Yamaha A-S801 Impressions

This is my pseudo-review /Impressions of the Yamaha A-S801 stereo amplifier (TL;DR at the bottom). If anybody else has impressions of Yamaha's A-S series amplifiers (ideally the 301-801 line, since they are the most comparable to eachother) please share your thoughts, I'd love to hear them

The Yamaha A-S801 is a 100WPC (@8ohm 20-20), Class AB Integrated amplifier with an MSRP of $900 USD. The A-S801 seems to be rated for down to 4-ohm loads. My unit was purchased used for $450 USD from a local dealer, and I have had it for approximately two months, and was used with the JBL studio 530s on a desktop for nearfield applications for speakers, and the Hifiman Ananda for headphones. This amplifier was compared in a volume matched (to the best of my ability) listening test vs the SMSL A100, an inexpensive Class D amplifier that I had on hand. Due to limited listening tests and comparisons, my experience can only really be considered an impression.

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Build

The A-S801 is offered in both a black and silver colourway and comes with a silver remote control that possesses controls for most basic functions of the amplifier. The A-S-801 has a myriad of digital and line-ins and possesses a sub output that has a fixed 2nd order LPF at roughly 100hz, phono preamp, and dual speaker outs, which can be used to output a signal through one pair, or both pairs of bindings posts. Note that it lacks any sort of pre-out.

The build of the A-S801 is fine- Not the most robustly built, but definitely not shabby. The 801 is made almost entirely of metal. The primary knobs are smooth, with the volume pot offering mild resistance when adjusting levels. The power button and output selectors are both clicky, with relays audibly clicking from within the amp when they are adjusted. The rear ports are made up of standard hardware all around, with lightweight plastic binding posts. The unit measures roughly 17-1/8" wide, x 15-1/4" deep, and 6" tall, and weighs 26.7 pounds, making it pretty comparable to many standard-size AV receivers, and a bit tricky to carry.


The above Image is courtesy of Audioholics. The Scuffed images below were taken by me.


Looks like this thing is attracted to fingerprints. Couldn't get em' all, even with a microfiber cloth wipe-down. Dont mention it, please.
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Sound

Turning on the amp from both standby and off takes just under 5 seconds. During this period, the output is muted. No noise whatsoever is emitted from the speakers when turning on or going into standby/ turning off. On the topic of power, It quickly became clear to me that the A-S801's power output is rather formidable, and almost laughably overkill for a modest desktop system such as my own. With the pot starting at 7 o'clock, I hit the loudest listening volume I would consider listenable from my listening position at 9 o'clock on the pot with a 2.1v line input.

The tonality of the Yamaha leans slightly bright. Many people associate a "House sound" with many Yamaha products- more forward upper mids and treble, with a reduction in bass. I found this to be accurate in my case, where relative to the class-d amplifier I was using at the time, the A-S801 had slightly more presence in the treble, and a little less presence and bite in the midbass regions. The midrange sounded relatively neutral to me, altered only slightly by the lean tilt of the amplifier.

Soundstage and imaging were the real kickers for me. The largest difference between this amplifier and the SMSL A100 was the sense of space that each amplifier possesses. The A-S801 projects sound as if you're sat further back in the track. In orchestral recordings, the A-S801 rendered the sound as if I were at least half a dozen rows back in the audience. The A-S801 expanded the soundstage that I heard in every direction by a slight degree- primarily in-depth- and had a comparatively “softer” delineation to the stage- I heard a more gradual dropoff in presence, rather than a hard, easily identifiable edge that amplifiers such as the A100 Possess. The separation of tracks and fine detail improved, allowing me to pick out and identify different components in the mix that the A100 smothered over.

The timbre of the A-S801 is markedly better than the A100, presenting a more natural, organic sound to my ears. The dynamics of the A-S801 are quick and impactful, with a well-defined bleeding edge and decay to the signal.

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HP out

The 1/4-inch headphone output seems to provide a reasonable amount of power. It is connected to the speaker circuit but is stepped down through a (or a series of) resistor(s). The speaker outputs automatically mute when plugging headphones into the amp. Driving most headphones with the HP out of the S801 should be alright; I'd imagine that Sennheiser's HD6 series would be at the limit of what the amp could comfortably drive out of the headphone output, although I have not been able to test them here.

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TL; DR:
- A-S801 is a reasonably well-featured stereo amplifier, with plenty of power for most stereo systems, and 4-ohm load capability.
-Tonal balance leans towards lean and bright, akin to the Yamaha "house sound."
- Unique in how it presents music as if you're physically further back in the actual recording.
-The headphone output is decent and possesses similar traits to the speaker output, since it's the speaker circuit passed through a resistor. Nowhere near the output of the speaker amp.