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A few months back TAS reviewed the Parasound Halo integrated, but did not test the phono stage.
This month they review the Yamaha A-S801 and again they do not test the phono stage.
Do any of their reviewers own a turntable and perhaps some records ...or is all of their music on their phones?
Two opportunities wasted.
I'd imagine Parasound and Yamaha aren't too thrilled with TAS's inability to perform a full review.
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
Follow Ups:
It's extra to test all the inputs .... :)
The vinyl resurgence?...ask 98% percent of the population and guess what answer you will receive.
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reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
Dean, I think this is a little unfair. Anytime I review a preamp or integrated amp that has a phono stage in it, I pay attention to the phono stage. I also review quite a lot of phono gear--right now I've got Brinkmann setup under evaluation--and if you read the reviews of Jon Valin, Robert Harley, Neil Gader, and Andre Jennings, I think you'll find that vinyl is very well covered and enthusiastically in our magazine. And for Jon, I believe it's his primary and preferred source material.
"...vinyl is very well covered and enthusiastically in our magazine" .
On the contrary, a definite lack of enthusiasm for vinyl was clearly shown in the reviews of the Yamaha and the Parasound, where the phono stages were not covered at all, let alone "well" .
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
PC audio is now in vogue.
I read this "review" of the Yamaha A-S801 over the weekend and was pretty disgusted by it. Vade Forrester says in the last paragraph, "I suspect many readers are lifelong audiophiles like me..."
Yeah, a lifelong audiophile who has not a single analog source - turntable, cd player or tuner - to give some idea what the analog section sounds like. Yeah - real dedicated audiophile. But he has "a couple of audio dealer friends who heard the amplifier before and after break-in" who he couldn't seem to borrow an analog source from. The only inputs used in the "review" were the USB and coaxial inputs.
He says, "You can't write an audio review without playing a Girl with Guitar piece..." but he can write a review without testing the "parade of features...bass, treble and loudness controls." And don't forget that it has a balance control, very necessary to a lot of people. The very consumers who would be interested in an integrated amp with these features would want to know how these features measure up compared to the direct bypass sound.
It is clear that Mr. Forrester has a singular set of priorities, all digital and straight wire with gain. A promising product, in a marketing sweet spot, with something more comes along and 'something more' can take a hike. Mr. Forrester needs to consider the target audience for a given product. He wouldn't have gotten away with this review had it had to pass muster with John Atkinson methinks. I think the column-inches dedicated to the minutiae and problems with digital hook-up (which should have been in a side-bar, if necessary) would have been better spent with the ignored on-board features of the Yamaha.
As a listener with analog priorities, this "review" was a complete waste of time.
Ripple
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reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
This You Tube reviewer bothered. Check it out. Other interesting reviews on his site as well.
I've been thinking about a 'last' integrated too, and the Yammie caught my eye.
the inclusion of an OLD integrated yammie here doesn't quite fit.
...regards...tr
This is nothing new. For years TAS reviewed CD players and later integrated amps and preamps with built in DACs and never once tested the digital inputs, as if they they were not even there.
This is due to sheer incompetence, and spotlights how out of touch the dinosaurs they put forth as authorities are.
I probably never laughed harder when Paul Seydor "reviewed" a Marantz SACD player with multiple digital inputs finally decided to use the TosLink input, of all things, and the only source he chose to feed it was his cable box..just to make is sure it "worked". LOL
It's been difficult for reviewers and the general public attending audio shows to even listen to CD as the room set-ups are only dealing in computer audio. So if CD is as rare as the Dodo then heaven help vinyl.
I am a bit surprised when reviewers who get all their equipment for free don't have a turntable to at least test the phono stage.
In my situation where I pay the dealer asking price for the items - even I have a pretty respectable turntable rig and can test the quality of the phono stage somewhat reasonably.
The problem becomes for me a connectivity issue - as a SET guy - most SET amps do not have AES connectors. SO I recently reviewed a DAC (coming soon) with AES outputs but I can't test it because my amps don't have the connector.
Surely they can suck it up and get a basic $399 Project turntable. They're actually pretty darn good and don't seem out of place on relatively entry level integrated amplifiers using SS phono cards.
I don't think the manufacturers would be too upset if they were told ahead of time that the phono stage could not be reviewed.
Crutchfield has an Onkyo cd player for $200 and a Pro-ject turntable for $300. The TAS reviewer couldn't pony up $500 so he could check out those two functions? That review was pretty sad considering the integrated amp sounded so promising.
if you don't question them, then they might not ever realize that the ball was dropped. a note to parasound might have THEM calling tas too.
...regards...tr
Far too infra-dig, don't you know, old chap?
all the best,
mrh
nope, i would ALWAYS try the onboard phono, you could be surprised vid the phono section in the NAD 3020 of yore.
...regards...tr
All I want in an under $1K integrated is about 50 watts, a really nice phono stage, a headphone amp, a remote and a few inputs.
No USB, bluetooth or built in DAC needed. I'm looking for an old-school, analog-centric integrated.
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
It's called the rr 2150. Never tried the headphone amp though... but it has one!
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