Finally tested repaired Yamaha AX-350 Amp

ShutterX

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After recently getting a 15 year old Yamaha AX-350 amp, i am finally ready to jump into hifi. Since my budget allows me to go for bookshelf speakers, the 35 wRMS (at 8 ohms) that this amp makes is good enough for me to use.

So i carried it over to a nearby hifi store to try it out with decent speakers. I do not own any speakers so i had never heard them running good speakers.

So i tried 3 speakers and noticed how 'pairing' matters while choosing either amps or speakers.

1) Dali Zensor 1 - I had heard these speakers before powered by a Rotel amp. i had really loved it. It has lovely mids and vocals but the bass is slightly lacking. My old Yamaha powered them without issue but the setup was very bright. The vocals were good but the tweeters were overworked. At this point i felt that the amp is not functioning properly. i tried several different genres of music starting from jazz to trance. It just wasnt as good as what i had remembered from the Rotel setup. When i told those guys that i didnt like it, they played the same tracks using a NAD 326. It was not as good as the Rotel, but much better than my Yam.

2) Magnat Supreme 200 - This is a lesser know German brand. Pricing of this unit was good. So i decided to try it anyways. These are much bigger speakers and have awesome German build. on playing them, i heard music. but nothing great. Bass was more than the Zensor 1 but recessed mids and feeble highs. The store guy at this time was telling me that my amp is useless and cant play anything since he had heard these speakers really doing well with other amps. So dejected, i was about to leave.

3) Tannoy V1i - Just as i was leaving, another sales guy there told me to try these Tannoys out. Tannoy make such awesome speakers, they are supposed to be fussy with equipment. I honestly didnt think the Yam would manage anything with such seasoned speakers. but then he hooked em up. And WOW! the speakers are awesome. superb bass for their size. Simply put, natural and accurate. Just the way i like it. And the setup was LOUD. I'd call it a good match. I honestly didnt thin the little Yamaha had it in it. Thats when even the owner came to listen and said this amp sounds good. Then the V1i was hooked up to a new Yamaha integrated amp. I was under the impression that this newer amp would obviously best my old Yam. But it didnt! It had more power and played louder. But that sweetness wasnt there. highs were slightly bright and bass was more boomy. And even i could understand with my limited experience.

So i went back home with a smile while holding the old Yam a little tighter.

Only one speaker left to try with Old Yam. The Diamond 220. Its going to be either that, or the awesome V1i.
 
Yes. Found out later that the other new Yamaha Amp was the AS500. It didnt like the Dali either. Matching is important for these Yamahas.

I am a little bent towards the Tannoys now because i have a small room. The diamond 220s are quite big while the V1i are more compact.
 
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