Got my Yamaha PS2500S Amp in today...

[poneal]

Wow, this amp rocks and I can highly recommend it for home use. It will last you a lifetime more likely than not. I was doing some pretty loud listening last night for a few hours and the fan didn't even come on. These things are designed to withstand 95 degree heat outside in the sun and can drive a 4ohm load full tilt. Many have no problems driving 2ohm loads in stereo with it. For looking so small and petite it sure packs some weight a lot of power. Yes I could hear differences in this amp and my AVR. The amp, probably due to some much headroom, easily drove the bass woofers on my 3.5 way 4ohm speaker with authority. Very, very nice amp for the home user and a lot cheaper than those Krells and such.

Picture:
http://home.stx.rr.com/poneal/amp.jpg
Specs:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-P2500S-Dual-Channel-Power-Amp?sku=480824

[Feanor]

Wow, this amp rocks and I can highly recommend it for home use. It .... Very, very nice amp for the home user and a lot cheaper than those Krells and such.
...


Are you seriously recommending the Yamaha as an alternative to "high-end" amps such as Krells? Have you actually compared a Yamaha, (QSC, Crown, Behringer, or the like), with any of the tauted, high-end products?

I would really like to believe that the sound quality of these "professional" amps is compedative with high-end consumer stuff. Of course, there are people who will never concede that this could possibly be. Not me, however I certainly don't believe that all amps sound the same. E.g. I heard a big difference moving from my previous amp to my current Bel Canto.

[emack27]

The signal to noise ratio of these (Yamaha) amps are pathetic compared to high end home amps. However, the price per watt is definitely cheaper but the sound quality would definitely be sacrificed.

Compare:
Outlaw Audio, Model 7500: 300 watts RMS x 5 @ 4 ohms, Signal to Noise: >120dB, THD: <0.03%, Weight: 80lbs, Cost: $1500
Yamaha, P2500S: 310 watts x 2 @ 4 ohms, Signal to Noise: 100dB, THD: 0.1%, Weight: 30.9lbs, Cost: $400

[emack27]

I don't mean to rain on your parade poneal but you get what you pay for (generally speaking).

[poneal]

Are you seriously recommending the Yamaha as an alternative to "high-end" amps such as Krells? Have you actually compared a Yamaha, (QSC, Crown, Behringer, or the like), with any of the tauted, high-end products?

I would really like to believe that the sound quality of these "professional" amps is compedative with high-end consumer stuff. Of course, there are people who will never concede that this could possibly be. Not me, however I certainly don't believe that all amps sound the same. E.g. I heard a big difference moving from my previous amp to my current Bel Canto.

Nope all I'm saying is that $400 can buy a lot of amp that rivals some amps costing 3 or 4 times as much. If you have thousands of dollars to spend on amps and it doesn't hurt your pocket book then by all means buy the best that money can buy. For the other 90% of us, a high quality professional amp will provide as much power and very similiar specs as those high end units.

[poneal]

The signal to noise ratio of these (Yamaha) amps are pathetic compared to high end home amps. However, the price per watt is definitely cheaper but the sound quality would definitely be sacrificed.

Compare:
Outlaw Audio, Model 7500: 300 watts RMS x 5 @ 4 ohms, Signal to Noise: >120dB, THD: <0.03%, Weight: 80lbs, Cost: $1500
Yamaha, P2500S: 310 watts x 2 @ 4 ohms, Signal to Noise: 100dB, THD: 0.1%, Weight: 30.9lbs, Cost: $400

A SNR of 100db is more than adequate. Record players were around 50db, tuners a little better at maybe 60db. A 100db SNR is not bad at all. Here check out this thread on SNR: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=29850 and this one
http://www.eie.fceia.unr.edu.ar/ftp/Comunicaciones/Audio%20Quality%20Measurement%20Primer.pdf#search= 'what%20is%20a%20good%20SNR%20for%20audio%20equipm ent'


Also it is arguable that distortion can be heard at these low levels. Most agree that you have to get over 1% to actually even hear distortion. Maybe you should read up some more on the engineering side of electronics to get a better understanding of how things work.

Cheers,

Paul