Yamaha? Welcome back!


After years of mass market average components Yamaha is making huge strides in the audiophile market with their new "natural sound" integrated amps.  I lost my tube amp to a bad move and replaced it with a Yamaha 2100 integrated amp. I was blown away by the headroom and warm sound. It seems like they have taken notice of the high end market again. Welcome back!

128x128naplesrich
"I always thought deep-pockets Yamaha could beat any audio maker at anything if the really wanted to .
Surely must have the greatest engineering talent and more cash than anyone else in this field ."  

You got that right.  Unlimited resources($$$) and world class engineers.  These A-S integrateds are good examples of what a powerhouse audio company can do if they set their mind to it.

Bill

So, how do the "newest" Yamaha integrateds compare to their 1990 flagship integrated, the DSP-A1, which was the rave of the audio press at the time for Yamaha's build, sound, etc?

AL

As far as build goes, these newish integrateds are tanks with all discreet components.  I personally can't compare to DSP-1 because of no experience.

Bill
Yamaha's "natural sound" integrateds are a throw back from the mid 1970's to the early 1980's. They are reviving the look and style of those early integrateds and of course the name "natural sound". My very first integrated was a Yamaha "natural sound" CA-600 that I bought back in 1978 or 1979 and it lasted me more than 30 years. Very well built and it always sounded great. If the new ones are anything like the old ones, you won't be disappointed!  
I'm thinking of a s1100 or a s2100. The 3000 is big $$$$, but marked down quite a bit on ebay (grey market) and A4L. I want silver, which is harder to come by