Yamaha A-S3000 or Pass INT-250?

How did you settle on AS 3000 and Pass INT 250 ? I mean they are not even in the same price band remotely (if buying in India you will appreciate this even more for I don't know who sells Yamaha S 3XXX lineup in India). In that wide price range there are so many amps to test and listen to . Moment one is willing to spend in Pass league might as well add Accuphase , Symphonic Line et al to listening sessions. If you can afford to flip amps in this price range then no amount of opinions are going to help , basically if you have an itch to scratch Pass go for it and be done with it, worse case you may get over it and buy something else in few years (may be move to tubes) and you will be able to justify it as long as you can afford it.
 
Do you have the option to audition both by any chance. I've heard neither, so please take this post with a bit of salt.....actually make it a lot :D

But I have a friend in the UK, who was auditioning amps for his dali rubicon 8's, and did try a lot of amps in the 5k to 8k pounds region. And he finally settled on a S3000. In his words, it was detailed, very transparent and most of all immensely dynamic, but what settled the deal for him was perfect tone and timbre.

He did find a VTL IT85 integrated amp to slightly better the yamaha. But he wasn't willing to faff with tubes unlike me :)

A perfect match for his dynamic dali's apparently. I've never heard any pass labs amp, so sorry I can't help there. But please don't discount yamaha's upper tier offerings. Most of the musical instruments we hear in a recording even today, are made by yamaha :)
So they should definitely know a bit or two about recreating that same sound back :D

P.S : There is unfortunately a lot of snob value attached with brands in our hobby. I actually went from a krell to a ubiquitous tube amp from USA. Whose name no body is familiar with. But it spanked the royal back side of my krell out of the room :D
 
But please don't discount yamaha's upper tier offerings. Most of the musical instruments we hear in a recording even today, are made by yamaha :)
So they should definitely know a bit or two about recreating that same sound back :D

Yamaha is one of the better companies out there. Their high end stuff is truly good. I have a yamaha ll6 guitar, 500$ and i can assure that no guitar of same price range can compete with it no matter what the brand. Its a pity their high end amps are not valued by many. AS3000 series will easily rival any high end brand. They definitely know a thing about music. And they dont charge too much, afterall they dont survive on selling amps only. People who only care about audiophile brands and laugh upon yamaha as a non audiophile brand, many of them will never agree that this amp is good, even after hearing.
 
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Yamaha is one of the better companies out there. Their high end stuff is truly good. I have a yamaha ll6 guitar, 500$ and i can assure that no guitar of same price range can compete with it no matter what the brand. Its a pity their high end amps are not valued by many. AS3000 series will easily rival any high end brand. They definitely know a thing about music. And they dont charge too much, afterall they dont survive on selling amps only. People who only care about audiophile brands and laugh upon yamaha as a non audiophile brand, many of them will never agree that this amp is good, even after hearing.
I agree... i have their bass guitar and i have their high end amps and CD players in the past.... these easily rival audiofool brands' products at 5x the price!

another set of great brands to consider would be the ES series of Sony and also the higher end of Marantz and Denon... Great products! But these don't get written about as the companies don't spend money on reviewers...
 
Do you have the option to audition both by any chance. I've heard neither, so please take this post with a bit of salt.....actually make it a lot :D

But I have a friend in the UK, who was auditioning amps for his dali rubicon 8's, and did try a lot of amps in the 5k to 8k pounds region. And he finally settled on a S3000. In his words, it was detailed, very transparent and most of all immensely dynamic, but what settled the deal for him was perfect tone and timbre.

He did find a VTL IT85 integrated amp to slightly better the yamaha. But he wasn't willing to faff with tubes unlike me :)

A perfect match for his dynamic dali's apparently. I've never heard any pass labs amp, so sorry I can't help there. But please don't discount yamaha's upper tier offerings. Most of the musical instruments we hear in a recording even today, are made by yamaha :)
So they should definitely know a bit or two about recreating that same sound back :D

P.S : There is unfortunately a lot of snob value attached with brands in our hobby. I actually went from a krell to a ubiquitous tube amp from USA. Whose name no body is familiar with. But it spanked the royal back side of my krell out of the room :D
I second your opinion.
Most of is are hearing "brands" and not the sound per se. It is best not to be swayed by brands.
 
based on what I have read.. Harbeths and best to be mated with their english counter parts... Sudgen or Naim and likes...
 
based on what I have read.. Harbeths and best to be mated with their english counter parts... Sudgen or Naim and likes...
Having tried Naim and a couple of Japanese brands (Yamaha, Accuphase) with mine, I wouldnt really agree. The online chatter may be from the fact that the speakers are British and hence more likely to be used with other British brands in their home market.
 
Having tried Naim and a couple of Japanese brands (Yamaha, Accuphase) with mine, I wouldnt really agree. The online chatter may be from the fact that the speakers are British and hence more likely to be used with other British brands in their home market.
I do not have direct experience with any of the brands discussed here... :)

All free gyan based on hours spent drooling over the web.... Wouldn't naim be closest one can get to pass or it's a totally different ball game... At a 3k usd budget which the op has, felt one can get hold of a decent naim... Plus naim has their own dacs... What do we call it.. Synergy :)

Sorry to have derailed from ops original query...posted only coz he mentioned his, budget is now 3k usd.. Don't think that's pass labs range.. I was quoted 4 lakhs for first, watt
 
I do not have direct experience with any of the brands discussed here... :)

All free gyan based on hours spent drooling over the web.... Wouldn't naim be closest one can get to pass or it's a totally different ball game... At a 3k usd budget which the op has, felt one can get hold of a decent naim... Plus naim has their own dacs... What do we call it.. Synergy :)

Sorry to have derailed from ops original query...posted only coz he mentioned his, budget is now 3k usd.. Don't think that's pass labs range.. I was quoted 4 lakhs for first, watt

The 3K USD argument can be made for Yamaha amps as well.

Naim has a unique presentation and falls very much in the acquired taste category - not something one should consider without multiple demos. That is especially true with Harbeths. You're right about the synergy bit - Naim uses wierd connectors that work best with their own products. Its a very specific rabit hole - good for someone who wants everything from a single brand (including cables and even racks) but not for someone who likes to experiment. I spent a lot of time in the Naim rabit hole. With my earlier PMC speakers, it was great. With Harbeths, it was underwhelming.
 
I used a Naim XS with the Harbeth Compact 7ES3 to good effect with and without NACA5 cables.... Enough power and current to drive the Harbeths as the volume pot never crossed the 10 o clock position...Very fast, foot tapping sound and a good all round combination if the OP is not very fussy... It is not lush, smooth or warm but plays all kinds of music very well.. I would call it a neutral sounding amp not adding any colour to the sound...
 
Pass amp is in a different league. INT-250 is a great integrated amp with Class A output. I am big fan of Yamaha as well, but Pass any day.

Cheers
Anil
 
I used a Naim XS with the Harbeth Compact 7ES3 to good effect with and without NACA5 cables.... Enough power and current to drive the Harbeths as the volume pot never crossed the 10 o clock position...Very fast, foot tapping sound and a good all round combination if the OP is not very fussy... It is not lush, smooth or warm but plays all kinds of music very well.. I would call it a neutral sounding amp not adding any colour to the sound...
Did you ever compare it to the Luxman you bought later?
 
Yup, I had both of them at home briefly. The Luxman was smooth, warm and the Naim was fast and foot tapping.. Jazz sounded very good on the Luxman but electronic, chill-out downtempo sounded fantastic on the Naim.. Luxman did well on certain genres of music but Naim played everything well. Also you needed to push the volume up on the Luxman to get similar spl even though the XS was rated at only 60 watts
 
Yup, I had both of them at home briefly. The Luxman was smooth, warm and the Naim was fast and foot tapping.. Jazz sounded very good on the Luxman but electronic, chill-out downtempo sounded fantastic on the Naim.. Luxman did well on certain genres of music but Naim played everything well. Also you needed to push the volume up on the Luxman to get similar spl even though the XS was rated at only 60 watts
Thanks. Guess I lucked out in chosing an Accuphase over Luxman. Seems to have the Naim versatility you experienced but with much more refinement and transparency.

Pls ignore the Naim volume control as a measure of power. They have ridiculously high gain and basically max out on power before 12 o clock. The Harbeth designer loves to complain about that practise.
 
Thanks. Guess I lucked out in chosing an Accuphase over Luxman. Seems to have the Naim versatility you experienced but with much more refinement and transparency.

Pls ignore the Naim volume control as a measure of power. They have ridiculously high gain and basically max out on power before 12 o clock. The Harbeth designer loves to complain about that practise.
Oh, Had no idea about that. Always thought it was due to a high current...
 
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