hunt for a 2 channel Stereo Receiver : Yamaha R-S201

Hi Folks, Black Friday is here in Canada :expressionless: and got a good deal on Yamaha R-S201. But I am skeptical on the specs. Is this 100 watt/channel @ 8 ohms? or total 100 watt? I will be using this Receiver with my RtiA5 pair, with NO sub-woofer. What is your expert opinion. Thanks in advance for your comments and opinions.

Comments

  • Viking64
    Viking64 Posts: 6,646
    This is a discontinued model that had an MSRP of $149, so I wouldn't expect much. Just don't crank it. :p And considering it's lack of power, it is probably best that you won't be using a subwoofer.

    As far as I can tell, it is 100 watts @ 8 ohms. I don't consider the phrase "total watts" to be relevant of anything, even though it is bandied about quite often.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    edited November 2017
    PixOtt wrote: »
    Hi Folks, Black Friday is here in Canada :expressionless: and got a good deal on Yamaha R-S201. But I am skeptical on the specs. Is this 100 watt/channel @ 8 ohms? or total 100 watt? I will be using this Receiver with my RtiA5 pair, with NO sub-woofer. What is your expert opinion. Thanks in advance for your comments and opinions.

    It's rated at 100 wpc with 10% distortion meaning the stated rating is pure marketing hype. In reality it is 50wpc with .2% distortion, which is about all one could expect from a 15lb. receiver. You should not expect too much from your pairing.

    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • Viking64
    Viking64 Posts: 6,646
    F1nut wrote: »

    It's rated at 100 wpc with 10% distortion meaning the stated rating is pure marketing hype. In reality it is 50wpc with .2% distortion, which is about all one could expect from a 15lb. receiver. You should not expect too much from your pairing.
    In that case, it just may be a Black SMOKE Friday in Canada. :p
  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,124
    It's deer season,
    Yamaha R-S201 are out of season
    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
    Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
    Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
    Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC

    erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    Manual from Yamaha (US) includes these specifications:

    9dxchqhi95v3.png

    source: https://usa.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/4/330054/R-S201_om_U.pdf

    This being "said", I wouldn't expect such a receiver to have much in the way of, shall we say, cojones relative to beefier (and more expensive) units with similar nominal ratings.

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    edited November 2017
    The true rating is listed under "CD, etc. to Speakers". 50wpc 20Hz to 20kHz.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited November 2017
    It is an interesting way to present specifications.
    One does note that the top-line power spec is at 40 Hz to 20kHz (whereas the "CD" spec F1nut quotes references 20 Hz to 20 kHz) -- the LF performance is, presumably, the delta between those two 'specs' (i.e., 'full power' THD between 40 and 20 Hz presumably "blows up" relative to 0.2%). Most of us would feel that 20 Hz to 20 kHz is a better representation of "continuous" power output.

    100 watts is 3 dB more than 50 watts -- not insignificant, but not huge either :neutral:

    All this being said, I would be skeptical that the amplifier would be very happy - or last very long - at full rated power output (even into a pure resistive dummy load), at most any frequency, for very long.

    It would be interesting to see a Stereophile (John Atkinson) style quantitative test of the amp section's performance.




  • ZLTFUL
    ZLTFUL Posts: 5,640
    CD etc to Speakers is THD...it is saying at 50w, from 20hz to 20khz, it is putting out 0.2% THD or less.

    That being said, I am sure as the volume increases, so will the THD. Not a bad little garage receiver to run with some high efficiency speakers but also not a workhorse I would pair with RTiAs that like some more beef.
    "Some people find it easier to be conceited rather than correct."

    "Unwad those panties and have a good time man. We're all here to help each other, no matter how it might appear." DSkip
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited November 2017
    Apropos of this particular receiver (the Yamaha R-S201, that is) and of power ratings in general...

    Since the OP bought it, he (or she) can try it and see what he (or she) thinks. The OP doesn't indicate (i.e., I don't know) what amplifier or receiver he/she is using now with the loudspeakers in question. The "little" (cheap!) Yamaha may suit the OP fine, it may leave the OP wanting more -- or it may may simply die trying to deliver the goods! :/

    In at least one, and - one would hope - two of the 'bad' outcome cases, the receiver can (again, it would be hoped) be returned for full credit (or exchanged towards something else); no harm no foul.

    The consumer hifi world has, in the past decade (or two!) seemingly slipped back towards the "wild west" days prior to the 1974 (US) Federal Trade Commision's regulations on power output claims for two channel domestic (home) stereo amplifiers and receivers.

    The 1974 FTC regs were a response to a flagrant inflation of "actual" power output capabilities for home hifi equipment that more or less coincided with the rise of solid state hifi electronics and the increasing popularity of low-sensitivity sealed-box ("acoustic suspension") loudspeaker designs in the1960s through early 1970s.

    A good idea of how wild and wooly power output claims were in those days can be found, e.g., in this catalog blurb for an early 1970s Lafayette receiver.

    37315573051_ff2e0b1ba0_b.jpgLRE LR-810 1973 enh by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

    In those days, solid state power claims were generally both channels into four ohms -- and not (unless otherwise stated) "continuous" (or, in FTC '74 parlance, "RMS") watts, either!

    This "100 watt" receiver would be 13.25 watts per channel into an 8 ohm load at 1% THD, across an unspecified bandwidth! :/ The bandwidth at full power and rated THD is almost certainly less than the 1 watt bandwidth spec (which was +/- 1 dB from 20 Hz to 20 kHz).

    The more things change, the more they remain the same :|
  • PixOtt
    PixOtt Posts: 15
    Viking64 wrote: »
    F1nut wrote: »

    It's rated at 100 wpc with 10% distortion meaning the stated rating is pure marketing hype. In reality it is 50wpc with .2% distortion, which is about all one could expect from a 15lb. receiver. You should not expect too much from your pairing.
    In that case, it just may be a Black SMOKE Friday in Canada. :p

    lol
  • PixOtt
    PixOtt Posts: 15
    thank you all. So in that case I have to go for costlier option to power my RTia5. seems like stereo receiver is not an option, rather high end Onkyo or Yamaha aventage series I guess.. Hell lot of $$$... :( need to wait... thanks a lot for your help
  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
    ^ bingo!!! Find a used NAD for the same $ and you'll be way ahead of the game.