YAMAHA A-S500 or PIONEER A30 ?

[electricman]

bonjour

owner of a PIONEER PD10 and 2 DITTON 442, i start thinking to change my old amplifier LUXMAN LV111. Actualy, my brain has stopped on YAMAHA A-S500 and PIONEER A30, both under 400 euros which is my limit. I listen hard-rock and i like when drums are loud but i enjoy crystal cymbals to. I know it's not easy to marry big sound and detailed sound but can you drive my choice please ? Thanks for helping me.

 

[BigH]

Well the A30 is about £175 over here, I would look at the Pioneer A50 which is about £380. HAve a look for some ex-demo ones, you can often get £100 off. For your music NAD maybe worth considering as well.

 

[matthewpiano]

Denon PMA720AE. It is a stunning amp. 2 in our family and they both sound fantastic across a wide range of music.

 

[electricman]

maybe the DENON is the right choice but the price is not the same (500 euros for it) and the others nearly 350 euros. And in my case, i think the kind of music listened is the key. For me it's hard-rock and heavy metal.

 

[ID.]

Is there something wrong with your Luxman or you don't like its sound? If not I wouldn't change to a new budget amp on the assumption that a new budget amp must sound better than an older more expensive model (actually, no idea what the Luxman was worth new) because technology must have improved.

Apart from the inclusion of DACs or improved connectivity, amplifiers are pretty mature technology, so what made a good amp 20 years ago will still make a good amp today. This mightn't be so much the case with class D amplification which I think has improved and become more viable over the last decade or so.

 

[electricman]

good morning everybody

no, my LUXMAN is not so bad but i believe that a new amp with more power can give me the sound i'm looking for. In fact i need more punch with a good tune control to appreciate my music. I didn't find a comment about the PIONEER A30, only about the YAM; The points of view are often opposite (some people wrote that this last is marvelous but some others thought it gives a metallic sound) that's why i'm lost. And in France, sellers who lend equipement for home testing are rare.

 

[BigH]

Best to go to your dealers and hear them at his shop then. If the prices are so much different in France to UK maybe worth a trip over.

 

[Cypher]

Just my opinion.

I would not buy the Yamaha............sounds aggressive and not musical IMO. Hurt my ears when I listened to it. I've had the Pioneer A-30 for almost a year now and I love it..........best budget amp I've ever had. Buildquality is fantastic and it sounds great with all styles of music. You get a warm sound with lots of detail and the timing is great. Bass is the highlight for me, so tight and musical. Everything sounds very clear but it stays musical and you'll never get tired of listening to music. everything from Dave Weckl (fusion) to Periphery (awesome band) sounds very very good.

The rest of my system is ; Monitor Audio BX2, Beresford Caiman.

Hope this helps.

 

[ear]

+1 fot the Pioneer ( and no doubt about this)

 

[electricman]

Do you think that the PIONEER A30 gives enough power to animate the 32cm boomers of my DITTON 442 ?

 

[Blackdawn]

hi, I own the Pioneer A30, and think it's a great budget amp -even though its gone down in price a lot. I really like it and am using it with sensitive speakers which are easy to drive. However, I would not recommend buying it if you want to listen at high volumes through speakers which are not that sensitive. The A30 is only a 40 watts @ 8 Ohm amplifier and on paper has half the power of the A500. I'm afraid I can't find the specs of your Ditton 442's so can't comment whether the A30 would be powerful enough. I don't think I would go for the A500 either. I would be tempted to go for either the Denon PMA 720AE or NAD 326BEE.

 

[ear]

good suggestions there.the yamaha doesnt have the ability to drive big floorstanders well

 

[electricman]

i saw the NAD C326BEE doesn't have loudness command, do you think that's a real default when someone like me enjoy big sound ?

 

[ear]

no problem there . nad is powerfull enough to rock

 

[BigH]

i saw the NAD C326BEE doesn't have loudness command, do you think that's a real default when someone like me enjoy big sound ?

Does it need it? Loudness is for low level listening to boost the bass.

 

[antskip]

NAD C326BEE has a big sound with substantial bass. But if you can, perhaps consider its slightly more expensive sister, the NAD C356BEE, as it is noticeably more powerful.

 

[BigH]

NAD C326BEE has a big sound with substantial bass. But if you can, perhaps consider its slightly more expensive sister, the NAD C356BEE, as it is noticeably more powerful.

Yes but that is £600. Think you are better off buying the Pioneer A50 for £380 or A30 for £175. Unless you are talking about used amps?

 

[electricman]

hi

my problem still the same : A amp which could move correctly my 32cm boomers also when the volume isn't high. Now i think the A30 is not strong enough. But i read a lot of forums and the point of view are different and the prices grow. I want to stay under 500 euros and on my actual list we can find YAMAHA A-S500 & A-S700, NAD C326BEE and a little more expensive PIONEER A50.

 

[ear]

forget yamaha you wont get the amount and quality of bass you want.Pio A50

 

[altruistic.lemon]

Why not Atoll? They make stonking amps, and pretty cheap from what I remember. Plus they're made in France.

 

[Goldsmith]

Why isnt marantz pm6004 in contention or rotel for that matter.

 

[BigH]

Why isnt marantz pm6004 in contention or rotel for that matter.

6004 does not have enough power seen lots of complaints about it.

 

[electricman]

many people tell me that MARANTZ is not made to listen hard-rock and heavy metal, punch is not its first quality.

 

[Blackdawn]

The Rotel RA10, for example has pre out so you can connect to a power amp, I guess if you need more power - such as RB-1562 or RB-1572. . Cambridge Audio is another good company - worth checking out its amps.

 

[audipheonix]

Try a Demo with the amps. The Yammy might surprise you.