Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
This is a tremendous integrated amp that has a very warm and natural acoustic property. It is a very good choice for digital playback because it is not brittle or harsh like so many mid-grade components.

johncee1945

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Markets

Summary:
I purchased this integrated amp AX392 (second hand) for the bedroom and was surprised by the quality. My experience with Yamaha amps in the past was they were too bright and/or crude. Or in the case of their seperates M4 they were grainy. Used in the bedroom I play the AX at the lower levels rising to the mid levels and the amp runs nicely with a good Rotel tuner and CD player. The speakers I use are hand built back in 1963 using some of the best quality speakers and crossovers. Even worse, they are reasonably large and I have them sitting on top of wardrobes ! No one is more amazed than myself that they still produce the goods. This is a nice amp that is lively for classical, jazz and theatre music.

Strengths:
Up to the mid levels of volume they are close in listening quality to the more expensive units and may even surpass some pretenders. Cheap price for a second unit in the house.

Weaknesses:
Probably not enough watts (grunt) for the higher listening levels in the bigger loungeroom - maybe.

Similar Products Used:
Other amps in the house are Perreaux PMF 1850 and large early Spendor speakers.

Price Paid:  $480.00 from Yamaha store

Summary:
Amazin, simple as that.

kenpersico

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.50 of 5, 8.00 votes

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Germany

Summary:
I am using this ampli with an AH 4000 cd player and Avance 603 speakers. I know it is better to avoid buying components based on reviews, but I hate HiFi retailers, and since this ampli had such a good rating I decided to risk it. At the beginning I tought that the ampli had the tendency of enhancing the bass frequencies, but after some time I understood that this was due to the position of my speakers. I bought a pair of stands and I moved the speakers from the library shelfs to the stands. This solved the problem and improved the sound consistently. The ampli sounds better with the direct cd amplification, the sound is sharp and not very round, but very clean and open. It sounds very good also at high volumes. The bass is controlled and the high ranges are clean and definite. All in all I can say that it has no weaknesses, unless you do not like the type of sound that it produces, sharp, not very round, but precise. I compared this ampli with a rega brio, which costs twice as much. I have to say that I prefer the yamaha (which by the way, weighs twice as much). The rega may sound more smooth, but the yamaha is more clear and open. Just one word about the loudness circuit. Many people say it is not hifi, but when you try to listen to the music at very low volumes, it helps making your stereo sounding different than a simple FM radio.

Strengths:
Powerfull clear sharp sound

Weaknesses:
Not very round therefore may be not very emotional. However, you cannot have everything, expecially at this price

Similar Products Used:
Rega Brio

zebra

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
2.78 of 5, 9.00 votes

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Listening in Style

Summary:
I've been looking for an amplifier (integrated, solo, tube, solid state)to replace my aging Kenwood KA-87 integrated amplifier (100W rms). Initially i eyed the Yamaha AX-496 since this would be for my bedroom system. The only models available here in Manila were the 396 and 596 models. With a little haggling i was able to bring down the price of the AX-596 to US$300. So i bought it even if it was above my budget. And i am happy that i went through with it. A good tube amp was way over my budget and so were other solid state amp brands of similar power to the AX-596. Yamaha provided me with a reasonably priced amp that gave me clean, high quality sound. What i like about the AX-596 is that it has 2 bypass switches in order to get the purest source sound. This is also in line with their ToP-ART concept (Total Purity Audio Reproduction Technology) which their H/T receivers are also known for. Since i like tube sound but couldn't afford a nice set, i bought a tube pre-amplifier (Tono, DIY) which is connected to the cd/dvd input of the Yamaha. With the press of the CD/DVD Direct button i now have a hybrid system. While the AX-596 already gave a nice clean sound to my CD player (a cheap JVC DVD player for now), the addition of the tube pre-amp now coloured the sound like you'd expect tubes to do: warm, full-bodied and smooth. I also have my Thorens TD-166 MKII turn-table hooked up to the pre-amp/AX-596 and my wife is amazed at the clarity that she always thinks the CD player is playing. All this i'm playing through my aging Polk Audio Monitor 4 stand/bookshelf speakers (100W, 8ohm, 87dB) which i bought in 1990. Never heard my speakers sound this good before. However i am on the lookout for a good pair of speakers to match to this hybrid. Maybe the JMLab Chorus 706, Dynaudio Audience 42 or B&W 602 S3. These are the leading candidates so far.

Strengths:
Good value. Excellent clean sound. Versatile. Bypass options a plus. Gold contacts. Solid Construction.

Weaknesses:
Only minor: maybe a sub-woofer output would be a nice touch.

Similar Products Used:
Kenwood KA-87 stereo integrated amplifier