I find Yamaha equipment to be bright. Don't get duped by the power ratings, they are very liberal in what they publish. 85w is a bad joke. I listened to that Yamaha integrated amp in a switched environment with NAD. That is 1 second Yamaha, next second NAD. Coincidentally, the same dealer sold Onkyo.

No comparison, NAD blew them out of the water. The NAD316BEE is a far superior product, if you can up your budget a touch ($549.99) the 326BEE is awesome. Despite the lower published Power Rating, I think the NADs seemed to deliver more power than the Yamaha when I demo'd them. That is, turn the volume to 9 o'clock on the NAD vs the Yamaho or the Onkyo's, and the NADs delivered more volume.

I like the Marantz equipment. Lots of dealers will tell you Onkyo, Yamaha and Marantz are the same, but these are usually dealers who sell Yamaha and/or Onkyo and not Marantz. The Marantz's will also sound a lot better.

The Music Hall A15.3 is a great integrated and I think is $549. If you can step up and spend a touch more, the Rega Brio R is awesome at $899.

I will assume you are on a tight budget.
I read a few reviews on the A-S500 that were favorable.
With that said, MNSHO is you get what you pay for in the under $1k range of audio equipment (for the most part).
Any extra spent now will pay dividends latter on.
Some of the NAD offerings deliver good value, as do the Cambridge Audio.

Enjoy the hunt.
Bill

You NEED to listen to it before you buy or buy it from someone with a liberal return policy. The Marantz PM8005, the Rega Brio R, The Peachtree Audio Decco, the Creek Evolution Evo, NAD 375BEE, and the Arcam A19 are all superior sounding devices for the same or less money.

The reviews would suggest that Yamaha produces serious audiophile equipment. I read them and was convinced that Yamaha was going to be great and that the guys out here who said Yamaha was crap were being pretentious. That it was a mainstream brand and they were biased. Then I listened to it side by side with NAD and was shocked by the raw mediocrity. If you can go listen to a Yamaha integrated side by side with any of the integrated amps I listed above, I sincerely doubt you will like it better. Those Monitor Audio's are very neutral speakers. The Yamaha will sound bright through them.

In the mid 90's Yamaha produced some strong pre-amps and amps and built up a solid reputation. The C-XX series of pre-amps was a great value and the power amps from that era were better than average and far more reliable than Carver. They are still trading on that legacy and reputation 20 years later via some pretty mediocre equipment.

Seriously consider what you need from an amplifier by way of connectivity. Do you need it serve as a home theater with plenty of inputs? Are you going to use it for stereo only? How loud do you listen and how big a room are you going to need it to fill? Do you need a phono input for records?

This will determine what sort of amp to be looking for, along with your budget.

If you don't need all the connectivity and are only using it for high quality stereo, forget the Onkyo, Yamaha and Marantz amplifiers, though Marantz does have some good amps, but you can do better for less money.

Your speakers aren't particularly hard to drive and are relatively sensitive so unless you are looking to rock the walls, you won't need lots of watts.

If you are not in the US and are stuck with these three brands, Marantz is the way to go. If you are in the US, crutchfield, audioadvisor, musicdirect and Needledoctor are all web retailers with 30 day return policies. Each of those retailers have at least 1 of those units mentioned above. Marantz vs Onkyo is just the sound profile. Onkyo is not inherently bad equipment, I just find it to be sterile and digital sounding. I personally think Polk speakers sound good with Onkyo and seem to compensate where I thought the Polks sounded dreadful paired with NAD.

I personally find NAD equipment to be a touch on the warm side. I have heard monitor audio speakers driven by NAD equipment and it sounds fantastic. They pair we'll together though in fairness, I prefer a slightly warm vs neutral sound. You can afford the 356BEE and it is a darn nice unit and is available with and without an onboard DAC.

Catch22 makes an excellent point. If you need lots of inputs or need a subwoofer output, the Rega would be a poor choice. If you don't need those things, it is extremely neutral sounding and is an awesome intergrate amp with a darn nice phono stage.

The Arcam and Creek are both a touch more expensive. The Music Hall A15.3 is less expensive and is also exceptional, especially for the price. You will likely be happy with most of these but my first choices would be the NAD or the Rega, though I am biased in favor of my own integrated (Rega).

I would go with with Marantz over Onkyo. If you can get your hands on it at a reasonable price, I would get the NAD356BEE. Sounds great with those speakers and is powerful. If you can't get that, the Marantz PM8005 is a nice, neutral sounding integrated that you would likely be very happy with.

NAD - C-356BEE @ about $800
Cambridge Audio - 651A @ about $800
Outlaw Audio Retro Receiver RR-2150 Often on sale, but normally around $700 (reviewed here at Stereophile)

The Outlaw is the most powerful amp of the bunch and has a lot of versatility for future needs. Any of the three would be well reviewed and recommended by people who know audio.

Varela Audiovisuales Multimedia
26 de Marzo 988
11300 Montevideo

598 2 717-8171

Earendil wrote:

I intend to visit them this week, but I'm afraid the situation will probably be the same as with other dealers: their pricing is ridiculous. I might pay as much as half the price if I import myself.
But well I hope I'm wrong! I will comment after I see them.
Thakns for all the help!

I agree that Yamaha and Onkyo are the WORST, and you should avoid them at all costs!

I advise you to go with the NAD C326BEE or the Music Hall 15.3, or the Cambridge 651 or similar.

If you have a contact in the USA that can buy for you, you can get them from Audio Advisor and then "self-import".

If you contact Music Hall, in England, they may be able to assist you in some way.

Try Audio Advisor and see what they say. They list a phone number for INTERNATIONAL ORDERS/INFORMATION, so it sounds like they are in that business.

The phone number is 616-254-8870

Digital Audio Video in Montevideo:

Phone number is 5982-408-1422

You might ask Audio Advisor if there are some brands they CAN ship to you.

I suspect that they will not ship NAD to your country because NAD has an authorized dealer there.

On the other hand, if a brand has no dealers in your country, they may be free to ship to you.

I would speak to them regarding that issue.

I hope you enjoy.

Here in the U.S., we use 110, but some countries use 220.