We love a bit of vintage here at Audio Affair. If something is described as vintage, you know that it’s either old but loved, and often well built to have lasted up until that point, or it’s got the kind of edge that makes it worthy of the title. Take this beautiful integrated amp, for example. Vintage style on the outside, reflected inwardly by its exceptional build quality and rugged longevity…
That right there, is the Yamaha A S2100 integrated amplifier. It comes in both black and silver, both of which bear that beautiful vintage look and feel. It’s been around for a while now, but there’s always a good reason for that in the world of hi-fi, and that reason is almost always: it’s too damn good to stop making! Yeah, it looks great, but what the audiophiles of the world really love is the sound. Let’s face it, the clue is in the name!
The A S2100 boasts a level of strength that is practically unheard of with anything mass produced. Even the connections at the back are solid and chunky! This amp gives off the kind of atmosphere that makes you feel somewhat invincible, as all good solid things do. But there’s more to this amp than just its vintage look and build.
It has tone controls on the back (for bass and treble for any young’uns reading this!) which is a delightful nod to the vintage era. And even though all of Yamaha’s amps have somewhat retro looks, this one boasts a VU meter on the front, which is gorgeously nostalgic looking. And, if you like to tweak and play, is very handy too.
Other handy features include multiple outputs (even XRAs) as well as both MM (moving magnet) and MC (moving coil) phonostages. Basically, no matter what you throw at this amplifer, it will handle it. Heck, it may well even handle being thrown itself! But don’t try that, just to be on the safe side!
If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard of this beast before, well you may well have missed out on our newsletter (I’d suggest you subscribe right now)! We did an entire piece on the massive Yamaha Audio collection, including this series. The breathtaking A S3000 is the flagship, but this sits just underneath at just over a quarter of the price. And you know what? It’s is fantastic value for money.
So, what matters the most is the sound, right? Well this amp has that. True to its looks, it carries a nice, warm involving sound, much like real vintage amps do. The sound is as far removed from bright and harsh as you can imagine, and manages to be quite comforting!
Yes, it’s not exactly cheap, but on 0% finance it is very affordable. If it’s still a little too rich for your blood The A S1100 is the model beneath it, but if you’ve got the money the A S2100 is worth your attention. Quite frankly, it’s not crazy money for what you get.
Onto the competing models! The only thing we could think of that may pose a bit of a threat is the the Icon Audio Stereo 40 Mk 3. However, that is a valve amp, and while it sounds great (and very vintage!) it’s not very practical. This model is very much the best of both worlds: sounds warm and vintage, but remains practical. There are a few more options for Arcam, Cyrus, Roksan and Naim, but there’s nothing else which offers this vintage appeal.
Like the sound of that? Check out the full listing (and the specs!) by clicking here.