Yamaha A-S3000 Integrated Amplifier Preview

When I think about the Yamaha brand, my mind immediately jumps to their value oriented line of receivers. Boasting attractive, powerful, and reasonably priced products, Yamaha is a strong competitor in that market. However, with the A-S3000 integrated amplifier, Yamaha isn't looking to offer the most watts for the dollar; they're making a statement that they still have the capability and the desire to make electronics that are second to none, even compared with names like McIntosh, Mark Levinson, Classe, etc. Viewed in that light, the $7,999.95 price tag for the A-S3000 isn't totally out of place, even if it isn't exactly an impulse buy for most. So what does a nickel short of $8,000 get you? Keep reading to find out.

Build Quality & Feature Set

As you might guess from the high end price tag, the Yamaha A-S3000 doesn't skimp on fit and finish or build quality. The overbuilt chassis includes double construction, i.e. a chassis within a chassis, which allows for neater and more direct routing of internal cabling, a solid 0.28" thick aluminum front panel and 0.24" thick aluminum top panel, and a three-dimensional copper inner frame to minimize vibration. On the exterior of the amplifier you get cut aluminum dials and switches, over-sized, ergonomically designed solid brass binding posts, and insulating feet which can be fitted with either spikes or pads. And for the pièce de résistance, the Yamaha A-S3000 is precision fitted with a pair of LED backlit VU meters, reminiscent of their vintage gear loved by so many audiophiles even today . In sum, no cost appears to have been spared in the construction of this integrated amplifier outside of perhaps a solid gold chassis.

In terms of feature set and operation, the A-S3000 is a straightforward beast. On the front panel, you have the volume knob, input selector (including a switch for phono MM and MC cartridges), adjustments for bass, treble, and balance, a switch to control the VU meters, a speaker selector, and a headphone output with a switch to control its relative volume level. The rear panel is equipped with two pairs of balanced inputs, as well as five pairs of standard unbalanced RCA inputs, a recording output for input "line 2", pre-outs, a trigger input, remote in/out jacks, and four pairs of binding posts. The A-S3000 also comes with a basic remote control which shouldn't cause much confusion for users.

Back panel view of the Yamaha A-S3000.

Performance

Now for the $8,000 question: what kind of performance does Yamaha deliver with the A-S3000? Yamaha rates the A-S3000 to deliver the magic 100W RMS into an 8 ohm load and 150W RMS into a 4 ohm load (20Hz-20kHz, 0.07% THD, both channels driven). Based on the internal components used, we'd imagine this is a very conservative rating.  Frequency response is rated at 5Hz-100kHz (+0dB/-3dB) and 20Hz-20kHz +0dB/-0.3dB, which are very respectable numbers. Channel separation (i.e. crosstalk) is rated at 74dB @ 1kHz and 54dB @ 10kHz with a 5.1kohm terminated connection, which is also adequate. Finally, damping factor is rated at 250 into an 8 ohm load at 1kHz.

The (very clean looking) innards of the A-S3000.

So what do these numbers mean? In terms of raw performance, based on the specifications alone, the A-S3000 doesn't appear to be an extraordinary performer. But, we've often found published specs for high caliber gear to be more conservatively rated than mass market components.  I suppose the only way we will be certain is running some of our own bench tests on this baby.

Even within Yamaha's own lineup, the A-S1000 appears to largely meet the performance specifications of the A-S3000 for a bit over 1/5th of the cost. However, Yamaha does make a pretty big deal out of the fact that the A-S3000 has a fully discrete phono preamp stage and every circuit from input all the way to the power amp is fully differential.  Balanced audio circuits have significant advantages in distortion and noise immunity over unbalanced designs but they are more complex and costly to implement.

If that sounds like I'm saying that the A-S3000 isn't a stellar value, in terms of performance for the money, it certainly doesn't appear to be groundbreaking. However, as noted in the introduction, that's not what the A-S3000 is all about.

Summary

$8,000 is a respectable chunk of change: it's enough money to buy a $4 lunch from Subway every day for nearly five and a half years. In the world of audio equipment, it's also enough to buy a "statement" integrated amplifier from Yamaha. As far as statements go, the A-S3000 appears to largely focus on a first class fit and finish; performance at a glance is of course is excellent, but it doesn't appear to be a quantum leap over Yamaha's other, less costly integrated amplifier offerings. In the end, the question is whether a top tier build quality and some other circuit enhancements previously mentioned is worth the significant added cost. For those seeking "bang for the buck", we'd guess not; conversely, if you're interested extremely high quality and performance that's "adequate" ala Rolls-Royce, this might be your ticket.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.