2-Channel Solid-State Analog Powerhouse
Written: Jul 29 '03 (Updated Jul 28 '06)
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Pros: Effortless playback with plenty of understated muscle; elegant, no-frills cosmetics enclose a rugged chassis
Cons: Accepts neither optical nor coaxial digital inputs
The Bottom Line: If pure uncolored sound is your goal, you'll be well-served using this as the centerpiece of a stereo system to deliver just that.
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| tomhorn's Full Review: Yamaha AX-596 Amplifier |
[Second update: July 28, 2006.] I have played this amp long & hard enough to find one of its limits.
Until just the other night, I had never cranked the volume beyond about 40% of the way up (which was at the insistence of a guest whose family situation ordinarily prevents him from rocking as hard as he'd like--plus, as fate would have it, we had been drinking a bit).
Anyway, for my birthday I received some vintage Led Zeppelin and Cars discs; I'd owned that stuff strictly on vinyl.
One song from each band can cause the AX-596's protection circuit to trip (meaning she shuts down, period, and you have to let her cool off): "Kashmir" and "Dangerous Kind." This occurred with the volume at the one o'clock position. Which (please believe me) is almost murderously loud, friends. Even so there was *no* indication of clipping, distortion, noise or anything except pure music. The 596 can be re-started immediately, but if you turn it up that loud again too soon, she balks.
I was somewhat surprised that the top of the amplifier cabinet didn't feel all that warm. But apparently the circuitry is smart enough to know when it needs a break.
I have to say this is a reasonable limitation. Basically, if you get it that loud, you might pause to re-think what you're doing. How smart is it to play the music at such a high volume that you will lose a bunch of those little inner-ear cilia? How badly do you want the neighbors to invite the police to visit your house?
I have considered installing a pancake fan in my stereo rack to enhance the cooling. But that's really an over-the-horizon project. As for the overall performance of the Ax-596: I still cannot complain. The thing is great.
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[First update: June 21, 2005.]
I'm going to upgrade the durability rating on this component, even though I found out something the hard way: If it absorbs a 440-volt surge (amperage unknown but presumably quite high, since the circuit breakers at my place were rendered ineffective), it will ruin the amplifier. I'm sure it wasn't designed to withstand such abuse. I'll bet that if you shoot it or go whanging on it with a sledgehammer or pour a drink into the back, odds are that would break it, too.
Mine bit the dust Saturday night at my new house. (I'll be seeking damages from the person who did the main electrical connection; I'm actually lucky that it only took out my stereo, as opposed to the whole house.) That spike burst a capacitor and caused flames to shoot out the top before I unplugged it. Believe me that was one unhappy sight.
I started looking around and was relieved to find that this unit is still available. But they are uncommon in the USA, and I've had to special-order it.
I have enjoyed my AX-596 so well that I'm not sure what to do with the toasted one. I can't just toss it. Maybe box it up & give it a decent burial?
The only good news is that from a different local vendor (an authorized Yamaha dealer, just like High Fidelity--but the latter store went out of business), this time around I'm paying only $538 including tax.
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A fairly serious integrated amplifier for under $600. Hard-core equipment freaks might argue with me there, but hey, folks: without investing considerable sums of cash setting up a tube-filled temple, this is about as close to audiophile fidelity as you can get.
I've used this thing almost daily for eight months, and I have no complaints. 100 watts per side is quite a conservative rating; sometimes I play it fairly loud, but I've never cranked it beyond about 35% of the way up. Simply haven't felt the need. Crucial statistical factors were its impressive damping factor and a stellar signal-to-noise ratio.
The design is a minimalist sleeper. Brings to mind the monolith in "2001: A Space Odyssey." Virtually all your front-panel controls except for the power switches & the motorized master volume potentiometer reside behind a gleaming longitudinal brushed-black metal cover that matches the case. Fold that hatch down (its heft feels solid--kinda like opening the door of a BMW) and you'll find a .25" headphone jack, speaker pair A/B on-off pushbuttons, as well as rotary knobs for balance, bass & treble, variable loudness and a variety of recording settings.
I pipe the preamplifier signal through a Yamaha EQ-550 12-strip-per-channel equalizer, then back into the amplifier, which drives a pair of JBL 2800s. It sounds just great! People who ordinarily might not wake up to recognize the difference between an AM radio playing through the dashboard of a pickup truck and a benchmark system rave about the imaging & detail. I get comments such as "Wow! You don't have to turn it up all that loud to get all the music!" They hear things on CDs that they've never noticed before. I try to tell 'em that yes, that is the point: to hear the music.
There are a couple of buttons on the front ("CD Direct" & either "Pure Direct" or "Pure Discrete"--sorry, I don't recall because I've never used them) that I've left alone since the day I plugged in this amp. But frankly, unless you're setting up shop to burn batches of CDs or you require an in-line oscilloscope to dazzle your friends with visual proof of the performance, you probably won't need those.
I have no quibble at all with the product; it's great. If you prize good sound but (like me) you cannot afford investing several thousand dollars in a system, you ought to be very happy with the AX-596. I am.
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My lone complaint concerns not the product but the dealer--something of a pretentious place here in Austin called High Fidelity, where they've got fine equipment, all right--but they tend to act almost as if they're doing you a favor to sell you anything. Maybe they demonstrate genuine interest for people who shell out 30 grand for a custom-installed home theater with a plasma screen. Know the type?
The sales guy I worked with quoted me a price of $499 plus tax in writing via e-mail, but when I went by to put my money down 10 days later, he charged me the new list ($549 plus tax) for the identical item & refused to budge. It's as though Yamaha decided the unit might be that much more attractive for an extra half-bill.
I could have dug in, but that wasn't a deal-breaker: I wanted to buy from a local authorized dealer (no gray-market mail-order jive on this purchase), but if anything had been (or happens to go) wrong with the stuff I bought, I would've been merciless about it, I'll probably never buy anything else from that place unless it's almost literally a steal, and here I am trashing the "best" audio store in town.
Ah, well. As the man said: Caveat emptor.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 594.29w/tax
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Epinions.com ID:
tomhorn
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Reviews written: 29
Trusted by: 1 member
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