Great sounding amp, very easy to listen, in combo with my B&W805s speakers soundstage is wide, mids are slightly laid back, lot of fine details but never harsh, after hours of listening if you put hand on top, amp is just slightly warm , remote is 100€ extra, display is bit hard to read from side, so far best amp i owned.

I bought the YBA 201 with the intention of using it in my second system, the main one being made by Bryston BP 25 and two 7B ST monoblocks.

The Brystons give an excellent account of themselves, with massive slam, presence and bass to die for but, ... guess what..

..Just for the hell of it, I decided to connect the little French amp ( little by comparison to the huge Canadians at 500 watts a side), I got the surprise of a lifetime.

The amount of delicate information the YBA 'digs out' of a recording is simply amazing and, it does it with such delicacy and style that it never becomes offensive or tiring! The music flows with a velvety smoothness, string instruments sound REAL, cellos are allowed to give all the resonances the instrument generates and as for piano, it is one of the most convincing reproductions of this difficult instrument, that I have heard!

The sound of the 201 is overall, on the lean side and that gives the midrange a very prominent presentation, while bass notes are tight, tuneful and never overblown.

It will go low when the recording calls for it but, always in an elegant and controlled way that does not allow bass to smear the important midrange.

I am convinced, the YBA 201 is in its' element with Classical Music and, it does equally well, with small Chamber works or large Symphonic recordings. Even with difficult passages, it never loses control of the Music and, in the case of the human voice, it always projects it in the right scale.
In the case of Opera, the movement of characters on stage is quite obvious and easy to follow, so it give a 'holographic' sonic 'picture' of what's happening, something many much more expensive amplifiers cannot do.

Separation of instruments is excellent and it presents the listener with a wide, deep and spacious sound stage, especially with live recordings, the ambience of the recording venue is very well conveyed.

This amplifier is seriously challenging my much more expensive Brystons ( pre and power), in terms of musicality and sheer fun and elegance in it's presentation!

Visually is a charmer, with a lot of character in it's simplicity, a very good and functional blue screen and a beautiful aluminium remote with all the necessary functions on it.

In my opinion, at the price it sells it's an absolute steal, some people seem to be comparing it with the likes of NAD, Rotel, Cambridge Audio etc. ... well, forget it!

This is not one but two or .. three classes above these, try Krell, Classe, Meridian and .... my own Brystons more likely to compare it with!


My system consists off:

Bryston BP25 preamplifier
Bryston 7B ST x 2 power amplifiers
Consonance Opera 2.2 valve CD player
Linn Sondek LP12 with Origin Live power supply
Benz MicroGlider on RB 300 arm
KEF Reference 3 / two speakers

Over the years I also used:

Audiolab 8000 C and 8000P
Threshold S 200
Meridian 556
PS Audio pre and power
Densen DM10
Quad 606

I am fortunate to live in a city that still has a true audiophile grade two channel store. I have owned the NAD C352, NAD C372, Classe CAP-80 and now the YBA YA201. I have heard through my speakers the Rotel 1062, Bryston BP-60, and Anthem 225. I was looking for an upgrade from my Classe CAP-80 unit which is rather long in the tooth and came to three options: Cambridge Audio 840A, Unico Secondo, and the black magic. Certainly each of these amps have different sonic signatures, but they are all highly regarded in the price range. I could not find the Cambridge on audiogon for less than $1100 nor the Unico on ebay for less than $1600. Luckily I found this YBA unit on audiogon for $800. I probably will not be motivated anytime soon to play with either of those other amps due to a purist bias. I like when an integrated amplifier has no phono stage or headphone amplifier. This is something the Classe has in common with the YBA. Despite the smooth and highly controlled sound of the Classe which I grew to appreciate, this amp outclasses it in every way. I tend to listen to recordings with painstaking production like Pet Sounds and the YBA lets you hear Brian Wilson's skills at work. The image depth and width are better allowing you to pinpoint individual instruments. The soundstage is vast and the "air" that separates upscale equipment is excellent. Personally, I like the "murdered out" look. Since I've owned Bryston gear, paying $100 for a remote doesn't seem so bad. Maybe it's a Canandian thing with the remotes...

Calidez, dinámica, transparencia, grave, imagen, tímbrica.

Ninguna por este precio.

Este amplificador integrado YA 201 pertenece a la familia YBA sin ninguna duda.
Además de una buena construcción posee un diseño novedoso y acertado, que le hace ser muy atractivo. Su sonido es típico YBA. Es decir, refinado, transparente, con buena tímbrica y una imagen, tanto a lo ancho, como en profundidad muy buena.
No llega a albergar todas las cualidades de sus hermanos mayores, ya que escribo sobre el benjamin de la familia, pero se asemeja en muchas.
Posee 100 w. de potencia que le hace ser muy versátil para elegir los altavoces que le acompañen, plenos de dinámica y con un gave que destaca. Si sus hermanos mayores ofrecen líneas mas finas y mayor transparencia, éste ofrece un punto de calidez muy interesante.
Creo que puede ser difícil encontrar en el mercado un integrado de mejor precio/calidad que éste. Yo lo emparejaría con buenos altavoces, sin tener en cuenta su precio.
Creo que monsieur Yves ha acertado de nuevo y ha hecho que el sonido YBA se democratice y pueda estar al alcance de todos.

Similar Products Used:

NAIM, ATOLL, YBA, TUBES, ETC..

Very Musical, engaging, and refined sound.
High resolution but not thin or unnaturally hyper-detailed.
Large, deep, and wide soundstage with plenty of air.
It seems to breath.
A pleasure to listen to.

The display is a a little heard to read from far away or in a bright sunlit room.

I have only had this amp for a short time so I will follow up with a more complete review as I become acoustomed with its sound, but here are my initial impressions.

I swapped out a Classe' CA-100 power amp/ Audio Refinement Pre-5 preamp combo for this YBA Design YA-201 integrated amp. This is a substantial upgrade with better balance, tunefulness, resolution, air, soundstage size, and musicality. My old system was heavy handed and course by comparison.

It is as high a resolution and refined as my Pass Labs Aleph 30, but with better soundstage width, depth, and bass authority.

This amp produces the best sound I have ever had with my speakers. I always thought my speakers had a diffused in the lower registers that didn't fit the rest of frequency range, but now they produce the most balanced sound I have heard from them. My speakers are tight and detailed the entire frequency range, not just the mids and highs. The YA-201 extend down to the basement with a tight, tuneful, and musical sound.

The mids have great clarity and musicality, with the highs having air that I have never heard before. There is space between the musicians that I have only heard before with tube gear.

I'm thinking this amp has many of the attributes of their high priced YBA Passion line.

Similar Products Used:

Pass Labs Aleph 30 amp, w/ AES DJH tube preamp
Classe' CA 100 amp, w/ Audio Refinement Pre-5 preamp
Linn Majik integrated amp
Jolida 302 tube integrated amp

Midrange, imaging, low noise, rhythm, very good bass.
Perhaps the most elegant exterior design that I have ever seen in an piece of audio gear.

Remote costs extra $100.

I saw a picture of this beautiful integrated amp and I immediately knew that I had to have it. I made a impulsive decision based purely upon aesthetics since it will reside, along with its companion cd player, as my secondary system, in our living room (my wife is a interior designer and is very particular about what is allowed.)

Having given that disclaimer, I can now gush about how great this beauty sounds. Simply sublime, and for the price, without peer. Excellent pace, world-class imaging, very low noise floor, luscious midrange are some of the phrase that first come to mind, as I write this short reveiw. Plenty of beautiful adjectives and praise has already, and will continue to be heaped upon this wonderful piece of audio gear, for its sonic character, however, it's exterior design deserves more praise than I can articulate adequately. Simply beautiful in virtually every way.

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Similar Products Used:

Krell 400xi, BAT 300x, Classe 151, most recently.....