, and it was set to ON so I left it that way. Operating it now isn't changing the problem.

    One extra thing I have just done is run the diagnostic procedure shown on p26 of the service manual. This involves setting the balance knob fully CCW and operating on/standby with the audio mute switch held down. The pattern of flashes I see is groups of three (1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 etc), which is not among the options shown in the table.
     
  13. Gizmo90

    Gizmo90 Ashes to ashes, funk to funky

    Location:
    Las Vegas
    Can't really contribute to the discussion but man I love those meters. Build quality looks top notch on these too. Interesting to read in this thread that the chief engineer wanted them to sound like high end tubes. cool!
     
  14. PTW

    PTW New Member

    Location:
    Abingdon, UK
    Thanks for the advice. I was hoping the otherwise excellent (360 deg) ventilation would compensate, and it didn't seem to be getting any hotter than it had sitting on a table.

    If it were overheating, leaving it off for half an hour and restarting ought to work, and it hasn't.

    However, I do have a Plan B, which is to sacrifice my ancient and seldom used Thorens + SME vinyl player and plonk the amplifier on top of the rack in its place.
     
  15. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    Like I said, I don't think the ventilation situation is the reason for your problem, but it never hurts to make sure there is plenty of it.
     
  16. StimpyWan

    StimpyWan Forum Resident

    A beautiful amp. But, it doesn't have variable Loudness...!!! :cool:

    Nice amp though. A big Yamaha fan. Nothing this serious. Just A/V gear. A DSP-A3090 and a RX-A3030. I love both.
     
  17. AmericanHIFI

    AmericanHIFI Long live analog (and current digital).

    Location:
    California
    Very beautiful classic style!
     
    bradleyc, Daedalus and F1nut like this.
  18. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    :agree: Even for improper ventilation, it will take a while before it will take a toll on the amp ...
     
    F1nut likes this.
  19. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    Not if it's pure Class A. :p
     
  20. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    IIRC, A-S3000 is not a Class A amp ... :confused:
     
  21. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    I was commenting on your comment....nothing to do with the Yamaha.
     
  22. Daedalus

    Daedalus I haven't heard it all..... Thread Starter

    No probs with my 3000 so far-daily user.
     
  23. Daedalus

    Daedalus I haven't heard it all..... Thread Starter

    Yes I can attest to the very high quality build. And the sound? Extremely transparent. Natural Sound? Yes As I understand the meaning of that phrase. Very quiet amp as well. No apparent distortion at high volume.
     
  24. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    Problem it is pricey. You can now get the MF 6500i cheaper than this (500w per channel and dual mono). I'm not sold on superfluous meters. It is certainly a looker which was always a Yamaha strong point, but SQ doesn't always match up to looks.
     
    scobb likes this.
  25. Daedalus

    Daedalus I haven't heard it all..... Thread Starter

    Pricey? Yes it is so. I could not have purchased this at retail price. Sound quality? Excellent. Meters? Fun and gives it a classic vintage vibe.
     
    Memphisflash likes this.
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