Yamaha CD-S2000 and A-S2000

By Michael Wong

April 2008

Yamaha CD-S2000 SACD/CD player, $2999. Yamaha A-S2000 integrated amplifier, $2999

Yamaha CD-S2000 CD/SACD player (click for larger image)
Yamaha A-S2000 amplifier (click for larger image)

Yamaha is the latest mainstream Japanese to re-discover stereo music reproduction with the release of their new SACD/CD player and 90wpc integrated amplifier.

Both units are very solidly built (albeit in Malaysia not Japan), weighing in at 15kg for the CD-S2000, 22.7kg for the A-S2000. They carry a distinctive retro ‘70s/80s appearance that appears a bit dour in black but looks smart in silver with contrasting wooden side panels.

Common to both is the new rigid construction including specially designed supporting feet, symmetrical internal layout, fully balanced operation and attention to power supplies.

The CD-S2000 is equipped with a bare minimum of controls; a power on/off toggle, SACD/CD selection, slim (and truly silent operating) aluminium disc tray, legible display, basic transport controls and, for the first time on a Yamaha CD player, a “Pure Direct” mode, which disables the display and digital output for “the highest possible analogue sound quality”.

There is no fancy digital processing, nor confusing multiple digital filters. Balanced or single-ended analogue outputs and optical or coaxial digital outputs are provided. A slimline remote completes the package.

The A-S2000 amplifier by it’s nature is a little busier looking than the SACD player but also keeps things simple; volume and source selection, tone controls, headphone output trim, A/B speaker selector. A bonus for vinyl users is an on-board phono stage with MC headamp.

Missing are the classic Yamaha variable loudness and tone turnover frequency controls, record out selector and, unusually on a modern piece of remote controlled electronic equipment, a standby power mode.

A perfect match?

Yamaha promotes these as “the perfect match” so both units were auditioned as a team driving my regular Magnepan MG1.6 speakers. Equipment from Krell, Well Tempered, Marantz, OPPO, Denon, Cambridge Audio, Energy, Acoustic Research, XLO and Audioquest played supporting roles.

Setup was simple and straight forward. The fancy two-piece feet (allowing the components to rest on small points or a magnetically attached flat pad) proved to be no more effective than plain plastic feet but alternatives were unavailable so the Yamahas sat on their stock feet. The lack of dual CD/amp functions on the remotes meant that both were needed when operating the pair.

Through the balanced connection, the sound of this combination is bright and edgy, though preferable to the muddiness of the single-ended connection. Soundstaging has good lateral spread, some height constriction and modest portrayal of depth. Imaging is precise with good dimensionality at the front of the stage, flattening as you listen further into the soundstage. Reproduction of air and ambience is fair. A dry acoustic predominates.

Tonally, the sound is slightly bright and sterile, with a touch of hardness in the old school solid state fashion, the bass goes fairly low with middling articulation, minus any real authority. Detail is sufficient. Dynamics are respectable but lack drive, no goosebump factor here. The sound never seems to float from away the speakers like the best sources but stays firmly anchored to the speakers.

All up you have a competent but unsatisfying sound, lacking the warmth, tonal colours or sense of scale of well reproduced music.

Switching to Pure Direct mode didn’t help things. The audible effect was negligible. However SACD’s brought a noticeable increase in musical enjoyment. Soundstaging and transparency improved, losing a lot of the blandness and softening the hard tonal quality.

A bigger improvement may have been possible if Yamaha didn’t knobble the player’s SACD bandwidth. This leaves the CD-S2000 trailing behind the better CDP’s in the circa-$3000 price band, accomplished players like the Cambridge Audio 840C, Marantz SA7001KI, Quad CDP, Unico CDP and far behind my reference Marantz CD-23.

Removing the CD-S2000 and concentrating on the A-S2000 presents us with an amplifier that at modest volumes is a lively performer with a bright, upfront personality. The built-in phono stage is capable of good performance with a variety of high and low output cartridges. Just don’t crank up the dB’s too much as the amp will quickly show the same traits that make the CD-S2000 pairing tiresome. Despite being promoted as “the perfect match” for each other, these Yamaha components seem to work better individually.

More retro then you

Aesthetically, the Yamahas hit all the targets with their stylish retro-look and substantial build quality.
Unfortunately their sound quality is also retro, harking back to the quality of reproduction reminiscent of ‘80s CD/amplifier combinations. At this price point the benchmarks are high and while the Yamahas are not totally unlistenable, they fail to provide the performance expected from a $6000 pairing.

For your nearest Yamaha dealer