Yamaha A-S500 vs RX-V667

[cs2011]

I am currently assembling a 2 channel system from scratch, and would value opinions on these two amplifiers, both of which are acclaimed 5 star WHF winners.

Although the RX-V667 is a 7.1 channel AV amp, it seems attractive as it has a bi-amping facility for stereo use (assignable power amps), and built-in DACs. The typical selling price is about the same as the purely 2 channel A-S500, so I am slightly nervous that the quality might not be as good.

Speakers are still TBD, but will likely be either floorstanders from the Spendor range, or perhaps even DIY from IPL Acoustics.

 

[the record spot]

Also check out the Onkyo TSXR608 which has the same feature to biamp the front speakers. Meant to sound very good too following another review this month.

 

[matthewpiano]

I have both now - an A-S500 for stereo duties and an RX-V667 for AV. When playing stereo music there is a MASSIVE difference and if you are primarily buying this for music I would go for the A-S500. The A-S500 is smooth and powerful with plenty of pace and attack where required and provides clarity in spades. Furthermore it is completely involving and shows a clean pair of heels to some much more expensive amps I've owned and heard.

The RX-V667 is superb for AV stuff though. I'm saving up for a 5.1 speaker set-up for mine but I've heard it through a couple of different sets and it really is excellent. All the HDMI switching/pass-through works perfectly and the menus are superb.

I initially bought the '667 with the idea of combining music and AV as I'm watching far more films than I used to and I had similar thoughts to you about using the bi-amping facility etc. but in the end the stereo performance just lags too far behind a dedicated hi-fi amp. You lose a lot in terms of seperation, tonal detail, openess, and overall musical involvement. The '667 is designed to be the heart of an AV system and it does that extremely well. A dealer I spoke to also said that the '667 (and Yamahas in general) are better AV amps for music than most others so I wouldn't imagine anything else comparing to a good stereo integrated either.

Build quality on both is exemplary.

The other stereo amp you should consider is the Marantz PM6003. I tried one here for a while very recently and it is an excellent alternative to the Yamaha.

 

[cs2011]

matthewpiano:I have both now - an A-S500 for stereo duties and an RX-V667 for AV. When playing stereo music there is a MASSIVE difference and if you are primarily buying this for music I would go for the A-S500.......

Many thanks, that does confirm my suspicions.

What speakers are you using with the A-S500 ?

 

[matthewpiano]

cs2011:
matthewpiano:I have both now - an A-S500 for stereo duties and an RX-V667 for AV. When playing stereo music there is a MASSIVE difference and if you are primarily buying this for music I would go for the A-S500.......

Many thanks, that does confirm my suspicions.

What speakers are you using with the A-S500 ?

Currently a pair of Dali Lektor 2s, but I'll shortly be using KEF Q300s which I've heard with the Yamaha and they work superbly.

 

[the record spot]

Why wouldn't you try both and decide for yourself...? That's really the only way to know and tell. Matt knows his stuff but in the end you've got your own ears...

 

[matthewpiano]

the record spot:Why wouldn't you try both and decide for yourself...? That's really the only way to know and tell. Matt knows his stuff but in the end you've got your own ears...

Completely agree with RS, and don't forget to try and audition the Marantz PM6003, and maybe also a Rotel RA-04SE as well. Both excellent amps.

 

[the record spot]

There is one other option if it's power you're after, but you'll need to bump up you rbudget a bit; the XTZ 100 D3 integrated amp - 180wpc / 50w Class A, onboard DAC, USB and optical inputs, the only other stereo amp so equipped bar the inferior Onkyo A5VL and the far pricier Harman Kardon HK990 (it is a closer cousing to the HK in terms of build and design than the Onkyo). Around £650, but you can try a demo one out at home for 2 weeks for 50% of the cost or buy outright for 28 days and return in an (effectively) "as new" and resaleable condition from Audio Sanctum in Nottinghamshire. Seriously considering one of these myself over the HK. Swedish company who come up with the design and assembled in China. Currently, hifi's best secret I think. Keep an eye out for these guys, they're well worth shortlisting.

 

[cs2011]

the record spot:Why wouldn't you try both and decide for yourself...? That's really the only way to know and tell.....

Yes, the intention is to have a demo.

However, I have found from bitter experience that a 30 min demo in the shop doesn't always give an accurate indication of what the system will be like to live with long term. I once bought a complete Naim system on the basis of a shop demo, but had to get rid of it 6 months later as it sounded so dire.

Hence the enquiry here.

 

[Anonymous]

matthewpiano:cs2011:
matthewpiano:I have both now - an A-S500 for stereo duties and an RX-V667 for AV. When playing stereo music there is a MASSIVE difference and if you are primarily buying this for music I would go for the A-S500.......

Many thanks, that does confirm my suspicions.

What speakers are you using with the A-S500 ?

Currently a pair of Dali Lektor 2s, but I'll shortly be using KEF Q300s which I've heard with the Yamaha and they work superbly.don't home demo a pair of dm 2/7s with that yamaha mp, or you may find yourself changing speakers again

fantastic amp though, hope you enjoy it

 

[Anonymous]

maxflinn:matthewpiano:cs2011:
matthewpiano:I have both now - an A-S500 for stereo duties and an RX-V667 for AV. When playing stereo music there is a MASSIVE difference and if you are primarily buying this for music I would go for the A-S500.......

Many thanks, that does confirm my suspicions.

What speakers are you using with the A-S500 ?

Currently a pair of Dali Lektor 2s, but I'll shortly be using KEF Q300s which I've heard with the Yamaha and they work superbly.don't home demo a pair of dm 2/7s with that yamaha mp, or you may find yourself changing speakers again

fantastic amp though, hope you enjoy it

What happened to your AS500 Max?

 

[ear]

yes maxx tell us

 

[Anonymous]

i needed money so i sold it, i got e280 plus a marantz 6010 ose.. which was faulty (phono input wasn't working) but met my needs for a week or so, i sold that for e30. so i only lost e40 overall having paid e350 for the yam in november.

i've since bought an ex dem marantz pm7001 for £99.95 from richer sounds belfast

, plus £15 for the courier they sent it by, so e140 all in. and i'm happy to say it's excellent, i loved the yamaha but i honestly don't miss it as the marantz is an able substitute

 

[ear]

you hat a pm7001 before didnt you»? is it better than the yamaha?

 

[Anonymous]

ear:you hat a pm7001 before didnt you»? is it better than the yamaha?

hi ear, no i had a pm7000 before which was also very good but it's hard to compare because i only heard it driving my rx6s.

the pm7001 compares very well with the yamaha imo, i couldn't say one is better for sure, they're close enough in terms of performance, i'm very happy with it anyway which is the main thing, it was a great deal for a great amp

 

[ear]

in terms of bass control with the dynaudios yamaha vs marantz any opinioon?

 

[Anonymous]

ear:in terms of bass control with the dynaudios yamaha vs marantz any opinioon?

that's a bit techie for me, i'm only into hifi for a year

but.... i feel the yamaha has the edge there, when playing a james blake track that i'm very familiar with, "limit to your love" on the marantz, i didn't think the bass (there;s huge bass on it) was quite as potent. though it's still very good, much better than the 6010

 

[ear]

than that is it no marantz amp is good for bass

 

[Anonymous]

ear:than that is it no marantz amp is good for bassthe pm 7000/7001 and 6003 that i've had have produced excellent bass...

 

[matthewpiano]

I've had a PM6003 here and thought it was excellent with bass. The previous model PM6002 could get a bit bloated and slow at that end of things but I reckon they fixed it on the PM6003.

I've heard the PM7001 several times and I think its a cracking amp.

Have to say, I do find the bass particularly good on the Yamaha. There is plenty of it but it remains fast and tightly controlled too.

 

[Anonymous]

the nad c326bee is the bassiest amp i've heard, but it's bass overpowered the rest of the music, a switch to a marantz pm6003 was the answer, the bass was faster, cleaner if you will, and the resulting sound was much more balanced.

the 7001 and the as-500 in particular are nearly as bassy as the nad but much better amps overall imo because the bass fit's in, it doesn't overpower...

 

[DIB]

Max, a standard 7001 just went on Ebay for £144.00 Collection Only, and a KI version for £315.00. I told you you'd got a bargain.

.

 

[Anonymous]

DIB:
Max, a standard 7001 just went on Ebay for £144.00 Collection Only, and a KI version for £315.00. I told you you'd got a bargain.

.

i had the ki sig on my watchlist out of curiosity, surprised it went for so much although it was mint.

yea i'm delighted to have got such a great amp for so little, i'm half expecting an email from richers saying they made a mistake

 

[cs2011]

matthewpiano:I have both now - an A-S500 for stereo duties and an RX-V667 for AV. When playing stereo music there is a MASSIVE difference and if you are primarily buying this for music I would go for the A-S500. The A-S500 is smooth and powerful with plenty of pace and attack where required and provides clarity in spades. Furthermore it is completely involving and shows a clean pair of heels to some much more expensive amps I've owned and heard.

Do you have any feel for where the 667 is losing out to the 500 ? Is it that the preamp section of the 667 is inferior, or simply that the power amps have less grunt ?

I guess an interesting test would be to feed the preamp outputs from the 667 into unused inputs on the 500. If the combination then sounded as good as the 500 on its own, it would point to the 667 power amps being inferior. If it still sounds worse, it would suggest something is amiss in the 667 preamp.

 

[Frank Harvey]

It'll be both areas, but more so the pre-amplifier section.