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Yamaha A-S1200, Yamaha A-S2200 and Yamaha A-S3200 – Uncompromised sound…

Yamaha promises more feeling, openness and depth for the latest generation of its hi-fi stereo integrated amplifiers, which are now available in the form of the Yamaha A-S1200, Yamaha A-S2200 and Yamaha A-S3200 systems, and which are certainly taking on a heavy legacy. In the tried and tested manner, a touch of nostalgia is combined with the latest technology.


High-quality hi-fi systems were offered for many years by the “big” Japanese companies, be it Denon, Marantz, Pioneer, Onkyo, Sony or Yamaha. At some point, in the late 1980s, the companies shifted their focus to other areas and wanted to expand their product range for an even broader market. Especially in the 1990s, the topic of home cinema was very much in the spotlight; unfortunately, the classic, high-quality hi-fi was often neglected in these years.

Then, however, the old virtues were recalled, with Yamaha leading the way, daring to take the first steps towards new strength in the classic stereo segment, thus acting as a pioneer for a development that continues to this day. In recent years, Yamaha has launched a wide range of solutions that undoubtedly combine all the values one would expect from a high-quality hi-fi system, in particular the so-called Yamaha A-S line of Integrated Amplifiers, which was originally founded with the Yamaha A-S1000 and whose concept served as the basis for several other solutions.

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  • Yamaha A S2200 01 1
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The recipe for success of the entire product line of high-quality hi-fi components from Yamaha in recent years has been to rely on the latest technology, while incorporating the experience of many decades of development in the classic hi-fi tradition. In addition, this development philosophy was clearly demonstrated by a unique design concept that is deliberately oriented towards solutions from the heyday of hi-fi – vintage touch meets state-of-the-art equipment. This also applies to the solutions that now form the basis of the latest generation of the Yamaha Hi-Fi range, namely the stereo integrated amplifiers Yamaha A-S1200, Yamaha A-S2200 and Yamaha A-S3200.

One thing is clear, the new Yamaha A-S1200, Yamaha A-S2200 and Yamaha A-S3200 stereo integrated amplifiers have a very difficult legacy to follow. All the solutions that Yamaha has brought to market in recent years in the field of high-quality hi-fi components have been convincing, especially the stereo integrated amplifiers of the Yamaha A-S Line, the latest generation of which is made up of the Yamaha A-S1200, Yamaha A-S2200 and Yamaha A-S3200 systems. Trumping these was therefore probably not an easy task for the Japanese developers, who are very confident that they have mastered this with numerous improvements.

Once again, the development of the Yamaha A-S1200, Yamaha A-S2200 and Yamaha A-S3200 systems is to focus on the motto “True Sound”, to which, according to the company, it has been committed for 66 years. The fact that the company is able to draw on areas of the company that are directly involved in the creation of music in general, be it instrument making, live sound reinforcement solutions or the studio, is of course an immense advantage and makes it clear that Yamaha knows exactly what they are talking about when they promise uncompromising sound in the studio and on stage with the new Yamaha A-S1200, Yamaha A-S2200 and Yamaha A-S3200 systems.

Above all, the new Yamaha A-S1200, Yamaha A-S2200 and Yamaha A-S3200 systems are to be characterised by more feeling, openness and depth, thus addressing music lovers in particular.

“We want to offer music lovers a gripping and authentic reproduction of their favourite pieces. For an unadulterated and emotional reproduction, the interaction of many components is necessary. The new amplifiers are the result of many years of collecting, researching and developing customer feedback. The result is a new generation of hi-fi components that also incorporate numerous technologies and patented features from our outstanding 5000 Series flagship series”.

Andreas Rieckhoff, product specialist Yamaha Music Europe GmbH

While Yamaha say they did everything they could to make the equipment take a back seat and the music come to the fore, the most important thing is of course the state-of-the-art technology that characterises the new Yamaha A-S1200, Yamaha A-S2200 and Yamaha A-S3200 systems.

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All three new stereo integrated amplifiers are united by a circuit design that relies solely on high-quality components. Thus, for example, they rely on high-quality SHINYEI PP film capacitors and, in the case of the Yamaha A-S3200, also on TOSHIN PSO film capacitors, just to name one example of many. Even the “smallest” of the three new stereo integrated amplifiers, the Yamaha A-S1200, already relies on a balanced power amplifier. The Yamaha A-S2200 and Yamaha A-S3200 solutions even feature completely balanced circuits from the inputs to the speaker connection.

All three also feature a very powerful power supply unit based on a massive toroidal transformer. Minimal transmission loss and the copper cable drawn directly from the wound core bring the music to life with feeling, according to the manufacturer’s description. For signal transmission, the Yamaha A-S1200 uses high-purity OFC copper cable with a diameter of 2 mm, while the Yamaha A-S2200 and Yamaha A-S3200 models even use so-called PC Triple C cable with a diameter of 2.7 mm and a naturally more linear structure for more even signal transmission.

Large diameter cables are also used for the ground connection to achieve a very low impedance.

The greatest care is taken in all aspects, including the housing, which is made of solid aluminium in the proven manner in all models. This is intended to prevent vibrations that could damage the sound. This also includes that the power transformers, the block capacitors and the heat sink are always screwed directly to the chassis. The fact that the Yamaha A-S3200 uses brass screws for the block capacitors, for example, is a further indication that every effort was made to achieve the promised best possible sound.

Of course, the only thing you can rely on are solid feet, whose anchors are welded directly to the main cabinet and which have been silver-plated. On the Yamaha A-S2200, the feet are made of brass, while the Yamaha A-S3200 uses a special construction where the feet can be used as spikes.

Once again, they trust in a design that gives a certain retro touch, including the massive rotary and toggle switch controls as well as the backlit VU meters on the front. The sides of the amplifiers are adorned with wood applications finished in black piano lacquer.

None of the three new models lacks inputs, as the Yamaha A-S1200 already features four line in, an additional phono preamplifier for MM and MC pickup systems, a line in, a pre out and a main out. A headphone jack is also available directly on the front panel. Impressive are the solid screw terminals for the loudspeaker systems, and 12 V trigger and IR connections are also available on the rear panel.

The Yamaha A-S2200 also has a pair of XLR connectors as an additional input, the Yamaha A-S3200 even has two XLR connectors.

And there’s no shortage of power either, because according to the data sheet the Yamaha A-S1200 already delivers two 160 Watts into 4 Ohms, the Yamaha A-S2200 also has two 160 Watts, and the Yamaha A-S3200 even two 170 Watts.

While the Yamaha A-S1200 with dimensions of 435 x 157 x 463 mm already weighs a whopping 22 kg, the Yamaha A-S2200 with identical dimensions adds a touch more, namely 22.7 kg. The Yamaha A-S3200 measures 435 x 180 x 464 mm and weighs 24.7 kg.

All three models come in a choice of silver or black. Whichever you choose, the new stereo integrated amplifiers from Yamaha are already available in specialist shops these days. Part of the scope of delivery of all three models is of course a matching infrared remote control, which is designed in the tried and tested manner as a system remote control and can therefore control other hi-fi components from Yamaha, be it a streaming client or a CD or SACD player.

The Yamaha A-S1200 with a recommended retail price of € 1.999,- for the new Yamaha A-S2200 you have to budget € 2.999,- according to the manufacturer and whoever is enthusiastic about the Yamaha A-S3200 should budget € 5.499,- for it.

Getting to the point

The recipe for success of the entire product line of high-quality hi-fi components from Yamaha in recent years has been, on the one hand, to rely on the most modern technology, but on the other hand to incorporate the experience of many decades of development in the classic hi-fi tradition. In addition, this development philosophy was clearly demonstrated by a unique design concept that is deliberately oriented towards solutions from the heyday of hi-fi – vintage touch meets state-of-the-art equipment. This also applies to the solutions that now form the basis of the latest generation of the Yamaha Hi-Fi range, namely the stereo integrated amplifiers Yamaha A-S1200, Yamaha A-S2200 and Yamaha A-S3200.

Manufacturer:Yamaha Music Europe GmbH
Distribution:Yamaha Music Europe GmbH
Price:Yamaha A-S1200 € 1.999,-
Yamaha A-S2200 € 2.999,-
Yamaha A-S3200 € 5.499,-

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Michael Holzinger

Michael Holzinger, founder and editor-in-chief of HiFi BLOG and sempre-audio.at, has been working for years as a journalist in the fields of IT, photography, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

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3 Comments

  1. Am a little disappointed, no mention of the quality of the three phono stages, the three headphone amps and how they sound with different speakers (low impedance and normal 8 ohm impedance)

  2. Price very high ? 2200/2800 in US
    No pure direct
    No Loudnees
    No coupler (jumpers in back)
    100w into 8 ohms (nothing spectacular)
    My old receiver R-S700
    No many differences in my old amp. Pioneer A777

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