Hi, What you are experiencing about softing up of high midrange, and less forward sound is valid. This is mostly caused by new capacitors reforming in the signal path. This goes for every new piece of audiogear. Only noticeable in a revealing system off course! This process is also called capacitor "burnin". Depending on the type, brand and capacitor series we are talking about weeks of burn in time, instead of hours. Also what i have experienced, is tightning up of the bass, opening up the midrange, so you get more of a "see trough" sound. I am a experienced audiotech, and have restored many pieces of audiogear. Often just after restoring, they sound pretty nasty for the first day. After approx a 100 hours of continous use, things get much better. You get a decent impression where you will end up soundwise. Only after weeks of use, you can hear the end result. Best regards, Nico den Haak.

My A-S2000 was a demonstration unit sold for half price. Never experienced your issue. They broke it in for me. Four years on I’m still very happy.

I really enjoy these after living with it videos and find them very helpful and informative. Thanks Sean

I always appreciate your honest reviews, I especially always enjoy the sound break down of treble, midrange and bass. Its helped me to mix and match components in my system. I've noticed alot of reviewers are afraid to touch that part of a review. Thanks again.

Full disclosure, my first amplifier I ever had was a Pioneer SX-3600 integrated amp. Ever since I got back into high fidelity audio about 10 years ago I have been searching for that sound. The A-S1200 comes as close as anything. Had for about a month now, and it's broke in well. I have owned all types of amps: Class D, vintage, tube, and more. Revealing is a good way to describe the A-S1200. Just by listening you can tell it's got cojones. I remember as a child going in my local stereo shop, aptly named the Sound Shop, LOL. The high wattage amps like the Pioneers (and others) just had this sound where you knew by the sound that they had a lot in reserve, not sure really how to describe it. Some of you will know. Anyway the A-S1200 has got that sound. It's a keeper for sure. By the way the phono preamp section is very good and I have actually questioned whether or not I sound keep my separate phono preamps I have. I tried the MM, not MC yet. This is not an amp that someone should pull out of the box and review straight away. Although the initial sound is good, it will only get better, and needs really 100 hours before anyone gives a critical listen.

I like the way you honestly balance the technical/build factors with the psychoacoustics background. Keep up the great work!

Personal thoughts.. I have a A-S1100 and I haven't felt that kind of break-in thing.. I just loved it and I'm just loving it now..

this was an important review. You confirm what so many people have been saying for a long time- and that is-give an amplifier some time to come into its own.

Keep up the good work. I've been an audio "enthusiast" (addict?) for about 50 years now. So I've been through a lot of equipment. I would go so far as to say that EVERY component needs a good break-in/burn-in time. I think too that the higher the output power, the longer it takes to get that full musicality from a unit. My latest experience is the Crown XLS1002, which I got last summer. I bought it new. When I first hooked it up, I thought it was broken or defective! The highs were not there, the bass was flabby, the midrange ridiculously forward, compared to my old amp (SAE Mark IVb). So I left it turned on at low volume for a couple of days continuously. Night and day! It now sounds the way Crown designed it to sound: like a straight wire with gain. I read and enjoyed your review of the XLS1002; if you're going back and re-reviewing things, put that on your list. It really does sound way better after a long break-in.

Thomas from Thomas & Stereo is my favourite reviewer because he tries really hard to dig up the uniqueness of a component, by taking it to all of his friends and their high end systems, getting their input, mulling over everything, and letting the component sink into his consciousness. Perhaps if you could do what you’ve done here regularly, ie revisiting components that hang around, this might give us out here in youtube land a similar further insight into hi-fi? I would appreciate it, anyway! And thanks for reading my long-winded comment!

YES indeed. My A-S1100 and AS-3200 both needed (2) things: 1. AT LEAST 1/2 hour warm up and 2. A couple of hundred hours of play time. BOTH required Treble Reduction when brand new (they don't now). I leave my Amps on 24/7 so wait time is no longer required.

That’s a nice follow up, thanks Sean!

Whao!!! I think this is the first high end HiFi hardware review in 3D! 🙃

I have owned my As1200 for over a year and yes it as sofened enough to notice. I love this amp.I matched it with Paradigm premier 800F love it as well.

I did not expect this change in sound, but most definitely experienced it with my new 2200 somewhere around 100 hours or so. I did like that "hard edge" when new, but the sound post-"softening" is still really, really great! I love this integrated!

I own AS 301( Their entry level). After around 3 moths I heard a significant difference of musicality. Less use of tone and loudness control. Harshness of sound was fading away. Month after a month it is getting better. Caps burning is something real as hell. I think before a review at least reviewer should try that product for 2 months. I learned a lot by watching your videos. Thanks Shawn!!

Hey man, I appreciate this video, I commented a little while ago on your live Q&A regarding it! I've had mine for a month or so, running with my Klipsch Heresy IVs. On first hooking it up I definitely remember it being transparent but if anything I thought the bass was pretty thin. Now I know Heresies do fast clean bass but it was lacking body and I had to use the bass control to compensate! I never personally noticed the harshness of the mid treble, to be fair the IVs are pretty treble forward to begin with and I was probably already used to it. I figured I'd set the tone controls back to center and keep listening. Over the past month I've been blown away with how the bass has gotten more full and rich and the depth, not width, of soundstage has grown tremendously. I have never owned a new amp out of the box and always thought break in, whether it being the machine or your brain changing was b.s. but for whatever reason it just keeps getting better and better. I'm not even sure if I'm at a hundred hours yet so I'm excited to hear it get better! By the way, I recall you saying you don't do much analog listening, I highly recommend the phono stage, it's excellent, has a tremendously low noise floor and it also just keeps getting better and better. Alright that's long enough!

Hearing is believing. During the first month with my Yamaha A-S1200 and appr. 100h, yes clarity, dynamics and details, which all were appreciated and I do found them in my system as an positive change in comparison to my previous amp Primare I21, which was not at all like that. Now is my second month I can confirm that the character of the Yamaha became more...refined and even mature sounding, as I can express my personal hearing experience. Last month I was satisfied and this month I am happy with my Yamaha A-S1200. You brought an exceptional approach towards reweaving!

Once the capacitors have a proper break in, the AS1200 is magnificent & especially for the price.

I was looking forward to hearing your thoughts on revisting the 1200. I couldn't agree more. I've had it for almost over a month and have noticed a bit of difference in the sonics. Less harsh as you've stated and more musical to my ears anyways. It's never a dull listening experience. I'm sure I'm going to need a bit more mileage for things to break in. Thanks Sean! Oh, and the build quality is top notch. It reminds me of my Sansui 9500 overbuilt

Great camera angle, def like this.

The yamaha amp and preamp I bought back in 1983 was black. I have the yamaha A-s1200 now. Black still looks great to me!! The sound is awesome. Sitting next to my silver technics 1200GR the contrast looks great.

Dude this visual is much better. The unique placement of product could become a ZF signature along with the reviews ofc.

I have owned the Yamaha as1200 for 2 weeks now & allowed for burn in ( over 100 hours) . It sounds excellent. My previous amp was a Denon pma 1510 which is now my home cinema amp.

I’ve owned the Yamaha A-S 1100 (almost the same thing) for a few years now. I can vouch for the change in voicing after burn in. It also has the best darn phono stage of any integrated amplifier. I listen to it everyday for several hours and never experience fatigue. I only run out of music I actually want to hear. 😂

Very honest presentation!Nice and informative.

Interesting to hear your thoughts. Have owned the 1200 for about 2 months now and concur. I swear it is slightly smoother in the upper mid and lower highs (where music can sound "edgy") now than it was when it was new. The detail to the mid and highs and weight the amp brings to the low range is excellent. I do believe the unit's absolute loose and free sounding best occurs after it has been powered on for an hour or more. In basic terms, I can crank the sh%t outta this amp and does not fatigue my ears. Classic "Low Rider" by War played through this unit at full effort is a sonic experience to be sure, a favorite demo to impress my rock 'n Roll buddies. Everyday listening at non wall rattling levels is a pleasure as well. I really like the substantial build, feel and aesthetic and am very pleased with my 1200.

Great video Sean!! I enjoy all your videos, but i have been particularly interested in your reviews of the yamaha 1200.... (Seen it idk how many times...and now this one)...and your comparisons with the Marantz 8006 & model 30. Since you mentioned the yamaha a-s2200 Thomas has, I wonder how it compares with the 1200? But great reviews on all you do!!

I think that it's awesome that you were open-minded enough to do that, let alone post a video on it. Maybe, where it's feasible, you can do a series called "After Some Hours" to contrast your "After the Hype" videos. Either way great work, and as always thanks for all you do. As for potential gear to review: NAD M33 or M28; Alta Audio Alyssa or Alec; Black Ice Glass FX Tube Dac DSD WI - FI; KEF LS50 META's; and lastly the A500/A700 Buchardt Audio.

Have not listened to this amp but have experienced solid state amp break in several x , in fact many Techs , builders , custom shops speak of capacitor break in . Speaker break is also very real and be it amp or speakers after break in the sonic character has always become smoother .

This is a good format.

You are correct. My older 80ish R9 is same way. You have a good ear. Mine has tone controls and I love my Yamaha. It's a beast. Would love to own the 1200 but out of my price range. Love ur videos man. Peace

Have a 2100...and I loved the sound right from the first time I heard it...Can listen for hours and I think the sound is now even better after three years of owning it. Goosebumps good...

3 months ago i bought the Denon pma 1600ne and just last night i was noticing that a lot of the hardness,and for that matter, coldness, that i experienced when i first bought it, was now gone. I think that this is not just a Yamaha thing; it is more likely common to a lot of new class AB amplifiers.

I just got the yamaha A-S1200 and it's a very musical amp. It actually sound good with a box power cord. I put a shunyata delta v.2 rca interconnect between and 37 yr old yamaha tuner and this power amp and was very impressed with what I heard and that's without power conditioning and with the box power cord. The tuner has a built in power cord.

I love your reviews 🎶🎸

I have the A-S3000 and noticed a lot of what you said... What I have concluded is that the yamaha is what it is, and everything else makes a difference. Let me explain-- I was playing around with my setup a bit, moved everything to a dedicated room, changed cables, changed speaker placement.. got everything dialed in... and realized what i've been missing all along! I wouldnt call it a 'break in'.. instead I would call it a magnifying glass... it will magnify the qualities of your entire chain. If you prefer warmth, feed it warm inputs and pair it with warm speakers... if you want detail that isnt fatiguing , use B&Ws with a tube preamp and warm cables. Thats the best i can describe it and can def see where you coming from and trying to say!

I agree. My 1200 is foreword on the upper mid/low highs. It`s still new now. Maybe 30 hrs or so. We`ll see if it mellows like wine later.

while i do believe in some electronics going through some type of break-in period. I also think our brains adapt to certain sounds.. which overtime can change our impression and perhaps make us more tolerant towards certain sounds that we like/dis-like.

You nailed it Sean like always well thats what i got from me AS-1100 also , its a keeper for me its going no where !

I have the A-S501 and the A-S1200 just got ordered and should be here Thursday. I did notice the same issue with the lower treble and midrange you spoke of. I'm not sure if it indeed went away over time or I just simply got use to the sound. The 501 is very impressive for it's price point and can't wait for my 1200 to show up. Amazon ran a sale on the black model for 2,204 USD so I grabbed one up and sold a bunch of stuff on eBay so I'll be able to pay my credit card in full before the due date LOL.

New Merch Idea: "I survived a Yamaha Break-In".

Of course it's subjective! I've got an AS1100 it's amazing. I don't think anyone else does this level for this money. In fact it embarrassed arcam and other established lazy companies

Prefer seeing the product first please continue

Nice thing about the tone controls, is you don't have to suffer through the burn in period, if there is too much treble, you can take the bite off until it mellows out.

Great video, Sean. So, did you re-do the video or just re-post the last one? Also, do you have UB52's in the house yet? Break them in, they changed for the better over 200 hours in!

Yes, I've noticed similar on my a-s1100. It took on a slightly less abrasive sound after around 100 hours of on time. I love it now, while I was initially uncertain.

It's so much more beautiful in silver.

Capacitors take a month to charge, discharge, charge discharge to really break in. Once the power delivery inside the thing is set it will sweeten up. Other parts from resisters and transistors and even internal wiring to get used to working together have less of an effect. It is mostly getting the power sorted from the capacitors. If you upgrade power chords and a better power strip you might like it even more. Try a Shunyata power strip and a venom cable.

Great relook at the Yamaha a-s1200 and really great to hear your subjective thoughts and feelings of the integrated amp. Intriguing. Camera angle was different, but think I like it when you're side by side to the Hifi gear. Question: How does this 1200 compare to the Yamaha A-S801 you reviewed last year? Is the higher cost of the 1200 better sound quality compared to the 801 or is it just more power, better build, and more functionality with the 1200? Again always love your honest reviews and thoughts on hifi gear.

Hey Sean, don't know if you'll see this but here goes anyway. While I have heard many audio products change their sound signature a bit with playing time on them, call it burn in, break in or whatever you like, I have never gone from disliking a product to thinking, wow, this is awesome now that it has some hours on it. So I would never buy something I was initially disappointed with knowing that while it might get better, it will never truly satisfy. I support everyone buying what they like and dealing with it how they see fit but I don't understand the notion of keeping something you just don't like much out of the box and then hoping that three months later it will have changed so much that now it's your favorite item in the audio world. Audio equipment burns in, yes, but it doesn't usually go from caterpillar to butterfly. Do you have any equipment that you just didn't jive with initially that genuinely changed so much through break in alone that you now love?

nice review,please review the recently released denon 110a amplifier

Beautiful piece of equipment and a great review Sean!

I just bought a pair Dynaudio evoke 20i’s. When I first put power to them they sounded good at low volume, but the more I increased the volume, the tweeters sounded terrible, I would describe it as a very unpleasant ‘’Scratchy” sound. I thought I had received a defective pair. So I continued to listen to them and occasionally turning it up to see if the issue was still there. I was bummed to say the least , I went so far as to contact the retailer ti check on their return policy. I was told they would generate a return postage sticker to be sent to my email. About this time I started to research audio forums who were talking about ‘’break in time’’, as much as 200-400 hours ! I was shocked, this was the first I heard of this. When I checked the owners manual it states that they take “several weeks “ to sound their best. But I did notice that the ‘’scratchy’’. Sound was marginally reduced, was it just my imagination? But the longer I played them the better they sounded, by now I had increased the volume significantly to where I am now reconsidering returning them, time will tell but I am optimistic.

My God. That slight over emphasis in the mid range could be anything. I bet that's system matching. I remember a pair of Kef 104.2 I had in the nineties. They kept sounding very agressive even after 200 hours. My system was a Conrad-Johnson preamp with a Sonic Frontiers power amp (all tube). First thing I switched cables. I went from Kimber to Cardas and the sound overall improved a lot. With tubes, cables have much influence in the performance due to high source impedance of the components. Then I purchased on eBay a Tandberg 3018A preamp (used for 600 $). A friend of mine had a Yamaha M4 power amp (120 watts/ch). How did I get to search for those two brands/items is a long story, but the match was made in haven: lush, rich, very musical. The KEF started to sound soft and sweet. We tried with the Yamaha preamp of my friend and no contest. The Tandberg preamp (a class A, discrete, zero feedback, high gain, with an output impedance of 30 ohms) was the answer and a better match for the Yamaha power amp. The Cardas cables are the most musical of all. The phono stage of the 3018A (82 db of gain) makes an Ortofon SPU with an output of 0.18 mV and internal coil resistance of 2 ohms sound dynamic, musical and loud. Yamaha makes very musical, natural sounding amps. In the case of the A-S1200 of your review I would test it with truly neutral speakers like ATC. The SCM 40 seems a good match. The low sensitivity is not a big deal. I can not believe that Yamaha sounds aggressive. Use Cardas, Chord or VanderHul cables. Make sure the source components have a low source impedance. I am thinking of buying one for my Proac Response D2 (2nd. system) My main speakers are the ATC scm20sl Pro with the ATC P2 power amp. All driven by my glorious Tandberg 3018A preamp.

Your fans understand your style. Don’t stress about it😊

Amazing as always buddy.

Yes that's signature sound of nichicon fg series capacitor they used you will experience increase in lower bass weight as time goes by

My Yamaha A-S3000 integrated amplifier started to sound more fluid and relaxed after 300 hours of use. It also sounds better when it has been on for more than an hour. Mids and highs with a valve touch and more holographic lows. I have been using this amplifier for 6 years, I have tried machines that double and triple their price and although they sound objectively better in one or more aspects than my Yamaha A-S3000 they do not manage to provide me with everything that this Japanese integrated is capable of offering me: musical enjoyment.

To me...your rewievs are among few realy honest...opened..real.....truetfull....undependedly clear...yust humanly perfectly/"unperfect". It is atitude...which should be spreded, on so many issues of ouer lifes. Yust....allweys finde your conclusiones...right as it should be. Streith and honest. Once more.....all the best from Cr🌞atia Thank you 🙂👍 🍀

I experienced a very real break-in around 100 hours on my Iota stack. That is a lot more listening thank I expected and I regretfully sold a lovely pair o speakers that would have matched perfectly once burn-in completed :(

Found an AS-2200 returned item for $2800. I’m still waiting on the Model 5 so I haven’t hooked it up to speakers. But I’ve been using the headphones jack and yep. I hated it when I first used it. But after a month of using it there was a moment when the sound clicked and sounds great now. I can’t wait to hear what it does with the KLH model 5.

I own one for two weeks now. At the beginning I felt that no matter how I was setting the tone knobs (bass/treble) The mid range sounded to high.... I even replaced the speakers wires thinking this is the problem. After few days I found the right position of the tone knobs(for me)... Today I was listening to lp and when I increased the volume the sound was perfect for me! Finely I was hearing the bass and treble as it should be! No more high mid range.... So maybe it takes time to adjust and find the right tone for you...or to get use to it....or maybe there is a Break In after all?

Your view is 100% and can say this because I own this Amp. for about 9 months now. This does get a little bit better after break-in of Capacitors. Build quality is unsurpassed, you should have took lid off when doing the video. It is very Bright (I Like Treble, but on this it is turned almost off, 9 o clock position) and Treble is still quite high, it does not candy coat anything, what was recorded is what you get and let me say late 70's to early 80's Rock does not sound good on this Amp. Luckily Jazz is my thing and most Jazz (Pat Metheny, Miles Davis, Ramsey Lewis) sounds pretty Good.

My experience with Yamaha is They make very neutral sounding components: loudspeakers, amps and tuners. They manufacture musical instruments and studio monitor loudspeakers. Because most brands applied distortion by design: sugar coating, emphasized trebles, etc, chances are the match does not cut it. A good match for sure is the new NS3000 Yamaha loudspeaker.

Well, I am an old guy. I bought a Yamaha str2020 (yes...prescient now for the year) in 1978. My Bryston and Marantz'purchased later have bitten the dust long ago .The Yam still works, ! Build quality or what...and although the sound was not as dynamic as the Bryston it did seem to get better with age. Great MM and MC phono stages. Power meters are fun. Variable loudness is even better for low level listening with 1978 Rogers Ls35As. Sweet. KEF 105s not as much with the Yam. . Great older speakers with the cube though . This got me going. I have lots of systems in several houses. My more modern stuff include Elac Uni-fi (good but over hyped) SVS towers . (very capable but not the KEFs imaging and Rogers like midrange despite better bass) and Klipsh towers with a sub (rock hard, loud and steady -incredibly dynamic). Sean, even though I am also old school and believe speakers have more impact than reasonably good electronics on sound , you should test the Outlaw receiver. As close as possible to a new Yam crossed with a Bryston. I now have two.Very reasonable and versatile and powerful.

curious .. is it also made in Malaysia or Japan? I'm disappointed to see the 2200 is not made in Japan anymore.

Thank you Sean

Hi,i own one for a few months now and you are probably right.At first this amp deceived me and now i actually enjoy it.I dont think i grew in To the sound

My S2100 did soften up. But I loved it since day one.

The Yamaha AS 1200 is a engineering marvel and very well built components should out last most folks. But to me the elephant in the room is it has very weak in bass category you have mate the perfect speaker selection and room to get decent bass. Its amazing to me that a vintage amp from the 70s has more bass these these expensive beasts.

Interesting video !

Right on point about the tone @Zero Fidelity. I feel the same way about my a-s2100. Now that I heard the review of Thomas & stereo about a streamer that fixes right those frequencies I will give it a try, let's see if I can get a more laid back sound out of this beast. And me pairing it with a pair of Dali Rubicon2s, doesn't helping it any either. Although changing the mains with Audioquest Y3 helped my system to get more body, which created such a sound in which the rest of the frequencies came closer to that lower treble, upper mid range so nothing is sticking out as much as it used to. I am still trying to tame my system. On progress...

Thanks for your reviews. Question about speakers and AMP power requirement. I have a pair of Polk Audio S60 speakers. Manual states that Amp should be between 20W and 300W RMS. My reaction is that's a ridiculous range, the sweet spot must be somewhere in the middle. So I've concluded I need an Amp that is AT LEAST 120W or 150W Rms. Am I right or am I wrong.?? If I'm wrong please explain. I'm thinking I might be wrong because so many integrated Amps and even separates are in the 80W RMS range.

This looks like a beast

300 hours sounds very reasonable for an integrated amp like the A-S1200. Hell, it took 500 HOURS to break in my Audience adeptResponse aR2p-T4 Power Conditioner! The good thing is that Audience states up front that it takes that long to break in. I'd think it would be in Yamaha's best interest to do the same.

I have the Yamaha as-801 and I will say it sounded a bit stiff when I first got it then I was advised to leave it ON for 48 hours and then I noticed that it started to sound WARMER and continues to sound warmer with time!

It’s too bad you couldn’t try out the phono stage. I’ve got a similar style amp, the Denon pma a100 and matching CD player. About $3,000 used for 10 yr old equipment but like new. Listening to LP’s it’s no comparison to cds. CD’s sound flat and two dimensional on my system. I thought I’ll need a R2R dac at some point but I’m in no hurry. I’m old enough(58)to have many records still. The trouble is some new records sound like cds, not great. The cd might sound better. My turntable set up is a Technics 1500c with a Denon 301mk2 and a funk achromat. I enjoy all your videos very much. A true audiophile. The lack of edits is really impressive as well.

I didn't find anything related to what you found/said about upper midrange and the other things (except the price). But yeah, subjective opinions... I'm totally convinced on my taste and experience. Great component but I'll stick with the A-S801: Same sound signature at a more fair price just at the expense of plastic knobs tone controls and other couple of design features. Thanks for sharing your "impression" toucan!

Hey man, I have a question for ya... I'm playing the yamaha as-2100 with Buchardt S400's. I think it's a beautiful match but obviously I'm user biased and also don't have the ability to compare a bunch of units. My question is this (assuming you have tried the Buchie/Yammy combo)................. in comparison to other amplifiers used with the Buchies, where's does the yamaha sit and what thus far has been you favourite matchings with the S400's? Cheers bro ✌

Yes I have experience the same sound, love this yamaha A-S1200

Did we lose the IOTAVX 7 channel amp review for some reason?

I really like mine, although my Canton CT2000 were very bright, but my Legacys fit right in with this Yamaha! Only better are my MC75 50 anniversary amps!

It depends what speakers and cables and what room you have them in , mine sounds great now but you do have to let it warm up , I don’t turn mine off it makes a big difference thanks

Of all the companies building audio components, Yamaha has been creating fine musical instruments, since 1887. They listen to artists like Emanuel Axe performing on a Yamaha Concert Grand in their own designed concert halls so I think they know a thing or two about making electronics get out of the way of music making. I also agree that there is no right or wrong here in what sounds good to you. Also, being around this hobby for decades I personally now find that the Japanese gear, the highend is as good or better than any gear out there. When I look at the design, build quality, and sonics of Yamaha, Luxman, Esoteric Audio(sweet!), Accuphase, etc., I just don't see a wrong choice here and a waste of time figuring out which is better, best. If another person thinks something other than what I like is the better choice (for them), fine. Great. I won't argue the point. Smart review and write up.

As you describe the wattage (90) as mere, would this be inadequate to bring a pair of Polk LSiM 705 to display its full capabilities? Keeping in mind comperable price points, would you give thoughts of paring the 705s with a Rotel RA 1592 integrated amp at 200 watts/chnl. ng a pair of Polk LSiM 705

Thanks for updating your thoughts on the AS1200. I agree with your observations. My unit changed dramatically after about 500+ hours. BUT... the point where the amp really became special was when I changed the RCA cables from a silver clad to a pure Copper only RCA cable from DAC. The silver clad cables tend to push the mids & highs up

@Zero Fidelity - Can you explain the difference between voicing and tone, Sean? Thanks!

Its my wish list🙏

I’ve only ever bought Yamaha gear, it’s taken 8 + years to get to here: 2x NS 901s, 2x NS 555s, with 2 amps, main being the AS 2200. Where do I go from here? Better amps?

My Yamaha a-s501 hasn’t changed sonically as far as I can tell. But then I’m pretty new to audiophilia.

How does the Yamaha integrated amp compares with Kinki Studio integrated amp? In terms of sound signature and quality.

I've the A-S2100, almost identical topology. I think you were right first time around...

Like the product up front.

It should have the loudness control... Other that that it's great..!!! (Thank you for the second swing)

So did you have it on standby for those few weeks of non use? Is that what broke it in and improved the sound?

I own the A-S3200 and can say without reservation that the sound does in fact change over time. In my experience it seemed to change at ten hours. (The treble became less harsh) Again at around 30 hours, (the midrange blended better and became more even at upper and lower mids.)Then around 50 hours the bass really opened up and became both fuller and lower. I have a subwoofer hooked up to the pre-out and I had to turn it down slightly. (These sound changes are all with tone controls flat) I’m at around 80 hours now and I’ve noticed that the entire sound spectrum seems to have homogenized for a clearer more full sounding experience. I agree that when I first hooked everything up it sounded good but not what I wanted but now all I can say is this is one beautiful integrated amp that sounds absolutely amazing. I recommend this unit to anyone who wants a wonderful sounding integrated amp that’s a little warm/neutral and really has power beyond it’s rated 100 watts. But you really need to give it time to “form” in order to get your money’s worth.

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!

Thank you.

Interesting - my AS3000 based system mellowed over a 6 month period. The sound just became more head turning. Something simple like a single note would feel deeper and more enveloping. As my system also included a Bluesound node 2i, and new power cable for the amp, both purchased at the same time as the amp, I wasn’t sure which component(s) caused it. Sounds like it was the AS3000.