Yamaha A-S 1000 & 2000 --- How Good?


These have been well reviewed, but have not seen much from owners. Has some one had a chance to listen to the Yamaha versus gear from Accuphase, Luxman, McIntosh (or smaller integrateds from LFD, Lavardin, etc.) and other top flight integrated SS contenders. I expect it would be a very solid value, especially at street prices for the Yamaha gear, but how does it fair against some if top gear out there? Love the look as an added bonus (yup, in my early 50s). Some say with their R&D prowess that can make a great piece of gear if they set their mind to it - did they do it? (As an additional bit of info - should it matter - my speakers only need 30-40 watts or so, and are very easy loads for amps - tube friendly).
pubul57

Showing 3 responses by soniqmike

Funny how Juglern had a much different experience.

I currently own the A S-2000 Yamaha integrated and matching CD player. It is VERY refined, with a great 3D soundstage. It is not bright at all especially compared to 3 previous integrateds ( McIntosh 6500, Moon I-5, Musical Fidelity A5 ).

Build quality is off scale and this unit plays beautifully. Current speakers are Sonus Faber Domus, but I did have a one month trial with much more expensive 12k speakers. This beauty redefines the concept of value in a sub 3k product. Its that good. All of this with accurate tone controls, phono stage, great headphone amp and those cool rocking switches and stunning looks. What's not to like? Chers and good luck.
Macrojack - good post but one caveat - I encouraged a friend to purchase one of those '' $ 1.200.00'' A-S2000 new-in-box to replace his aging Krell integrated with something more versatile (and probably better sounding).

He could never get that deal. Brand new ones (mostly the silver finish) cost significantly more.

If you know of someone who could get a new-in-box unit for that price, let me know.
Totally NOT in agreement with Pubul57.

No contest with the Yamaha 2000 series.

Circuit topology, parts quality, assembly quality and surface conductvity of signal route is nearly on-par with Accuphase.

The AS2000 cannot be compared with an AX-596. The 596 is a good amp for the money. The AS2000 is in another league altogether.

Unfortunately, the AS2000 has been removed from Yamaha's 2012 catalogue. The snobby nature of our hobby makes it hard to support this product when one can purchase a Simaudio Moon amp for less money. And that's a shame. This Yammy betters most of the competition at this price level on sound, (including the Sim) smokes them on features, and is STILL built to last 30 years - something that cannot be said of many flimsy boutique amps out there.

No that there aren't any left at dealers - I think it will become a classic in due time.