Yamaha AS500 Integrated Amplifier,iPhone and iPod Compatable with 85w X 2 High Power Output

Due to circumstances, bought unauditiond to replace a 20 year old Pioneer A-400 on its last legs (down to 1 line input). Other kit includes Linn Axis turntable, Marantz CD recorder DR6000, Denon TU-260L Tuner (plus huge roof aerial that cost twice as much!), Akai Reference Master GX95-II cassette deck, Monitor Audio Bronze BXII speakers blutacked to short heavy sand filled spiked stands (forgotten the make), short runs of mains cable for the speakers plus a mix of Chord and Kimber phono interconnects of various ages. As you can see, I'm not a manic upgrader, but I do appreciate decent sound quality having spent much of my working life sat in professional sound recording studios.

First off, this is a big heavy amp - 435mm wide(front fascia which projects slightly beyond the casing), 151mm high(inc. feet), 387mm deep(inc. switches and sockets). 18mm(ish -estimated, not tried) height can be saved by unscrewing the feet. 22.7 lbs weight. Measure up carefully if using a rack system to make sure it will fit.

Personally I find the plain late 70's/early 80's retro styling very attractive. The switches which do not have illuminated position indicators are rectangular, making it very easy to see which position they are in from the other side of the room. There are 7 inputs - Line 1, Line 2, Line 3, CD, Tuner, Dock, MM Phono. All inputs use phono connectors, except Dock which uses Yamaha's proprietary locking multipin connector and requires the additional purchase of a Yamaha iPod/phone dock - well worth it for the improvement in audio quality if you use your iPod a lot as a source, as the input is balanced, and the iPod can be controlled from the Yamaha remote. The dock also acts as a re-charger, and has its own separate power supply inside the amp.

At bottom left of the fascia next to the mechanical power switch and a gold plated full size headphone jack, two small switches include a record out selector, which enables one source to be recorded while listening to another, and Speakers Off/A/B/A+B. In the centre of the facia are the larger rectangular Bass, Treble, Balance, and Loudness controls, which I don't use, but which are said to be of good quality and subtle in operation. These can be taken out of circuit by the (for me) all important 'Pure Direct'(aka tone and balance defeat) button. Using this produces a subtle but noticeable improvement in dynamics, attack, low level resolution of detail and 'air'. I just find myself enjoying the music more when 'Pure Direct' is on.

Although widely quoted as being an 85W x 2 into 8ohm amp, it is in fact 100W x 2 into 6ohm RMS. Transient power delivery is stated as 185W x 2 into 4ohm, 220W x 2 into 2ohm. (Specs from last page of the owner's manual). Subjectively, it provides much more undistorted amplification than I need!

As far as audio quality, all I can say is that it is superior in every respect to the Pioneer A-400 it replaced, especially being more neutral and balanced. The A-400 was an excellent amp in its time,especially as regards dynamics and attack, but was on the light bright side, requiring careful speaker selection. I haven't hooked up the Linn yet, so audio quality refers to the line inputs. In other reviews the MM phono input seems to be OK but nothing special. I imagine vinyl specialists would want to use an external phono pre-amp to one of the line inputs.

But don't take my word for it - auditioning highly recommended! At 300 quid it gets an unambiguous 5 stars.

I'm really into all kinds of rock music, and have always wanted a decent amp like this. I've always liked Yamaha as a company since they seem to match the quality of their strongest competitors, but somehow do it at a fraction of the price. The amp is no exception - I am now so glad I bought it!

Everything sounds so much clearer than with my previous set-up. I read loads of reviews before buying this and disagree with some where they've knocked the build quality - yes a couple of the knobs are plastic, but they feel solid and have just the right amount of resistance. The unit is reassuringly heavy, but is pretty big - best to measure the space you've set aside for it before ordering! Remote works fine, and has a better quality feel to it that you'd imagine from the pictures.

The real proof of how good this is though, was from my girlfriend, who normally comes out with things like "I can't see the difference between HD and normal TV" or "Why do you need a faster processor" etc. Her reaction when she had her first listen was "It's like I'm hearing this album for the first time again, there's so much I didn't know was there". Can't get a stronger endorsement than that! Perfect amp, and a bargain price.

This amp is something of a giant killer. Aside from the decent specification list, it also has very very good sound reproduction. Having owned very expensive equipment in the recent past, I would say this amplifier sounds as good as any that I've heard/auditioned valued under £1000, and a good deal better than some way above that price point. How Yamaha have achieved this with this budget model I don't know, but I am very pleased I bought this particular model. I can hear why it has won awards, it has outstanding sound across all genres of music, including movies. Don't take my word for it, audition one at your local hifi store and hear for yourself, you'll be amazed. The knobs do feel a little cheap but who cares? The remote control is solid and reliable. The amp is big, so check your rack measurements carefully, you may have to remove the amp's feet to get it to fit, depending on the rack, if any, you use.