Customer Ratings & Reviews

Replaced an old Harmon Kardon integrated amp and have been very pleased with my purchase. The focus on this device is the audio and less about video which is exactly what I was looking for in an amp. Have it driving a linear TT, internet tuner, CD jukebox, 2 Bose 601c loud speakers and pre-amp and it works like a champ! Loving it!

Exactly what I was looking for in performance, style and ease of use for my record player.

The sound is excellent. It really is great having blue-tooth. Very pleased with this amplifier.

Works well with my project debut record player and speakers. Excellent overall

My first good stereo was in 1973. It amazes me the level of quality you can get today with relatively little money. This Yamaha amp sounds really, really good at its price point. It is powerful, musical, and natural sounding. However, these qualities are only evident when when the Pure Direct circuit engaged. Without it, it can sound a little thin and tinny. The amp even has a phono section. BTW, the real RMS power specification is 85 watts per channel @ 8 ohms. Highly recommended.

I am 67. I love music and movies. I tried a 7.2 Yamaha AV receiver. It was too complicated for me. The center speaker I couldn’t control. If you want it simple here’s what you do! Buy the Stereo Yamaha SA-501. It’s 85 Watts RMS at 8 ohms per channel. Buy 2 sets of Bose 301’s. Buy one Polk Audio PSE-10. Stack the Bose. I have been a musician for years. I play bass, electric and acoustic guitar. I am not an audiophile but I do love music. This amp with this set up is THE BEST SYSTEM I have ever heard. This amp has a phono input. My turntable should be here day after tomorrow! The Bose are unreal! The Yamaha is too! The Polk sub is the Best Buy out there! This amp has a musicality that I have never heard before in an amp. Quadraphonic failed. Stereo rules!!! 2 eyes 2 ears! Figure it out!!! Trust me on this. Listen to the intro of Terminator Salvation after you set it up! It is Totally Awesome!!! You have plenty of power for 2 sets of speakers. You need to be able to turn up the Knob to have “headroom”! The 7.2 amp by Yamaha was too much power. I hoped that this review has helped someone!!! Seems like most people don’t talk about speakers and sub woofers. It’s all connected If you do these things the power will come.

I bought this for listening to music and have it paired with a pair of Polk S60’s. The sound is a little bright but I’m not sure if that’s the amp or speakers. But I just adjusted the treble and bass to what I prefer and it sounds excellent. It really brought my speakers to life. Depending on your preference you could really get away without a subwoofer. I didn’t have mine hooked up for the first few months. I would definitely recommend this for anyone who wants clean power for a music setup.

Easy to use and delivers excellent sound, highly recommend this item.

I had what is basically this same product, also a Yamaha, but 30 years older. It was still working fine, but lacked digital inputs and a sub out. I’ve had a number of Yamaha products over the years and they have always been reliable. Can’t go wrong with this brand. My only wish, as others have stated, is that this amp had a small LED light on the volume knob so you can see how much it’s turned up from across the room before you start playing something and blast it too loud! My old one had a light, so this seems like backwards progression.

It doesn't have all the fancy network ready bells and whistles. So, if that's what you want you should look elsewhere. But, if your looking for a 2 channel stereo amplifier with a phono input I highly recommend this one. Solidly built, plenty of power and fantastic sound.

Sound quality is amaizing ... Extraordinarily soud quality, very well engineered. A solid well constructed amplifier... I'm more than satisfied with this amp.

Wanted a simple 2 channel integrated amp that I could use with phono and CDs. This does it and has more than enough power for Definitive Technology BP8080 speakers. Voices are clear, music is crisp and not tinny. Easy setup. Have owned for a little over a week and very pleased.

Hooked the amplifier up and it improved my sound quality amazingly.

This Yamaha amp is the truth, my vinyl lp sound new.

Very happy with the performance and quality of product. It pairs well with my Yamaha CD player. Nice to see Yamaha making new product built as well as their stuff from the 70's.

This was a replacement for and 20 year old receiver. I am very pleased with this choice for the whole house stereo

I was very concerned about the wattage difference 110 compared to 85. Not a concern it was evident upon turning it on. Driving a pair of Def Tech SM 55s, and sub out to a SVS PB 1000. The SM 55s are Bi wired to the 501. I enjoy stereo music most of all so I made the change. Gonna let my Sony Bravia do the switching and use the toslink for TV, Pandora, and all my TV apps, to the 501. I know no surrond. But I really hear a diiference in the 2 channel, this amp has punch, and even seems to give the SVS a bigger bite. Using a Marantz PM 5005 CD player to spin my digital music. The combo of the Marantz and the 2ch 501 is great. I have not hooked the toslink to the Bravia yet so I dont know how that is gonna work out. But as far as stereo music from a good source this is an up grade over the RXA 1020. I will miss the networking to my PC for my lossless digital music, but an XBOX 1 will fix that hooked to the Bravia then Toslink to the 501. The 1020 always sounded processed the 501 sounds real and hard, with presence. Thats it presence what we are looking for in music. I will follow up on the toslink when I hook it up. Great for stereo music lovers.

I hooked up my A-S501 last week and have been playing music through it probably 30 to 40 hours. The amp seems to have finally settled in. For a few days the bass was weak and the imaging seemed off. Now it is pure joy. I have been using it in Pure Direct mode. My source is Spotify on my computer and my speakers are Tekton Lore Reference. Wonderful staging, the sound is very full and balanced. With my very efficient speakers the sound is very dynamic. Deep bass. Very accurate mids and highs. The amp seems very well built to do one thing. Play music.

I have had this for over a year, and it beats my old Denon 5.1 surround amp by far in 2 channel mode. It is very easy to set up and two operate. I use mostly streaming through a SONOS connect, but also use tosslink connection from my tv when watching movies or music programs. I disconnected the sub because my Martin Logan Motion 60 XT speakers produce plenty of bass.