The solid look, impressive, fresh sound.

The treble sometimes can sound harsh, the bass is good, but not perfect.

I have purchased AX-496 for my second system. I am using this amplifier with JBL tlx510 speakers(s-92db), cd players Yamaha cdx-496, Denon dcd-480, tuner Sony st-se920. AX-496 has solid look like many Yamaha units. The sound quality is very impressive, especially for modern music. The controls are very convenient. With loudness knob you can adjust the sound in the wide range, compensating for room acoustics, not like many other amplifiers quite unable to do so. The high and mid ranges generally are OK, though sometimes treble can be a little harsh. The bass is very well controlled, dynamic but a little soft and not so solid. Anyway the general presentation of music remains fresh and enjoyable. Opening the cover of amplifier i looked inside. It is very well done indeed. Where necessary are used high guality components like for example ELNA capasitors. Of course there is done some economy, otherwise price could be higher. All in all the AX-496 is good and effective amplifier, which manages to make music impressive.

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Yamaha AX-396, Harman/Kardon HK-630, Harman/Kardon HK-670, Marantz PM-34.

Very Powerfull ... Natural sound ...

Distorsions ...

Powerfull ... I can hear some distorsions in the sound ... Bass is ok ... This amp is not expensive ...

Excellent value for money, solid build quality compared to others.

Not any that I can think of.

Fantastic performance with typical tight, controlled Yamaha sound. Coupled with the Yamaha NS-300/SW45 speakers/sub they sound awesome. No fatigue even at high volumes although with a Yamaha speakers one never has to crank up their amps. Retains clarity and tonality even at high volumes with no clipping at all. This system supplements my MX-1/CX-1 with dbx Soundfeild=V Speaker/Sub combo and unless we are going all out compared very favorably to the high end system.

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SONY, Dennon and Onkyo all thoroughly auditioned.

una máquina sólida muy funcional

precio alto en mi país

Un amplificador con el típico sonido de Yamaha, con una gama muy amplia y limpia de sonido. Notorio es tambièn el poderoso volumen a que se puede escuchar sin distorsión perceptible notoria. En síntesis un excelente amplificador de hogar, que mas allá de sus nobles prestaciones, en otras partes del mundo,toma más valor aún por su precio muy accecible.Evidentemente con las mejoras de diseño y la opción de selección de cd/dvd, es la versión mejorada del también notable ax 492.

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viejo receiver Akai av 45

very good, natural sound. easy handling,nice design.

none untill now

with cd/dvd direct button switched on it developes a very rich, natural sound. for my B&W dm305 speakers it has more than enough power. nice design. and the powersystem for other equipment on the back is really superb! with my old system i always had to switch on 2 cd players, 2 turntables and a mixer in the correct order, now the yamaha does it all for me :-)

í just have it a few days, and untill now i haven't found one. i only had a problem with conecting the speakercable, the conectors didn't seem to fit, altough they had to according to the manual. removing the conectors solved the problem for now.

Great for dance,pop,and funk. Cheap and very functional

Not too great with rock as guitars seem to get lost in the background sometimes. Could be a little more imformative.

Not a bad amp if your buying budget.Its a kind of love hate relationship. Exellent with dance,pop and funk and can go loud. With rock its not the most exiting listen it can semm a little smooth somtimes.Guitars seem to be left behind but it could be somthing to do with my speakers though, I have a audio- pro active subass and two sattelite speakers.So partnered with the right equipment who knows!! It has pre outs galore great remote. Overall not a bad amp.

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yamaha cdx 596
audio pro image 4+

Good power handling, worth the money.

None actually.

I built speakers last summer and needed an amp to run them. I first used a Technics SU-Z35 integrated amp that I already had, knowing it wasn't giving me the best possible sound. When I had the money for a new one, I decided to purchase this integrated Yamaha.

I think I did the right decision; the product sure is worth the price and serves my needs very well. I listen mostly to drum & bass, lounge and acid jazz, so I need good bass handling. I got what I wanted. The sound doesn't get distorted even at high levels, and the stepless loudness control gives you the ability to add some punch when it's needed — whithout getting a bad sound quality. Also classical music sounds pretty good by turning on the "Source Direct" mode, which makes the sound bypass all the controls. The sound with classical music is more up to my speakers than the amp.

Actually the only bad side about the product is that if you want to connect four speakers to it, they all must be at least 8*, but I think it's more likely my problem because I built 4* speakers. Luckily I haven't had any need for having four speakers, so it leaves me no bad sides at all. :)

This amp is really worth buying, even if it wasn't all up to your budget!

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Technics SU-Z35