I’ve never been smart enough to understand why, but from the cheapest big box store Yamaha’s to their ultra high end, they always sound soooo much better than others in their price range. Far less need to adjust bass/treble. Really amazing.

Hello! Thanks for the shooting gallery video! I bought a Yamaha 2200 a year ago. I live in Ukraine, I write through a translator. I agree with all of the above. The amplifier works in conjunction with SD 3000. Significantly, the sound of both devices, except for inter-unit ones, was influenced by the replacement of power cables. 12mm power cables play better than 4mm power cables. There was an opportunity to test.

I had the A-S2100 for almost a year and upgraded to the A-S3000. Everything you say is spot on (and I originally went with the A-S2100 because of your previous review lol!!). I like to say these integrateds are good at "de-tangling" complex passages. The A-S3000 in my opinion seems to exhibit almost everything you say about the A-S2200 but takes some of that edge off and offers a bit of exotic refinement. I'm driving a pair of BW 805D3's, which can be fatiguing because of their precision, but I put some PS Audio gear on the front end and am using a DirectStream as well as a BHK Pre, which softens the delivery.

I bought the next model up (A S-3200) after watching this fabulous review. No regrets 👍

Build quality of that thing looks like a work of art.

I bought a AS2100 with the silver face and I am totally happy with the sound and the build quality of this component . Love it. I also enjoy your reviews a great deal .. Thank you for doing what you do.

I bought A-S2200 after this review. Excellent performance. Thanks for the transparent review.

I must say the AS2200 is a lovely looking amp. Good that Yamaha decided to keep the same look.

The A-S1200/A-S2200 are truth tellers. I have the baby A-S301 and it is incredibly well-balanced for such an inexpensive integrated.

Your review style is second to none. You have described this amp so poetically and so informative. I have the 3200 and I can relate what you say about the 2200.

Very nice review as always, Ron. I think it's time to show some respect to the Yamaha brand. I've been in this hobby a long time now, but being on a retirement budget required me to purchase the baby in the line, the A-S 301. I'm so happy with this amp. It does all that I ask and then some. The tone controls are nice if you want them. I'm usually fine just running it in direct mode. It is driving Micca RB42's and fills my living room with ease. Thank you again.

Great review. I just bought the A-S2200 and can’t wait to receive it. Thanks for the great information. Btw, I would consider using a mic which produces a warmer sound for your videos.

I got A-S2200 and pretty happy with it.

Great review! I was pulling the trigger on the new A-S1200 when I found a new A-S2100 lower in price than the AS1200. I was glad to hear your comparison today between the 2100 and 2200.

I bought a Yamaha CA 2010 because of Ron and his Magnepan .7 review. It has never leaved me since. The most muscular amplifier i have ever ow.

Now this is a great review. Fast, no waffle, precise and reasoned.

My Yamaha RX-497 still sounds great. Going on 10 years now.

Good review! I have the A-S1200, it is incredibly accurate and detailed sounding. Before getting my 1200, I used a Yamaha A700 that I bought back in 1982 for the last 38 years. The 1200 is more detailed, but the old A700 has even more raw power, able to peak at 250 watts into 4 ohms. The salty old dog 700 really can shake the house. Oh well. Getting older now, time to calm down a little! Given my experience with Yamaha products, the A-S1200 will likely the amp I have when I leave this world. The old amp was still very clean and good, but the imaging from the new amp is unreal. I guess Yamaha has learned a few things over the last 40 years.

Clear, articulate review, as usual. As an aside, funny how this amp's build quality doesn't inspire Yamaha to warranty it for longer than 2 years. Very rare to find amp manufacturers who offer robust warranties with Bryston and CODA notable exceptions.

Thanks for the clear, informative review. For those who might be wondering, compared to the A-S1200, the A-S2200 has a far better headphone amp, has balanced outputs, has a much better preamp (basically the same as the preamp in the 3200), larger filter capacitors, a brass plate under the transformer to minimize vibration and better (larger) internal wiring. A Yamaha rep told me that most people think the 2200 is just a 1200 with XLR, when the 2200 is actually closer to the 3200. Based on that, I ordered a 2200 yesterday.

"Draws a line around each and every instrument" This is exactly what I thought after purchasing and listening to the A-S501.

I have an A-S2200 and it's wonderful. If you are using XLR cables and are hearing distortion, there is a tiny attenuation switch on the back. A lot of people don't realize this and wonder why their XLR inputs sound overloaded.

I’ve got a 2200 and the warmth signature may also be in the perspective of the listener. I have it paired with a CD-S2100 and find no need to add tubes for the implementation of warmth. In fact, I’ve had to turn the gain down on both of my paired subs that are attached to both pre-outs. The mid range bump over my A-S801 is very noticeable. I do not have access to the plethora of gear Ron has, so I’m sure his assessment is spot on. The 2200 does have bigger caps over the 2100, the toroidal over the Ei core, dimmer for the VU meters, cosmetic changes around the volume knob, and possibly a tad better headphone section. The phono stage is sublime, little to no surface noise and pure blissful articulation of most of my LP’s. I’ve read and seen that it may take time for the 2200 to settle into its groove, currently have 40 hours on my 2200 and I’m very pleased even at this point in time, I believe the best is yet to come. Nice review Ron!

I bought my A-S1100 a few months ago. Don't think i'll ever switch amp, very please with it.

Recently I bought 2200 after many tests with different brands, Naim supernait 2,3 Hegel H190 and 360, Densen b-150XS, Unison Research Unico Secundo. They all sounded like they were missing something. I was really impressed by Naim, the listening session was funny, great with a little more attack and a bit more controlled BUT, the sparkle he showed 2200 made me stay with him. I think the asking price is low, it sounds so good that it beats much more expensive amplifiers, even double the price.Just the sound, not to mention the design, options, exemplary construction

Enjoyed your Yamaha shootout video a few years back. Think I watched it mutliple times before I picked up a 1200 about a month ago. I was thinking about getting the 2200 but the 1200 price was right for me. Using some Wharfdale Lintons.

I own both the 1100 and the 2100 great amps especially for the money.

I am very happy with my Yamaha A-S2000 but am a bit jealous of the VU meters and the toroidal transformer. Great review Ron.

I started my audiophile journey with Yamaha back in 1980

Dire Straits Brothers in Arms album sounded mighty good on Yamaha A-S1100. Last "brothers in arms" track is incredible. Ron mentioned the male vocals, thats it right there, so much depth. Have an A-S3000 on the way, can't wait to her get it singing

Thanks Ron, a good and timely review. I've been waiting for some more reviews on the A-S2200, and appreciate your balanced opinions which really helped me. I'm pressing the button and going for this amp!

I got a yamaha ax396 on my system and I find yamaha amps very detailed and easy on the ear sound and found that the yamaha has made my b&w dm602s2 come to life compared to my old naim nait5i amp

Very well done! Great production and content Ron! Cheers

Yamaha has not given up on manufacturing good (relatively affordable) 2.0 HiFi dedicated boxes (amps, cd player, turntable, network streamer) . This is good for many of us including myself. Unfortunately Sony, Kenwood and JVC have not. Thanks for the review!

Yamaha makes great amps. I have the AX900U made in 1988, and it rocks. I will hold on to it always.

I have the 3000 and the phono stage whilst having no loading option easily wiped the floor with the Linn Uphorik I owned earlier, enough to sell it!

I am VERY excited you got your hands on a proper Lampizator! Kudos to you! I have a balanced Lampizator Baltic with volume control.

Thank you for showing the top off the A-2200 amp. It's a work of art and music.

Here's my "problem" whenever I see any review of Yamaha or other high quality gear for that matter... I've owned a Yamaha CA 800 since the late 80's and the thing really is wonderful. The problem is that I also live a couple of miles away from Mcintosh Labs and just around the corner from a well respected shop. I see this review and WANT a new Yamaha amp. I walk into the shop and WANT a Mcintosh amp. Then I listen to my CA 800 and just know that what I just said are just that WANTS not NEEDS! Thanks for another great review and being yet another devil on the shoulder.

was hoping for more info on how it compares to the outgoing as-2100

16 years now with my Yamaha xrv3300 ... I know, it’s not hi end, but let me tell you, I’ve try many many of those, some I still have, but the Yamaha always finds her way back to the main system. Laugh more, main speakers right now for the past 8 months are a pair of Kef q100. Yeap, in my space they sound even better than bowers and a nice pair of Linn akurate.. I guess it’s all about personal taste and nothing more, I been hunting a ghost all this time. For digital I use an old design Dac from Teradak I bought 20 years ago. God it’s nice when your system sounds amazing for you!! Enjoy sound lovers!!

Finally an amplifier that I can connect a graphic equaliser to! The graphic equaliser has two extra inputs for my tape machines, winner winner chicken dinner 🍴. I really hope that they bring out a new cassette deck, that would be amazing!

So would one be able to tell the difference between this amp and the A-S1200 in a blind test?

Quote of the week: All this stuff we got to buy to make digital sound like analog vs. something as simple as dropping the needle [on an LP]. Mechanical performance affects analog playback much more than digital, and Peter Ledermann explained why analog is actually digital because it can only sample the record groove. Likewise linear and transparent RIAA EQ is difficult to achieve. I'm glad that Yamaha succeeded with its phono stage. I wonder if they used their 1970's vintage MC's to voice the high gain setting.

They should have made it possible to use it as as s preamp out and amp in at the same time. That way it can be used to biamp speakers. Go out of the pre amp out to a crossover then back into the amp section. A separate sub out if the crossover finishes off the system. This will improve imaging, control and power.

I found your comment, about how much we have to spend to make digital sound like vinyl hilarious. You probably spent more on your cartridge than I spent on my CD player. Not to mention a dedicated, phono, preamp and turn table. Let’s not pretend the great sound on final is easy to come by.

Agreed; an owner here too. Why oh why Yamaha have stopped making matching CD players or did not come up with a CD streamer to match these magnificent amps? They even failed to launch new R-N2000A as promised. Remember chucking Marantz PM8005 out of my system and replacing it with Technics SU-G700M2. Better than Marantz, but it did not worked. Dry and gritty with KEF R5. Installed Yamaha. The sound was unbelievable. It was like replacing R5 with some Reference 3 as well, what an improvement!

Picked this up yesterday and burning in presently. Amazing build quality and sound stage. Thank you for your review as it helped me make the decision to purchase.

Nice review. Learing that I have been saying Yamaha wrong for 40+ years!

Nice but pretty pricey. In fact it's basically in luxman territory. In which case, is it better to spend a little more and go that route? Especially when one considers the reliability issue which seems to be a bigger concern with the Yamahas. I see many refurbished Yamahas but hardly any refurbished luxmans.

I had the A-S2100 in the house for several weeks and I had a very different impression. Its MOSFET output stage provided a wonderfully lush and musical sweetness. However, I thought its 90 watts was quite obvious. I thought it lacked dynamic slam and power. This is in comparison to the Parasound A21, which sounded MUCH more powerful because, well, it was. Although I loved the Yammy's musicality, I found its dynamics lacking.

Way to pricey for my taste. I settled for it's young brother, the R-S300 with built in FM/AM tuner. 50 wpc @ 8 ohms sounds terrific. Drives larger speakers with ease. Stereo separation is excellent. Built like a tank, just like the A-S2200.

Hey Ron.... sitting here in Mumbai... been following your channel right up from the first Yamaha vs Yamaha! I always loved Yamaha and got myself a brand new A S801.. don’t know Y but but I always was wanting more and then I got myself a second hand DENON PMA 1510 AE that’s just 70 per channel as compared to the AS 801’s 100 per channel.... everything changed ! This sound was what I was looking for the one that the DENON put out! Sadly I sold the Yamm and kept the DENON.... so Ron I know most folks don’t rate DENON too highly ..... possible to do a review on a DENON.... perhaps their 100th anniversary PMA A100 or the new 110th anniversary PMA A110.... man I would love to hear your thoughts on the same and a HEAD to HEAD between both Japanese amps! Highly appreciate if you could oblige! Cheers from India mate🍻🍻🍻 Rock on Brother 🤘🤘🤘

I still yet to understand why the preamp out and ins can't be used at the same time. If allow for, the audio out can be used for a powered sub with a full crossover so you can use the internal amp as mid high unit and the sub as a dedicated sub that is not running parallel to the mains. As most speakers are ported which created sudden phase shift. Inserting an analog crossover would allow us to choose a frequency that miss that phase shift and make integration between sub and mains coherent.

I landed here because of my Arya. I was looking at Benchmark AHB2 and notice, A-S2200 is in the very similar price range with the good olds school look. So question is, is this amp good enough to drive headphones like Arya and Susvara out of speaker out? I don't thing they did what Emotiva did and let you route full speaker out in to front headphone out. At the moment I have Qtest as DAC and hopefully that will be upgraded with a Rockna Wavelight.

That looks like a REAL POWER SUPPLY. Good for them!!!

They are pretty good for the price. Hard to beat in that price category.

VU meter looking so nice 👌

I was recently looking for a new integrated amp and it was down to the Luxman 505UXii and the Yamaha 2200. I ended up getting the Luxman---I really like the loudness feature on the 505. Both are great amps though.

nice review man, i wish can afford one someday....have anyone connect a cassete deck ,im wondering how will sound..cheers!

Great job Ron ! I was scared they changed the sound up alot ! Glad they didnt and yeah I would love to pair the Freya plus with me AS-1100 😃

How would this Integrated amp sound with Elac UB52's? I also read the preamp section was the same as the 1200. Yamaha stated the amp section was the same but the gauge wire is thicker and the caps were a little bitter larger but the rest is the same.

Awesome! I have the 2100 and couldn't be more happier. It's a real roller coaster ride to listen to, just like it should be.

Hi! Do you think that the 2200 will have almost no sound difference vs the 1200, if only used through rca’s? Thanks

When you’re the largest music company in the world, you have pretty good resources. So the parts you put inside the 2200 are going to be pretty good too..and that makes it last.

I love this dude's talking voice. His whole deal. So good!

I dunno man, dropping that needle is only after you've found the right cart/tt/arm/phono stage combo, made sure you don't have hum from a ground loop/bad shielding, cleaned the records, cleaned the stylus, checked the tracking force and SRA/VTA and got up to flip the flippin' record. There's trials and tribulations on both sides, just saying. Also, it is actually possible to get some analog-like sound with the right $400 R2R DAC, no need for a 10 grand streamer and DAC combo.

I have model 30 and in intrested in 2200 …got dynaudio contour 30i …is it an uppgrade or a sidegrade 🤔 Thougts on that mr new record day ? Sidegrade ..50 % .. on some genres and viseverse . Sum is equal.

I just love this inte-preamp just the looks win me over and four speakers disappear like crazy bro.

Nice review. Sounds a lot like the AS-2100 I owned. If your speaker is forward then you will find the tonality on the bright side. I wonder if Yamaha had BBC Bookshelves in mind when voicing the amp. Taking a conservatively voiced speaker and giving it some gusto. Although Sean from ZF did mention off the record that the 1200 he reviewed did lose that excessively forward character after a significant (i.e. longer than usual) break in period. A break in of several hundred hours may be required to hear what these amps truly sound like.

not in my future :( but I do love me some VU meters.

Your detailed impressionable comnents about the Yamah A-S2200 was cause for serious consideration to pair with my recently acquired Polk LSiM 705s until you mentioned the Yamahas "mere" 90" watts. I'm using my Yamaha receiver, RX 787 at 100 watts/ chnl. Would more wattage improve overall performance? Any comment on pairing the 705s with Rotel RA1592 integrated receiver at 200 watts/ chnl?

Differences between 2200 and 1200?

I wonder how different sonically would be the AS2200 from the AS3200. I have a CXA61 paired with Klipsch Forte IV. I am looking to upgrade amp but not sure if the extra cash spent on the 3200 would be wise. Thanks!

I know this is an old video but I am curious if you have ever listened to the Sony TA-A1ES and how it compares. I just picked up a CD-S2100 and replaced a very old low end Sony SACD player. The sound of SACD/DSD from the Yamaha is nothing short of magical and I am curious if the A-S2200 would bring a lot more " magic."

Built like a tank!

I used to have an Yamaha AS701 at the beginning of my journey. Now, i used as a power amp an NAD M3. I compare my NAD at my home with Densen B300+ and NAD was the winner. A few days ago, i manage to bring home an Yamaha AS3000 (who is for sale here in my country on SH market) and i was pretty sure that i will buy it and replace my NAD. But, i was very sad to see that my NAD kept winning this battle too...... Yamaha as 3000 sounds very good, nice specific Yamaha sound, but in compare with NAD, it was like listen mp3 files with Yamaha and HiRes files with NAD. My speakers are ProAc Dt8 and the bass with Yamaha is good but with lack of punch, clarity and articulation. Female voice sounded a little bit good than NAD , but the rest is not as good. So i returned the Yamaha to the seller. A few years ago, an Yamaha dealer here in my country told me that : "Yamaha DID NOT make highend amplifiers". Now, i kind of understand that point of view and what he meant.

I just purchased the KLH Model 5 speakers, and I'm looking for an integrated amp that will pair up with it well. After watching many reviews, I am considering the Yamaha A-S1200, Yamaha A-S2200, Parasound Halo Hint 6, Hegel H390, and Rotel 1592 MKll. I have heard that a more muscular or exciting sounding amp works best with these speakers. Do you agree and what would you recommend? Also, does the Yamaha have a sub output on the back?

Love this review - very detailed. 👍

Hi Ron, great job. Have you had the time to test the Yamaha with the NX-Otica and, if positive, what are your impressions in this pairing? BR,

Would you say this unit has better sound and clarity in more detail retrieval and clarity then say the offerings from Kinki Studio M7 or m1 plus ? 🙏 i’m looking for something that’s got fantastic fastness dynamics silky smooth but I really wanna hear every little detail very clear with lots of decay four no more than 3500 Canadian what would you recommend that would be bad ass typically I look for a power amplifier since I already have separates but if you could mention an integrated that uses XLR are what do you recommend that I can get that would be bad ass in that regard! I’m currently using a monoprice monolith to channel power amplifier and a lot of people hate on that but to be honest Scott very powerful specs and it’s outstandingly great sounding and I use it for hi-fi to channel stereo I’ve compared it to several other units and it blows everything away it’s crazy and it’s very affordable and it just sounds damn good just wondering what could beat that because I’ve compared it as well to an Audiolab for example 8300xp and I still prefer the monolith monoprice more ball Z more depth more robust sound bigger fuller soundstage it’s unbelievable because the other amp should be better the 8300 and it’s more expensive but it’s not the case I like kinki studio however apparently their products run pretty hot only after about an hour to three hours of use and I don’t really like that idea of something running pretty hot and it’s like for almost $4000 for the power amplifier M7 Canadian pretty crazy price

Just a recap quick question since we previously spoke a little bit I’m going to know your honest opinion because I’m very stressed I don’t want to purchase the wrong one about detail retrieval finesse and hearing every detail and every separation between everything going on in the music this integrated amplifier versus Kinki Studio m1+. I like both but where I am at doesn’t really matter on the price I just want better sound but I’ve never ordered some thing overseas or had a product like that from China so I’m worried about the warranty and being taken care of but I like both but since you’ve had both and did reviews for both of them which one has the best detail retrieval finesse dynamics and hearing everything separated meaning you can pick out everything going on around and having better bass fuller ? If you could please answer these questions give me an a lot great fan of your channel and can’t wait to see more of the stuff you post. Thanks my friend

Would this amp be a good match for Klipsch Heresy 4? That speaker already has a somewhat articulated top end. Would it be too much?

I heard the new models were the souped up version and more expensive than the last ones Im a little disappointed. It was a good review thanks

Hey Ron curious if you got to try out the yamaha with the new elac unifi 2.0 and what you thought of the combo? Nice vid by the way. Thanks.

hi, differences between as1200 and as2200 ? worth in price?

Can you plug in a phono preamp with XLR connections into the XLR input on the back of the A-S3000? Considering adding a phono preamp because I have two turntables, one stereo, one mono. How expensive do I have to go to improve on the Yamaha phono preamp? You reviewed the Modwright 9.0. What would be the improvement there?

Hi, I wondered if you still had the LTA MZ3 & whether you’d tried this as a preamp for the Yamaha. I am tossing between the Yamaha and the MZ3 & a power amp and thought maybe get both & use the MZ3 as a preamp. Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks, nick

Ron, how does the 1200 fair up to the 2200?

I wish you get the matching the Yamaha SACD bro.

Can anybody please let me know I would really appreciate it to tell me exactly all the internal differences battery capacity etc. The Yamaha a-s2200 vs the a-s1200 does the 2200 have a bigger transformer does it have bigger more capacity like I think the 2200 has a total of 80,000 ufs I think not sure what is the difference and which unit has better sound quality and more of a bigger power supply between both of them I know there are some differences like XLR on the 22000 and the as1200 don’t have it but what changes in terms of making it better sound quality in the as2200 vs 1200 ?? Anyone

Ron, did you listen to any classical or jazz through the S-2200? Be curious if it was reproduced as well as the rock. Loved the review. I am a very happy owner of the CD S-2100 too.

Hada chance to buy thr 1100 for 700 euros... have regretted not buying it every day of this month

Would you consider reviewing the new $3499 Denon PMA-A110 110th Anniversary integrated amplifier? It comes out in a few weeks. It would be great to know how it compares to this Yamaha. Two old-school Japanese heavy weights. Thanks

Has anyone heard marantz pm ki ruby and Yamaha a-s2200 to tell how they compare?

Thoughts on pairing this with the JBL4309s???

Tube buffer recommendations anyone? 😁

I think KLH Model 5s would rock with this amp

Yup the TOTR Denon vs the A S3000 or thereabouts 🍻..... cmon Ron you can do it Bud! 😅

" Lops as a guide" can someone explain this?