Home Theater Systems Buying Guide
Product Information
Highlights
- Yamaha-quality amplifier creates incredible audio performance
- Total Purity Audio Reproduction Technology minimizes signal degradation for superior sound
- ESS SABRE ES9010K2M DAC offers superior sound with digital music files
- Pure
Direct technology moves sound through shortest possible path
- CD Direct Amplification mode matches CD input signals for higher signal-to-noise ratio
- LED-lit rotary input selector and USB input
- Optical and coaxial digital media inputs
- 6 RCA audio inputs, including a moving-magnet (MM) input
- Bluetooth-ready with Yamaha YBA-11 adapter (sold separately)
- Subwoofer output & 2x RCA recording outputs
- Remote
control included
- Auto standby power management
- Dimensions: 17.13” W 6” H x 15.25” D
- Weight: 26.7 lbs
- Warranty: 2 years
- World Wide Stereo 60-day guarantee and expert product support
A Professional-Grade Amp
Ready to move on up with your amplification technology? Looking for a professional-grade amp for your home theater? Look no further than our Yamaha A-S801 Integrated Amplifier. The undisputed king of Yamaha’s home amp line, this baby plays everything from your vinyl collection to your film library -- to your high-resolution Direct Stream Digital (DSD) audio files. Make it the center of your entertainment system - only a Yamaha amplifier combines this level of audio performance and quality construction!
What’s in a Name?
Ever notice that so many rockers’ instruments are made by Yamaha? This is no coincidence. Specializing in providing professional-grade audio for generations, Yamaha makes some of the best instruments and sound systems on the planet. Now, with a high quality amplifier like A-S801, put some of that experience to work in your own stereo setup or home theater.
Your Entertainment Center’s Very Own Transformer
At its core, an amp is a wonder of modern electronics engineering, converting a small input circuit to a much larger output, rather like a highly miniaturized transformer. Experience superior Yamaha sound technology as the current goes from input to output in a straight, symmetrical current, courtesy of their Total Purity Audio Reproduction Technology (ToP-ART) concept - welcome to the future of audio amplification.
Better Parts = Better Sound
If you were to open this amp up (please do not try at home!) you would notice Yamaha’s dedication to high-quality components. The power transformer, custom back capacitors, speaker relays, grounding relays, heat sinks, and other various parts that go into this wonder of techno-wizardry are top-of-the-line. Quality matters when it comes to sound, and Yamaha only selects the very best.
The Shortest Current for the Best Sound
In modern electronic circuitry, current passes through many “gates” -- and each gate the circuit passes through causes infinitesimal signal degradation. This is what causes distortion in the sound output. The A-S801’s Pure Direct Mode solves this. By having sound signals bypass the buffer amp, tone, and loudness and balance controls, the signal doesn’t degrade, and distortion is nipped in the bud.
Make Your Music Loud -- Or Soft
Looking for greater control over your signal? With its new continuously variable loudness control, the A-S801 allows you to manually control your music’s balance of high and low frequencies. By compensating for natural loss in the human ear, especially at soft levels, this control gives you full control over your music’s tonal range -- at any volume level.
Connection Options Galore
Easily stream sound from your TV and/or blu-ray players with the A-S801’s included optical-digital coaxial terminal. Play your hi-res DSD files in stunning clarity and detail courtesy its amazing 32-bit SABRE digital-analog converter. Or go analog with its included moving-magnet (MM) phono terminal for all your best vinyl. Deepen your bass with its dedicated subwoofer terminal. Simply plug in Yamaha’s optional Bluetooth adapter (sold separately) and connect your devices wirelessly.
More Versatile than Ever
Ever wanted to listen to two different songs in two different rooms at the same time? Now you can. WIth four gold-plated speaker terminals for a high-quality loss-preventing connection, hook up a full 4-channel surround sound system in one room -- or hook up two separate speaker systems in two different rooms, with a different song in each one. Simply put, you can do more with this amp than you ever thought possible.
Understated Minimalism
Experience the cleanly minimalist beauty of Yamaha hi-fi design with with the A-S801. Its easy-to-operate, richly-textured aluminum front panel, with a silver hairline finish, contrasts elegantly with the cool black body. Plus, this care and attention to detail comes through on the included remote. Intuitive operation is at your fingertips.
Specifications
Specifications
- Minimum RMS output power (8 ohms, 20Hz - 20kHz): 100W + 100W (0.019% THD)
- High dynamic power/channel (8/6/4/2 ohms): 140/170/220/290W
- Damping factor: 240
- Frequency response: 10Hz - 100kHz +/- 1.0dB
- Total harmonic distortion (CD to Sp out, 20Hz - 20kHz): 0.019% (50W/8 ohms)
- Signal-to-noise ratio (CD): 99dB (input shorted, 200mV)
- Audio In/Out: 8/2
- Digital input: Yes (optical/coaxial)
- USB input: Yes (type B)
- Subwoofer out
- DC out
- Pure Direct
- ToP-ART
- Switchable CD direct amplification
- Standby power consumption: 0.5W
- Power management
- Dimensions (W x H x D): 17 1/8" x 6" x 15 1/4"
- Weight: 26.7 lbs.
Reviews
Customer Reviews for Yamaha A-S801 Integrated Amplifier
Enjoyable, clean oldschool sound. Bass and Treble knobs are well calibrated and feel right. This unit reminds me of a 70s era receiver in a the best possible ways. Good audio masterings sound *really* good. Intuitive controls.
Plenty of power for Polk R200 bookshelf speakers used in a 15x20' room or so, around 3/8 volume is "quite loud" for sustained listening.
Update: 5/8 volume whitenoise reaches 118dB peak at the speakers... Amp output saturates at 77V... this appears to be solidly >100W/ch into 3.8Ohm (speaker min; impedance profiles vary with frequency). I've measured peak outputs *far* above this using pure tones and a Tek oscope and sense resistor.... this amp is a *beast*.
Despite their 200W RMS rating, pure tones at >5/8 volume (~120dB) will make the crossovers inside the Polk R200s smell like burning, so don't do that...
Sub LFE output works fine... paired with an SVS 3000 Micro; crossover control on the sub still works. Bass control on the A-S801 modulates the sub loudness. LFE output range is down to 5Hz or below, and the -3dB point (oscope FFT) is 97.7-103.7Hz depending second/third order model fit (indicating the 100Hz LFE crossover figure in the manual is correct, not the 90Hz number). Rolloff is moderate, -10dB is at 174Hz.
Optical sounds great, and the USB DAC is absolutely perfect, digital all the way to the output stages. I'm using 32b/192kHz (PCM x4) under Win10 (driver built in, no trouble). Aux-in through RCA and coax digital both work fine.
Hidden feature -- this receiver drives the Sennheiser HD600 (300 Ohm) and HD280/HD380 (64 Ohm) headphones effortlessly through the 1/4" headphone jack on the front! No need for a separate headphone amp! In addition to the USB DAC input, I'm also using this with digital coax from an iFi Zen Blue V2 bluetooth unit and audio quality is superb.
From my perspective as an electrical engineer this unit is a huge win!
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The setup was a little tricky in that the Yamaha manual seemed to indicate my Mac laptop would be plug-and-play, when in fact it needed a Steinberg driver just like a PC does. Product page for the A-S801 lists out-of-date drivers, so you need to go to the Steinberg site for the current ones. But I finally got it streaming at a high PCM rate. Note that the PCM lights on the faceplate only work with the USB input; the lights don't function with whatever you have hooked up via optical and coaxial, so it's unclear whether you're getting high-res lossless there.
I have the amp driving a set of KEF R3s with a Sunfire woofer, and the sound is pure and natural, crisp and clean, as is Yamaha's way. And the amp has plenty of power for the KEFs, which are not too efficient. Much of the sound quality is no doubt due more to the KEFs, but I'd say this is a nice speaker-amp pairing. Vocals sound vivid and detail, instrument voices sound true. The KEFS are biwired A+B, though I doubt that makes much of a difference, but the amp seems designed for that. I'm not hearing great soundstage so far but need to experiment more with speaker placement; I'm sure it'll get there, and this will sound even better over time. Pleased with the purchase. Some recordings sound fantastic.
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And just great.
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Q&A
Customer Q & A
Have a functionality, compatibility, or otherwise product-specific question about this product? Ask it here! If you have a customer service or shipping question, please direct it to our customer service department
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