Shopping for an integrated, advice s'il vous plait.


Some time ago I decided to upgrade my stereo and spent virtually my entire budget on speakers (no regrets), tacking on a Harman HK3490 as an afterthought. Well, it recently bit the dust for no apparent reason. It was only $260 and gave me 5 years of almost daily service, so I'm not too mad. Unfortunately there's nothing comparable on the market at that price, adjusted for inflation. The closest thing I could find was the Yamaha A-S801, but it appears to have the same build quality as my previous receiver. I'm not sure I'm comfortable spending close to $1k on something with disposable quality, so I've been assessing my options within my budget ($1500 max). Looking for an analog integrated with quality components and construction that will last me at least 10 years. So far I've narrowed my options down to:

Yamaha a-s1000 (new)
or
Vintage i.e. Yamaha ca-2010, Sansui au-717, Pioneer sa-9500 ii etc. 

My only problem with vintage is that it seems to take many months of waiting before a deal comes up on the model you want. I see a fully recapped and restored au-717 recently went on eBay for less than $700. Probably not gonna find a deal like that in the next year, if ever. 

TL;DR Would like thy esteemed opinions to vet my purchase of a Yamaha a-s1000. 


unknoahble
"The Rogue Audio Sphinx looks intriguing; does anyone know if its tone controls can be bypassed? "

Surely you jest !!!!

"Pourquoi pas Marantz ? I have had yamaha (18 years old still alive), arcam alpha 8 amp + integrated (dead after a few years), adcom (dead after a couple years), NAD (dead after 6 years), and finally marantz pm8004, as good or better than anything else, up and running 24/7 for the past 6 years, bought $750 delivered Therefore, in my view, nothing touches japanese"

Should have bought a Nakamichi in the first place.  :^)  Mine is still lovely after 25 years. Especially the MM phono section.


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@yogiboy 
"The Rogue Audio Sphinx looks intriguing; does anyone know if its tone controls can be bypassed? "

Surely you jest !!!!

Right after I posted that I realized that it simply doesn't have tone controls, hehe
Search eBay for a Teac AI-3000.

You won't find anything better at that price. $1,500 ish