YAMAHAA-S501BL Natural Sound Integrated Stereo Amplifier (Black)

My wife and I have quite a nice collection of records. But had no real proper way to listen to them. A month ago I started the process of trying to build a budget HiFi set-up. I spent the most time researching integrated amps.I don't remember exactly how I stumbled on this amp, but appreciated the simplicity of its features. All I wanted was clear stereo sound. Nothing more nothing less. Oh boy does this thing deliver. Its not often where I drop money in the hundreds of dollars range and feel 100% satisfied with my purchase, but this amp was easily worth every single penny.I am still learning more about what I like from audio. In general, I really enjoy very clear mids. I have this amp paired up with some old Polk Monitor 5 Jr+ (Series 2) speakers and I have never heard audio sound this crisp at this level of volume. This amp really makes my speakers sing and sound beautiful. Unfortunately I do not have any other speakers to test this amp out with, but from my personal set up I find the midrange to be superb.I find the DAC to work great as well. I digest a lot of music via Spotify on the old smart TV and it sounds fantastic. Another strong reason I bought this amp was because it offered direct digital connections. No complaints on that front.I have not tested the Phono stage as my turntable (AT-LP60 yeah yeah I know...) has a built in pre-amp. That being said, I have never heard records sound so clear and full. I found myself nodding with a huge grin on my face listening to the clarity coming out of my new system.I finally feel like I have a proper stereo HiFi system. This amp drives the whole thing and everything sounds wonderful. If you are looking for a budget amp, look no further. You will not regret picking this up.

This unit replaced a three-year-old entry level Marantz integrated amplifier. The unit was very warm sounding but just seemed to lack enough power to drive my 6 ohm Deftech tower speakers. The bass was always a bit thin, even with the loudness control turned on. So, I got online and started looking for an amp that would sound good but also provide more oomph to my speakers. For about a month I went back and forth between the Marantz PM8006 and the Yamaha A-S801. The thing that turned my mind in favor of the Yamaha was the A-S701 at a lower price. My network player has an internal DAC, so the DAC on the more expensive Yamaha really was not necessary. The variable loudness control was also a plus, as most of my music has be played at low level, being in a small apartment.Prime got the unit to me in two days, then the unboxing started. This integrated amp is sharp looking and built like a tank. Hookup of everything was quick and easy, then it was time for the true test, powering the unit on and playing some test tracks. My go-tos are 'The Nightfly' by Donald Fagen (pretty much anything by Steely Dan will work), the Belgian jazz rock group Abraxis, and many more obscure jazz recordings from Europe.The first thing that was noticeable was that the Yamaha was somewhat more neutral than the Marantz, unless you activated the 'CD Direct' or 'Pure Direct' modes. Taking away the internal toine controls gives you a HUGE boost of volume and clarity in the mid and treble ranges. Turning these buttons off lowered the volume significantly but WOW! When you turned the volume back up, the bottom end was full without being boomy or muddy and the mids and highs were defined but not shrill or harsh. I have been running the variable loudness in the 'flat' position which really does all aspects of the music justice.In the end this is a fine product with amazing sound and build quality. This will be in my stereo system for years to come!5 year update: After many different speaker combinations, it appears that the Yamaha was not at fault; the DefTechs were notoriously inefficient. I now have a pair of Polk Es60s and they have never sounded so good.

This Yamaha A-S501 amplifier replaced an Onkyo AV receiver I’ve had since the mid-90’s. This amp doesn’t “sound” different per se, as sonic differences between properly functioning solid state amps are virtually nonexistent, but it blows the old receiver out of the water with regard to technical performance and aesthetics.Its noise and distortion levels are inaudible, including the noise floor of the phono input. I listen to a lot of records and can attest to the quality of this amp’s phono section. I have to turn the volume up a bit higher on this input even though I use a standard MM cartridge with 5mV output, which leads me to conclude that there’s not a ton of gain in the circuit. That doesn’t bother me, but people with fussy cartridge requirements are likely using standalone phono preamps anyway. If you’re running a “standard” turntable setup, this amp’s phono stage will treat you very well.The digital inputs are a nice touch on a classic-minded amp like this. DAC chips don’t really sound different from each other, so I won’t entertain subjective analysis of these inputs’ “sound,” but the inputs function like they should and let me connect my TV and Airport Express digitally, which is nice. Everything sounds crystal clear and problem-free.There are a host of analog inputs and outputs, as well as a decent headphone output. I say “decent” because it does have high output impedance, which means it will cause some frequency response issues with certain headphones. It gives my Sennheiser 58x headphones a bit of a bass boost as a result, which I don’t mind, but people who fuss over headphones will want to use a standalone headphone amp via the amp’s analog outs. I find it odd that plugging headphones into the port shuts off audio to the speakers, and I wish I could leave my headphones connected to the amp at all times. Oh well.The amp has plenty of power and current, driving my relatively inefficient C-Note bookshelf speakers to very loud levels with ease and without distorting. In a time where many integrated amps are forgoing tone controls in the name of passing an audiophile purity test, Yamaha have gracefully included them here, along with an adjustable loudness contour. This knob is a godsend, allowing the user to compensate for the shortcomings of the human ear’s natural frequency response at lower listening levels by filling out the low and high end, so that even if you’re keeping things quiet, you’ll hear a full, pleasing balance of sound that’s adjustable to your needs. And, should you want to take all of those nasty enjoyment-enhancing impurities out of the signal path, just press the “Pure Direct” button.Aesthetically, the amp is very handsome, especially in the silver finish. It was a major factor in my purchasing decision, as I find so many amps and receivers to be hideous black boxes. The remote is very functional, though I just use my Fire TV remote to control the amp’s power and volume, and select input by hand. The lack of a screen and menus is perfect, as I’d much rather control things with knobs and buttons. The knobs and buttons do feel a tad cheap, which is my only minor gripe with this amp. I wish the tone knobs had a bit more weight behind their movement. Since that has no impact on performance, it doesn’t really bother me.Overall, if 85wpc is enough for your speakers and you like this style of amp, it’s a great buy!