There's a great scene in Jerry Bruckheimer's The Rock where Nicholas Cage's character (Stanley) excitedly opens his new Beatles LP which has just been delivered to the office. His co-worker friend who witnesses the scene just can't relate:
Co-worker: What's that? And why did you have it sent here?
Stanley: Carla wouldn't approve. She thinks it's dumb to spend $600 on an LP.
Co-worker: Carla's right. Why didn't you just spend $13 on a CD, man?
Stanley: Well, first of all, it's because I'm a Beatlemaniac. And second, these sound better.
As Harley-Davidson owners are fond of saying, "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand." The same is true for audiophiles and their love of vinyl, separate amplifiers and all things stereo. Here at Big Picture Big Sound we spend a lot of time covering 5.1 and 7.1 Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, but unlike Stanley's co-worker, we do understand and fully appreciate the beauty of a quality 2-channel recording played back on a fine stereo system. The same goes for Yamaha. Proof of that lies in the audio giant's announcement yesterday that Yamaha is bringing to market five new "Hi-Fi components," including three stereo receivers, one integrated amp as well as a matching tuner.
Comprised of the R-S300 (50W x 2), R-S500 (75W x 2) and the R-S700 (100W x 2), Yamaha's new R-S Series of stereo receivers offers audiophiles the combination of "muscular vintage designs" coupled with the benefits of Yamaha's latest amplifer design. Features include iPhone dock compatibility, Bluetooth, Yamaha's ToP-ART (Total Purity Audio Reproduction Technology) circuitry plus a chassis that's been designed to protect audio signals from noise and vibration. The step-up R-S500 and R-S700 also deliver Sirius satellite radio readiness and a Zone 2 output while the the top-of-the-line R-S700 adds a Zone 2 remote control, a 12V trigger output, and switchable CD direct amplification to maximize a CD's signal-to-noise ratio.
For separatists, Yamaha is also offering the A-S500 (85W x 2) integrated amp and matching T-S500 AM/FM tuner. Highlighting the A-S500's feature set is its dual aluminum extruded heat sinks and Yamaha's "Pure Direct" technology, which enables the signal to travel the shortest possible route, bypassing all non-essential circuitry and tone controls to give the listener the purest reproduction possible.
The R-S300 ($329), R-S500 ($399) and R-S700 ($549) receivers will be available in late October.
The A-S500 ($449) integrated amplifier and T-S500 ($299) AM/FM tuner will also arrive in late October.
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