Yamaha has lifted the lid on three new integrated stereo amplifiers, the hif (above), A-S2200 and A-S3200.
Appearing on the company’s website, the trio arrive as updates to the A-S1100, A-S2100 and A-S3000 respectively. While they look pretty similar to their predecessors with their black and silver chunky casework and VU meter-dominated front, they utilize new technology and components.
As reported by my colleague at What HI-Fi?, the new amps derive structural integrity and avoid unwanted vibration with a ‘Mechanical Ground Concept’ that begins with the bolts of the heavy-duty brass feet (iron on the AS1200) welded directly to the main chassis, followed by the large heat sink, power transformer and block capacitors directly bolted to the chassis.
The A-S1200 and A-S2200 are 160 watt-per-channel designs, while the A-S3200 stands apart from its siblings by delivering 170 watts into each channel and featuring fully balanced circuitry and superior components, such as Gilding Oxygen Free Copper speaker terminals, thick PC-Triple C internal wires, and brass screws for the large block capacitors.
The A-S3200 naturally has more expansive connectivity, too, building on its siblings’ five RCA inputs (one of which is a phono) and balanced XLR input (A-S2200 only). It too has a handful of RCAs – including a phono – in addition to two balanced XLRs – but note that not even this top-tier model sports digital connections.
All three analogue-only models have preamplifier and line RCA outputs and dual speaker terminals for bi-amping, too.
Prices and availability are currently unavailable,
