Review on Yamaha A-S301BL Integrated Stereo Amplifier - Enhanced Natural Sound | Black by Ashutosh Takumatla

I wish I could give this *six* stars. I've always liked live jazz, but I never liked it on record until I bought this amp. If you are looking for a classic stereo system for MUSIC, this is probably the best value for your money. There are simply more benefits to this amp than I care to emphasize, but the sound quality is by far the best - from any source. The device works really well in "normal" mode, but really shines when "Pure Direct" mode is enabled (assuming you have a quality source). The biggest improvements I saw in this amp were the picture and soundstage - this thing is well above its price point. I'm pairing this with a Klipsch RP260F Ebony (Ea.) tower speaker, AudioQuest Rocket 33 (15ft/pair) speaker cable - BFA Silver Bananas, and a streaming or turntable input. Another highlight is the *excellent* DAC. No losses at the maximum volume I want to test. Jazz, acoustic, classical chamber music and other music that relies heavily on "live” sound all sound particularly fantastic. The only two problems I have are: 1) you'll suddenly get incredibly annoyed even if the recording quality is mediocre because the difference to good quality is so obvious. If you listen to Spotify etc then this is a real problem as really good quality is mixed with real rubbish in terms of recording quality and 2) everything about this unit is so perfect that the (relatively) cheap audiophile thing has to be that of only subwoofer output is noticeable and annoying. This thing seriously competes with devices that cost 2-3 times more. It's hard not to expect everything. Bottom line: if you're building a complete system for less than $8,000-$10,000, get this unit and spend the rest on speakers. Here's the best serious review of this amp I've seen: [.]NOTE. The Yamaha YBA-11 Wireless Bluetooth Audio Receiver for Yamaha AV products is sold separately. It's ok, that's 3 stars. It will only be paired with ONE device at a time and must be unpaired from that device or all others will be blocked. Also, it seriously degrades the sound quality. Indeed striking. And not in a good way. The only plus is the simple convenience. Works great with movies. I usually solve this problem by plugging my computer or iPad into a USB socket and remotely controlling Spotify on my phone and controlling volume/mute/other settings with the remote. Actually, that's not a problem. If you're serious about music streaming, either dump your money on Sonos or spend no more than $250 on your entire system because that's quality you're getting anyway.