Yamaha A-S500 + speakers advice sought

[Radical Larry]

Hi all,

I am looking for a bit of advice if possible please? I have a Yamaha A-S500 amplifier and DAC setup (Caiman SEG with firmware 30 and Beresford Dorado PSU Enhancer) and have had not much luck pairing speakers to the as many will know, lively and bright amp. Having initially purchased Q Acoustics 3010is blind (bad move – way to strident!!), I ‘downgraded’ to Wharfedale 9.1s. These have introduced a bit more bass, however are messy in the midrange, so I am still seeking a good match for the Yamaha.

I am looking at the Dali Zensor 3s. To this end, how have your experiences been with the Zensor 3s? Did you achieve a marked improvement over your previous speakers?

In addition, I am think I need to match my cabling and interconnects to the Yamaha as well. I currently use Audioquest Slip 14/4 for the speakers and I think Ixos something or other for interconnects. I don’t think they are helping the over bright presentation. I am maybe looking at copying what one of our members (Hypnotist) is currently using as he also has a Yamaha A-S500, namely the Klotz MC5000 between DAC and amp and the Fisual S-Flex Studio 2.5mm to the Zensors? Will this provide me with a tangible improvement overall? I don’t think I will be introducing a Sub at this stage.

Burn in time for everything (20 hrs for the cable/interconnects, 100 hrs for the speakers?) aside, will this setup be an improvement over my current one? Will the soundstage and balance improve and is it true that the Zensors don’t have to be toed in and can just fire straight forward?

Sorry for all the questions but I would really appreciate and value your thoughts on these queries as I am keen to get my rig sounding ‘right’.
P.S. I will be listening in a small to medium size room, to a mix of music, both Redbook CDs and 96/24 vinyl rips burnt to DVD-R, using a Sony DVD player as a transport for both.

Thank you very much for your advice

Regards
Malc

[Stryder5]

Hi,

Are you limited to standmount speakers?

The Klotz and Fisual cables are well known to be very good, you should choose good RCA connectors and I prefer Z plugs on speaker cable.

As you say the amplifier is known to be bright, so you need to choose your speakers carefully. Are there any dealers near you that you could visit.

Sound is very subjective so what someone likes you may not. Not helpful I know :).

Where your speakers are situated and the room acoustics come into play, what stands are you using?

Gary

[Radical Larry]

Thanks Gary,

I can go to floorstanders if necessary. My budget is £350-400. I have Richer Sounds near me so could go and have a listen. The current speakers (Wharfedales) are 18" in from the rear wall, about 6' apart. I chose the 9.1s because of the front firing ports; I have them slightly toed in.

I really appreciate your opinions, thank you once again.

[Macca]

You best bet is to go second-hand for speakers. On that budget you'll be forever swimming about in a pool of compromises and mediocrity if you stick with buying brand new. You can't make a real good speaker on the cheap. I don't know your amp but if it is lively and bright I'd look at some older speakers (that tend to have a more 'conservative' presentation) to balance that out a bit - KEF, Wharfedale, Rogers, something along those lines. For £450 you could get some speakers that would cost a couple of grand if they were still made today and you'll notice the benefits.

[Stryder5]

Hi,

These are for sale on here, worth a look, I had the standmount and they were exceptional.

Bass speaker fires downwards so no problem with perimeter wall.

Oh, on second thoughts don't buy them I'm so tempted.....lol

https://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?60951-FS-Chario-Syntar-100-Tower-speakers-(pair)&highlight=Chario

Gary

[Hypnotist]

Hi Malc as you can see from my signature I have the same Amp. Dac and Stans Durado PSU enhancer, I had a pair of 9.1s the same as yours and I upgraded to the Dali Zensor 3s and I really pleased with mine and was a big improvement, I dont find the AS-500 amp bright with the Dali's and lots of people have commented on how good my setup is. If you were closer you could come with your music and have a demo.

I would recommend the Dali Zensor 3s with your amp and as you said a fair bit of burn in time will improve everything.

And yes the Zensor 3s don't need a bit of toe in, as mentioned in the manual. I have a lot more bass over the 9.1s and keep looking to see if the subs on ? Its not !

[Radical Larry]

Wow! Thanks Dave. Our setups were/are spookily close. Do you have any opinions on cabling/interconnects? How did your upgrade in this respect go? Would love to come and visit but it's a bit of a schlep from here to there; thanks for the offer though, very kind. Thanks for the advice.

[steve-z]

Although you had a bad experience with the QA 3010is for only a little more money you could have some QA Concept 20s. I’ve had a pair for almost a year now and in that time I’ve driven them with a Yamaha AS501, an Amptastic Mini 1, a Cambridge CXA60 and an Onkyo A9010. They have been in use in both my living room and bedroom setups.
The Cambridge drove them in the living room, all the other amps were used upstairs, currently the Onkyo drives them in the bedroom. I had an AS500 about 5 years ago, at that time I used it to drive AVI Neutron 5 speakers which it did very well, to my recollection I never thought it to be a bright sounding amp in fact the stand out feature was the bass. Imo the Concept 20s offer excellent SQ for under £300 and they certainly benefit from good amplification, unfortunately of the amps I’ve used the Yamaha gave the worst sound, the Amptastic was a shade bright, the Cambridge was the best with the Onkyo a very close second. In the living room driven by the Cambridge the C20s sounded superb with the caveat that the low bass is limited as would be expected from such a small speaker.
To get exactly what I needed in the living room I bought a pair of Concept 40 floor standers which have all the Concept 20s best qualities but with a lot more at the bass end but at a considerably increased cost.
Coincidentally I also use Audioquest Flx Slip 14/4 cable to bi-wire both my sets of speakers and find it excellent.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Hypnotist]

Wow! Thanks Dave. Our setups were/are spookily close. Do you have any opinions on cabling/interconnects? How did your upgrade in this respect go? Would love to come and visit but it's a bit of a schlep from here to there; thanks for the offer though, very kind. Thanks for the advice.

I have these RCA Interconnects Van Damme Silver Plated OFC Pro Classic XKE & Klotz MC5000 Dac To Amp

The Klotz MC 5000 is from the Seg to the Yamaha 500 Amp and replaced the Van Damme, I made up both and the Klotz took twice the time to burn in, now its been on for 50hrs its staying.

[Radical Larry]

Thanks Dave,

Would this do the trick between DAC and Amp? Any opinions on the Neutrik RCAs?

https://www.studiocare.com/klotz-neutrik-1m-dual-phono-cable-made-with-klotz-mc5000-cable-and-neutirk-pro-fi-connectors.html

[Hypnotist]

It would Malc but if you handy with a soldering Iron then make your own up, or give Brian a shout here on AOS he makes them up for members here https://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?33332-MS-Audio-Klotz-MC5000-interconnects-build-offer-for-all-AoS-members

[Pieoftheday]

Hi all,

I am looking for a bit of advice if possible please? I have a Yamaha A-S500 amplifier and DAC setup (Caiman SEG with firmware 30 and Beresford Dorado PSU Enhancer) and have had not much luck pairing speakers to the as many will know, lively and bright amp. Having initially purchased Q Acoustics 3010is blind (bad move – way to strident!!), I ‘downgraded’ to Wharfedale 9.1s. These have introduced a bit more bass, however are messy in the midrange, so I am still seeking a good match for the Yamaha.

I am looking at the Dali Zensor 3s. To this end, how have your experiences been with the Zensor 3s? Did you achieve a marked improvement over your previous speakers?

In addition, I am think I need to match my cabling and interconnects to the Yamaha as well. I currently use Audioquest Slip 14/4 for the speakers and I think Ixos something or other for interconnects. I don’t think they are helping the over bright presentation. I am maybe looking at copying what one of our members (Hypnotist) is currently using as he also has a Yamaha A-S500, namely the Klotz MC5000 between DAC and amp and the Fisual S-Flex Studio 2.5mm to the Zensors? Will this provide me with a tangible improvement overall? I don’t think I will be introducing a Sub at this stage.

Burn in time for everything (20 hrs for the cable/interconnects, 100 hrs for the speakers?) aside, will this setup be an improvement over my current one? Will the soundstage and balance improve and is it true that the Zensors don’t have to be toed in and can just fire straight forward?

Sorry for all the questions but I would really appreciate and value your thoughts on these queries as I am keen to get my rig sounding ‘right’.
P.S. I will be listening in a small to medium size room, to a mix of music, both Redbook CDs and 96/24 vinyl rips burnt to DVD-R, using a Sony DVD player as a transport for both.

Thank you very much for your advice

Regards
Malc

I had the yam 501 basically same amp with Dac, with wharfdale diamond 10.1 , big enjoyable sound, lacked a a bit of detail but that didn't detract for me. I've still got the diamonds in hope of a 2nd set up, James