The a-s301 sounds fuller overall and has greater clarity where it counts, while The r-s202 has a little more elevated mid-range, but a bit thinner sounding throughout the rest of the frequency ranges with a muddier bottom end. My guess is the more robust power supply in the A-S301 is partly behind the more controlled and warner overall sound.
I like this format comparing the amps. I’d like to hear the 301 with the axr85, but with different speakers. Maybe a best under $1200 category and so on. With the R200, 12.2, 350’s etc.
I have the R-S300 Receiver & it sounds every bit as good as the A-S301. Both have ToPArt chassis build & has the same chipset & transistors. The R-S300 also has great bass & stereo separation, just like the A-S301. If you were to do a side by side sound check between the two, even those with discerning audiophile ears would not tell the difference.
Obviously the amplifier section of the Rs202 is much lower than the AS-301 that competes in another league, hence the difference in sound, which is much more defined in the latter having much better mids and highs, therefore a much better dynamic range. , having the Service manual of both you can see the differences between the design of the power amplifiers, I suffer from the same problem with an RN-402D that I consider to be a low range in receivers, but here in Argentina buying a good equipment is very expensive.
Well, I'm going to put my order in soon for an SMSL DA9 (before the supplies run out due China lockdowns and I might be too late) so that's where I stand. I don't think most budget and even some more expensive traditional amps can do the detail, definition, separation and layering of the newcomers. Not saying that they win everywhere but overall they win unless I'm mistaken. I'll keep you posted if I can get one.
For it's price the A-S301 is a very good sounding amp. It's robust and full sounding, if not absolutely neutral. It does fatten the center and low midrange a touch and adds extra mid-bass punch, wich sounds good with a lot of speakers. It has exceptional imaging and a deep soundstage that few amps under a grand or more can match, and certainly not the R202. The R202 is leaner, and may sound pitched forward a drop in the upper mids depending on the speakers it's paired with. With some it can sound extremely neutral, but with some it can lack treble and bass definition as well. It's not 100% consistant, but I think It's better than average sounding for a sub $200 receiver when matched carefully with speakers.
I can't see your comment here about the DA 9 you just posted but got it in my email , strange. We shall see regarding the a30. I have a Bluesound Powernode now (as I've mentioned before) but it sounds a little too smoth and thick for the Denton 80ths so I'm keen to see if I can improve on that since I like the "Class D sound" overall and I like the Denton 80ths.
@@davidcarr2216 I erased it because I realized you've heard the DA-9 enough here and probably elsewhere, that you could decide for yourself if you like what it does. I havn't heard the Bluesound Powermode to know what it sounds like, but I heard a demo or two of the Denton 80th's a while back and remember basicaly liking them, and thinking they were a bit on the warm, understated side. The DA-9 would probably brighten and lean them out, but I can't help thinking you could do that with another amp, and retain a little more of the textural and tonal richness and nice imaging of the Dentons than you would with the DA-9
@@davidcarr2216 Well the SA-10 will cetainly lean them out and brighten them even more than the SMLS would, (I meant DA-9 before) and would be my preference between the two, but it"s much more expensive, and doesn't image much better than the DA-9
They definitely sound different. The A-S301 is more laid back, or the S202 is more forward. Take your pick. I have the A-S301 and find it to be very well balanced.
I really appreciate your comparison videos. They're not the most details, but definitely allow for quite objective comparisons of the musicalities. Thanks so much. P.S. how do i get the full track of the song "bedroom" i tried looking for it everywhere to no avail. Appreciate if you could point me to where i can get it please. Thanks in advance.
That's a very well regarded amp from many reviewers, and seems a great deal too. Aiyima has the D03 and D05 which are very similar all in one solutions at about the same price
@@DougMen1 It’ll take a week from the U.K. but at least they have it in stock and can ship it. Zeos and CAM really liked it didn’t they . I’m going to re-read Amir’s review of PS Audio Sprout and the a30 to try to find out why he liked the latter but not the former. It seems to me that they both exhibit what I now think of as ClassD characteristics. Also , I think Sean Fowler nailed the sound difference between Class A/B and Clasd D when he compared the Sprout to Marantz and Denon amps.
@@davidcarr2216 Zeos also just did a rave review of the Topping MX5, another all in one with an Infineon Merus chip that gets 35W/channel, and has a headphone amp and an ESS Sabre DAC for $299.
@@DougMen1 So, Ive just checked the reviews of the Sprout 100 and the a30 on ASR, apart from the fact that the Sprout is more powerful and the FR of the Sprout is a bit wonky, the two units don't seem massively different to me, yet Amir seems to be showing a certain prejudice against PS Audio 🐈🐈(no pink panther available)
Nao esquecam que construcao de ambos amplificadores sao diferentes, no video os testes sao em regulagem FLAT, ou seja, cada um pode ser regulado. Mas é claro que o 301 é superior.
I checked the 301/501 service manual & they share most boards. The difference between the 202 & 301 is pronounced. The difference between the 202 & 501 is less pronounced but still noticeable. That is strange, was the same 202 used in both tests? I'm guessing the 202 used in the 202/301 test is faulty (that doesn't say a lot for Yamaha's quality control?).
Buenas noches. Saludos cordiales desde bogota Colombia..yo quería saber la diferencia de estos dos amplificadores..y acabo de despejar esa duda al respecto
this comparison shows well the basic flaws of the R202, although the S301 is not an outstanding amplifier, but it also provides an answer to why the brighter speakers were more bearable with the R202.
The A-S301 is definitely better. The price difference though in the USA is large. I think the R-S202 is $179 USD as I right this and the A-S301 is $349. The R-S202 has an AM/FM reciever in it and the A-S301 is just an amplifier. At the begining of Covid-19 I bought the wife a Yamaha R-S202 so she could have friends over to drink wine and paint. I thought something was wrong with the speakers because of the lack of punch and low bass. It definitely does not sound like it produces the power Yamaha has rated it at. My wife though was totaly happy with it! It let her use spotify to stream music with bluthooth and entertain her friends in the basement. It has no low end at all!
Something is wrong there, my R-S202 does not sound lire that, it has a lot more clarity and definition. Hearing right now Patricia Barber's "Café Blue", a high fidelity audophile recording and the receiver sounds superb, nothing to do with that "comparison".
![[Sound Battle] Yamaha A-S301 Integrated Amplifier vs R-S202 Stereo Receiver / KEF LS50 Meta](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
