Yamaha A-S501 or A-S801

Alas, fancier materials come at a price that could be better spent on speakers or music.

 

Knobs in the Electronic Parts Department at Parts Express | 3326

 

I've read many comments on various forums regarding the quality of the knobs. Some claim they feel cheap but I do not agree. The upper tier Yamahas, like the A-S1100, have aluminium knobs. I was only able to discern they were aluminum when they were cold. Otherwise, they felt very similar to the plastic ones on my A-S500.

I don't have much experience with competitor's offerings in the <$1K range, but I somewhat doubt their knobs feel any/much better.

Dang it! Now you guys have me discussing how different knobs feel.

 

The knobs on my A-S801 sound fine. I never knew they were plastic as I don't use the tone or balance controls.

 

The knobs being plastic don't really bother me too much since I am not really fiddling with them too much. I have everything set flat right now, and just sit back and enjoy the music. Once everything is broken in, I may start adjusting settings.

 

I thought that part of the update to the "X01" series was that they put metal knobs on when the "000" models had plastic...guess not?

 

Glad to hear people liking the Yamaha amps. I'm thinking about buying a S801 or S701. Is there any other difference besides the 801 having the ability to play "High-resolution Audio Playback"?

 

I love my A-S701...I believe I paid $699 for mine, and have no complaints. Even the optional Bluetooth receiver (YBA-11) works great. I will reiterate what others have written, though: it craves break-in time, and will sound better the more you use it initially.

 

It seems like that is the only difference between the two. I decided on the 801 because of the USB connection since computer audio is my main source. I am really digging this amp so far, and it seems it will only get better with time.

 

I am considering one of these 2 for my 2 channel system. I bought a used luxman i-205 but can pick up either one of these at cost from my local A/V shop. The 801 will run me about $450USD, I am using my 2 channel system a lot lately and wondering if this would be a good upgrade.

 

Why does the 801 cost so much less in Canada?

It seems everyone and his cousins who sell this Yamaha integrated charges $900 stateside ...

 

I believe the DAC in the 801 is of higher quality. I love my 801.

 

I thought the 801 is the only Yamaha integrated that has the onboard DAC?

 

The 701 has an optical and co-ax input, so there is a DAC in there somewhere

 

I don't recall seeing the onboard DAC description for the 701. Perhaps the optical input is meant for connecting your iPod or other external musical device so you can play your music on your device through the 701?

 

I have the AS501 and think it's a decent bit of kit, I couldn't see the benefit (to me) in a 701 or 801. My main source of music is CD and vinyl, I did plug in a YBA-11 so I could play bluetooth stuff, I haven't used that much but it seems to work pretty well. Mine is connected to Wharfdale Diamond 220's (bi-wired). This is pretty new to me after running Arcam and Tannoy for years before it packed in but I'm pleased with the quality of the stuff (even the knobs) and more importantly the sound.

 

He said "at cost" so presumably he has a connection with a store owner. I got my A-S501 "at cost" of about $335 (retail $600) as a benefit of being an employee at the time.

 

I have the A-S501 and I thought the knobs were metal, could be wrong though, I haven't been feeling my knobs that much.

It also has the optical and coaxial inputs, presumably the 801 has a higher quality DAC but that would be a bit lost on me at the moment.

 

I run with no tone controls and pure direct. Sounded fantastic from the first song. It does get better. Glad you're enjoying yours.

 

From the digging that I've done, there are two different chip sets being used. The DAC in the A-S801 utilizes the ESS SABRE ES9010K2M with coax, optical, and USB inputs and support for up to 32 bit and 382 kHz (including support for DSD). The A-S701, along with the 501 and 301, utilizes a Burr-Brown PCM5102A with coaxial and optical inputs supporting up to 24 bit and 192 kHz (no support for DSD).

I've been using the YBA-11 to stream Spotify from my laptop and iPhone to my A-S701 and it works and sounds really nice. I recently purchased a Schiit Modi 2 Uber to compare but have not even opened the package yet. It may go back to Schiit (or get sold here) since I find that I'm pretty happy with the 701's built-in DAC so far. The Modi would give me USB capabilities but I'm not sure how much I really need that. I primarily listen to vinyl and CD.

FWIW, I also got a Schiit Mani phono stage because the 701's seemed lacking compared to my previous amp (a Rogue Sphinx v2). But now that the phono stage has broken in a bit I think it has gotten much better and the Schiit may not be an improvement. I would love to get my hands on a Rogue Triton to try.

 

By the way, for 701 and 801 owners: you may be uncertain of the difference between the "Pure Direct" and "CD Direct" modes. I was. And the manual does not make the difference entirely clear. In Pure Direct mode, the signal path bypasses the tone, balance, and loudness controls. The CD Direct mode does the same thing, but it also bypasses the input selector circuit.

 

Yes I can get some gear at cost. Believe me things are not cheaper in Canada

 

Are you on 110 or 220?

 

I will have to give that a go and see how it is. Thanks for the tip.

 

110