I think the AS series is definitely not rolled off, it has great sparkle ! But I would say it’s neutral with a hint of some tubes.
From the Stereophile review of the 3200, it has a little bit of one, but not much ... Yamaha A-S3200 integrated amplifier Measurements Set to MM, the phono input preserved absolute polarity at all three sets of outputs, though it inverted polarity when set to MC. With the phono stage set to MM, the input impedance was 45k ohms at 20Hz and 1kHz, 35k ohms at 20kHz. The MC mode's input impedance was 48 ohms across the audioband. The A-S3200's RIAA correction (fig.12) was well-matched between the channels but had a broad, 0.5dB-high plateau in the treble. There was also a peak of 0.5dB in the bass before the usual low-frequency rolloff reached –2dB at 10Hz.
Anyone find that the upper tier Yamaha SACD players have better synergy with the upper tier Yamaha integrateds than with SACD players from other companies?
It definitely has some roll-off of the uppermost highs, but that’s only apparent when compared to some amps from other brands. Of course, that can be a good thing with poorer recordings.
Hi George. I have a Yamaha CD-S1000, bought it in 2010. In 2013/14 I had it greatly modified by a well known engineer, mostly in the power supply. It sounds good, the Burr-Brown 24/192 D/A used in this player is the among the best sounding of "old days" 24-bit converters. But my new Technics SL-G700 beats it in every respect. The 32-bit AKM converter is the holy grail here, Imo. What I say is that these Yamaha players released 10-12 years ago will always be limited by the quality of the converter used, no matter how good other part of the player is designed. My A-S3200 amp did the most up to 200 hours "burned in". But the last 2% of pure velvet sound from this terrific amplifier occured between 200-500 hours, in my ears. Exactly the same thing happened with the Technics player. You can read my final listening thoughts on this Technics SL-G700 in a day or two. I had CD players since 1985. Many different brands. You think a 16-bit d/a converter released in 1986 would be good enough for CD playback? Oh NO! Better the the D/A is, better your CDs will sound. This 32-bit AKM converter outperform yesterdays 24-bit converters, even with 16-bit CDs. More distortion free, free of grain, more velvet smooth sounding, and even a bit fuller in the midrange. Maybe @Helom can explain why it is so? Btw, Yamaha will release new state-of-the-art digital products, I know by my norwegian Yamaha dealer. He could not say when.
Hello, @Espen R . Since you have the Yamaha A-S3200 how do you rate the built in phonostage? Do you use it or do you use a separate stage?
I can only hypothesize that you prefer the Technics so much because it likely has lower distortion and noise with that modern chip. And IME, almost regardless implementation, if a component produces lower noise and distortion, it tends to be more “grain free,” with cleaner highs. Such components are not always smoother though, because low distortion/noise can highlight the flaws of poor recordings. Case in point is the Benchmark gear. It’s excellent with great recordings, but subpar recordings (Oasis’ Morning Glory for example) can be torture on the ears. Also, those early 16 bit players often failed to achieve actual 16 bit resolution. They were often shy of that to a significant degree. Similarly, modern 24 bit players do not actually achieve 24 bit resolution, 21 is roughly the current SOTA performance. Those older players with early Philips chips and the like tended to produce rather high distortion in the high freqs. I’ve not been impressed by most DACs I’ve heard that employ the PCM chips. I prefer them only to some of the ESS-anchored DACs. I have a pattern of enjoying DACs with the Wolfson, AKM, and Cirrus chips. However, there is one PCM chip out there that some manufacturers swear by, the 1792.
Hey. I don’t use such low resolution formats Just kiddin’ I have no turntable set-up right now, but planning to buy a low priced Technics with a MM pick-up. That will be good enough for me.
Thnx for your answer, and I mostly agree with you. Going back to my very first CD player, a Technics SL-P300 bought new i 1985, I can tell you I was not impressed by how it sounded. It was thin and «mechanical» sounding. And the more complicated the music became with lots of things going on in the sound picture, the more hard and stressfull it sounded. Up to this day, this is my ultimate test. And the better the digital technology has become over the years (with better D/As), the more relaxed and with total ease music has resolved. And the new Technics even more than my old Yamaha. Yesterday I played Elton John 2004 SACD (a bit compressed) Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. The title track can now be played very loud without a hint of stress in the most loud part of the song.
Just bought the A-S3200. First experience with hi-end equipment. Anyway, I hooked up the speakers and turntable and put on some Jim Hall and Bill Evans - and everything is coming out distorted. I know the speakers and turntable work, I just plugged them into a little tube amplifier and the sound was fine. Not sure if the A-S3200 is damaged, or I just need to flip a switch somewhere. The speakers are Wharfedales and turntable is Audio Techica AT LP120 UBS. I'm a complete newbie when it comes to this stuff. If anyone has any ideas please let me know. Thanks!
Are you using the built-in phono preamp in the turntable? And if so, did you plug it into the line input (CD or Tuner) or the phono input? If using the built-in, it should be plugged into the line input, if bypassing the internal preamp, it should be plugged into the Phono input and set to MM on front panel (unless you have a MC cartridge).
It's a pretty common mistake. You can try switching the turntable to line out to bypass the internal preamp and plug it back into the phono inputs, it may sound better, worth a try.
Yeah - that's what I did. Sounds sweet - but, I'm moving from a $500 tube amp to this. Probably the only amp I'll buy in my lifetime, we'll see. Thanks Davey.
Congratulations. That's a hell of an amp for your first hi-fi purchase. What's your other equipment? Your profile is empty...
Hi George P! I've now listened to Jim Hall / Bill Evans side 1 of Undercurrents. Side 3 of Physical Graffiti. and side 1 of Starker Bach - Cello. It already sounds incredible to my ears. I'm honestly not used to hearing music with this level of detail.
Yeah - I went from zero to a hundred. Just from the comments and reviews I could tell I would probably love it. The silver is very nostalgic for me -- reminds me of my dad's stereo in the 70s. And, I like tubes but don't want to deal with (and aren't competent to deal with) them. So this seems like a solid state but has some "tube quality" to it. I'm hoping this amp will do it for me for then next 20 years. All I have right now is a turntable though. Maybe need a cd player or some sort of digital player. I'm a complete newbie at this.
Well, seeing as that you've admitted that you're new to this hi-fi realm I have some news- The 3200 is going to get way better over the next 100-150 hours of use. To beginners that seems like a preposterous suggestion but just you wait. The bass is known to take an eternity to fully bloom and stabilize but it's quite the treat once it does. My 3200 completely redefined my perception of bass tonality and taught me that there is indeed a lot of fundamental character in those lower frequencies. Enjoy!
