Yamaha A-S801BL Natural Sound Integrated Stereo Amplifier (Black) (Renewed)

Thoroughly satisfied with this integrated amp. It was "renewed" and I'm not sure what the difference is between that and refurbished, but it arrived in brand new condition. It is solidly built for sure and its front panel looks terrific. It was larger than I expected (it's more like a traditional receiver in size), but it's a good size just the same. I especially like its many inputs (though there's no Bluetooth capability, which I dont need). I use it with the Echo Link connected via its optical out port to a separate DAC, and then RCA cables to the Yamaha. But the Yamaha has an optical input port also. It all pumps to a pair of KEF Q150 bookshelf speakers and it sounds utterly amazing! (The Echo Link, BTW, is the unsung hero of Amazon's Music Unlimited! It alone [it's far superior to any Echo speakers in any setup if you have a good stereo system] allows you to get the absolute best results from that excellent [except for its app!] service!) This Yamaha isn't a huge powerhouse, but it's more than ample for my setup. The sound it produces is large and excellent. Unless you've got a very large room and want very loud music, this will more than meet your needs, for sure. It would sound excellent even in a larger room. The KEF's are bookshelf speakers but they produce big sound with great bass (the Link has ample Equalizer settings as well as Crossover settings and along with the Yamaha's bass and Treble controls, you can get a great response! No subwoofer necessary!) The Yamaha also has this "Direct" feature that bypasses all tone controls to give you the pure signal, if you so desire. I'm extremely happy with the Yamaha here. It wasn't exactly cheap at $350 renewed, but it's still a great buy! No complaints whatsoever from me!

This Amplifier Bose 301 Series IV Polk Audio 10" Subwoofer Yamaha CD Player House of Marley Turntable w/Ortofon OM20 - I always preface when reviewing audio equipment that I am not an audiophile. But am a musician and appreciate when a live recording can be reproduced the way the musician intended it. A lot of course has to do with the recording process and what medium it's recorded on. Equally important is how the audio equipment gets the music off the medium and into your ears. Wow. The soundstage is amazing; in a room that is 25x20x16, the sound is as if you are listening from a mid-center theater seat. The amplifier does an incredible job of sound separation while adding more than adequate power to demonstrate the nuances of the music. Music is clean; highs are clear, mids are solid and complimentary, and the bass is dry and unobtrusive. Ron Carter, Flea, or Jaco Pastorius on bass as you've never heard. The amplifier's enclosure is rock solid; some parts/dials are plastic but this system is not meant to be constantly handled. It makes for a beautiful presentation if you are not planning to hide it. Only thing is I have not figured out how to link the remote to the CD player. In time. All in all, if it holds up this will be my last audio amplifier. It provides all the sound and functionality I will ever need.

Ordered Yamaha A-S501 from One Call. Saved one hundred, and was surprised to get what appeared a absolutely NEW double boxed amp ( at least the best I can tell, and I am obsessively picky !) This amp, while not top of the line, or equal to multi-thousand $$ amps, nonetheless performs flawlessly to my ears. Can tailor sound how you like it with treble and bass controls, or just use Pure Direct for the "Natural sound" Yamaha tailored this amp for. If you want warm colored and in your face musical sounds, a tube amp or older vintage amp or receiver might be more suitable. But if you want natural as recorded sound (especially from lossless or flac or quality CD player, paired with neutral sounding speakers.....then this is the ticket! Amp is built like a battleship, weighs over 22lbs, gold plated connections, sub out, optical, coaxial, runs cool, has built in DAC, etc. For this money it exudes quality and likely will last a lifetime is cared for well. Is it perfect? No, but is mostly everything necessary, nothing more, producing quality sound from a company renowned for producing quality audio products for over 6 decades. Most highly recommend this amp.

I had Yamaha and Pioneer and Sony growing up in the 80's, and always like the Yamaha sound the best of those. We built a Pub in the basement, and when it came time for sound, I discovered that Yamaha still makes a solid state A/B amplifier at a great price point. I knew I didn't want a class D. Glad I gave it a shot! Sounds just like I remember, but now paired with 4 Klipsch R-51Ms and 8 inch powered sub, and what a fun simple clean system. Sound quality is great, and with the sensitive speakers, 65w RMS will blow you out of the basement. Search online and you can see the internals and there is something joyful to see the attention to detail in these amps. Very happy with my purchase!

Really, really good sound from this receiver. Simple controls, no extra junk. Just solid metal components, powerful amp, and sweet beautiful sound. Expensive, but worth it. Makes music shine!

It made my speakers sound great. Nice balance with the power it provided. At first I started to miss my avr receiver but in a week I got use to the sound. It gave a more music type than the movie sound from the onkyo. The bass from the subwoofer, along with the other speakers sounded louder, and more clear. All was good until about two weeks ago when it out of nowhere gave that yellow blinking light. Hopefully I can get it fixed or exchanged from Yamaha. Only had it for like 2 and a half months. Not really something to expect from something with that price. It was like new condition, so I'm not sure how that worked out in my situation to only last as long as it did.