Respect to E for arranging this little torture test. I've learnt that the Arcam didn't sound warm at all. It does have a distinct sound but it's difficult to say what it is, maybe more emphasis on the lower mids/bass. I was really surprised how similar the Audiolab and Yamaha sounded in the end as well. I couldn't have reliably differentiated them so not surprised I got them mixed up.
I like C the most, though I still like the CAX81, CAX61, Rotel A12 and even the $80 AIYIMA A07 more than all 4 of these options with the R3. I would love to see a blind test with the R3 and those amps, or maybe even one with those amps AND a subwoofer. I've been loving all the R3 content on this channel. I've gone through every video, spending hours comparing. It's an amazing resource.
Great test setup/recording, can hear easily differences. Liked A first did not sound bad, then B came with more natural treble and was my new favourite, then C became my favourite , sounded like B but with more dynamic and air , unfortunately for D it came after C, sounded dark and muffled in comparison. For me Audiolab nailed it. In other video it was tested with Polk R200, this combo sounds amazing 👌
I can hear (using high quality closed back headphones) why the Audiolab 6000a has won so much praise and awards over recent years. In a majority of scenarios it provided a soundstage and tonal clarity exceeding the others, and in the case of the NAD by some margin which sounded dark & dull and not at the same level of the others in this test. The Yamaha had the classic ‘smile’ sound profile of Far Eastern design origin amplifiers which sounded initially impressive, but when the audiolab kicked in, faded away in comparison. I would also observe the Arcam with its brand trademark creamy midrange, sounded better to my ears for the slightly less demanding passages of Classical, Jazz and acoustic music which the audiolab sounded a bit too lean and clinical. I can also imagine if the Audiolab were to be paired up with revealing / forward speakers, has the potential to become fatiguing over extended listening. I would give the Nod to the Audiolab with caution to equipment matching, and the Arcam for those who favour acoustic / Jazz material. The cherry on the cake for this test would be to include the Rotel A11 tribute. I have a feeling this would offer the warmth of the Arcam with some of the detail of the Audiolab which may offer the perfect compromise.
Wow, what a surprise….6000a is way brighter than I thought….it seems c388 is more suitable for speakers with bright treble like b&w or sonus faber…..not for R3. Also it quite reflects the sound signature always being mentioned for warm Arcam, dark NAD and brighter side of neutral Audiolab, really cool......I admit I can't guess any of these right anyway.....
Im in complete agreement with you the NAD is a good match for bright speakers but for my ears overall I liked the Audiolab and the Yamaha better with the speakers in this test. I think the NAD might have better faster dynamics and a bit wider as well than the rest it is hard to say. Of course you could adjust the tone controls in the NAD to tke out the bit muffeled sound but as it is I liked the Audiolab the best.
Yamaha the brightest, Arcam Neutral, Audiolab forward side of Neutral and the NAD is muffled, they are all awesome, just pick the specs and features that you want.
@@valkyrieorion7200 Class D is about 1 to 2 generations before catching up to AB, but it will come, it's cheaper to make and to ship for hifi companies.
Well, after an hour or two of brain racking and changin my mind 40 times, I got it 50% right and 50% wrong. Oh, boy! The A-S301 and the Audiolab are my favorites for some reason with the R3s anyway.
They may be mine too. I know the Yamaha is my favorite, but for second place, I'm not sure if I'd choose the Audiolab or Arcam, or maybe even something else
Watching this again E, I realized what an amazing and telling comparison this is. (fun and torture of the blind test aside) Thank you again! It's strikes me too that I genuinly tend to like them most with the R3s, mainly in reverse price order!💥🤣
It's what I often said before, the Audiolab isn't a 'warm' amp and it shows. It's neutral and lean, combine it to a neutral, slightly forward and lean speaker and it gets (too) bright for some.. Still, I did like it for some tracks, although it did remind me of studio monitors 😄. The Arcam was also a good match, imo, but it lacked a bit sparkle. My biggest disappointment was the NAD. Imo the DA9 did a better job.. So much love for C, lol! Thanks E Project, for setting this up and your overall commitment!
Agree, I just bought a pair of Paradigm 200B to go with my Arcam SA10, it's a perfect match because it's a touch forward of Neutral. Makes for a very balanced sound.
Strange how the Yamaha A-S301 with the R3 has better bass than with other speakers (Elac DBR62, Wharfedale Diamond 12.2). And stranger is the NAD C388 with that sound so dull, without salt and with weak bass. This same NAD with other speakers (mainly the KEF LS50 Meta) is much better than with these KEF R3. And the Audiolab 6000A that had a warmer, smoother, pleasant and musical sound with other speakers, with the R3 it was very exaggerated and over the top in the high frequencies. For the cost benefit, my vote goes to the Yamaha A-S301. It costs much less than all other competitors and does not disappoint against them.
I love these vids. Since budget is a factor I’d like to see the 12.2, R200, Bronze 100 and DBR62 with the Cambridge AXR85 possibly even the Yamaha. That’s about the most I’d be able to spend.
for me yamaha AS301>Audiolab 6000A>Arcam SA10>>NAD C388,i think its no wonder why the result comes like this ,if we accept that there should be a little bite difference between amps due to the different ways that they were made,i would say the yamaha as301looks much better inside,it has the basic thing that appears in the very expensive amps:symmetric of left and right.
So we're comparing a 350$ amp (yamaha) with a 900$ amp (audiolab and arcam) at least in Portugal that's the cost of them 😆 I liked yamaha especially for the price.
Wow, the Audiolab sounds really good! I have the R3´s but paired with an Arcam SA20, this was the best fit after a "blind test" at my dealer for the loudspreakers. But now I am really puzzled to try to find an Audiolab Amp for retesting 🤔😮.
I don’t think you’d like it when listening to music for over an hour. I have the r3 with the sa30 and am very happy if I use it via the digital input. The best amplifier I ever heard through my r3 was a French amplifier manufacturer called lavardin
Very Interesting, I thought the competition was between the Yamaha and the Arcam then it was the Audiolabs turn with the more classical muse, however the Yamaha was consistently there throughout.
@@DougMen1 I am. yesterday bought a Yamaha Rxa4a from crutchfield but missed a phone call from them later that day verifying my purchase since it was my 1st buy from crutchfield and when I fixed it10 hours later after they had just gotten 16 in stock & they were out of stock and they refunded my money 💰 so the search continues!! I might move up to the A6A for the XLR inputs, more power, better dac and all that. Depending which one comes back into stock 1st.
After Dm's tips and his conversation with E, all he had to do was choose the correct order by identifying the sound typical of the amplifiers. :) I wouldn't have invented "D", for example, and David (and E is answer) helped me with that. for the latter, it was certain that the amplifier was class D. so without their help I wouldn’t have had a hit.
@@DougMen1 And after that we had to put you in a straitjacket. You said it yourself 😄 I'm not kidding, there's a position for soundengineer vacant (over here). 😉
Deep respect. The only ones I was pretty sure about (in the end) were B (Arcam, rolled off top end) and D (NAD C388, mainly because E said it wasn't a cheap amp) and it does sound a little different to the others.
For those of you checking this out right now, the Arcam SA20 is on clearance, under $1000 USD. Get it before it’s gone (I’ve had mine for six months, it’s awesome)
Could we have the similar test only swapping the R3 to another speaker? Will the sound signature just totally follow the amp or very speaker-dependent? I am so curious about that. Thanks.....
@@DougMen1 agreed “a little of both”. Then the real question is what’s the neutrality of R3. Can we detect the neutrality when pairing with C388? Without comparison, can we detect anything wrong as most of us didn’t like the sound of R3 with C388 in this test? I actually can’t choose them by the sound signature. My real preference is the naturalness of smoother vocal.
Si me quedo solo con las dos primeras pistas es altamente probable que falle en la elección final, arranque con A o D pero luego de escucharlas todas B y C resultaron muy agradables. Buen video!!!
AudioLab the brighter but wider in spectrum, then Yamaha with maybe more bass freqs but little narrower high freqs, then Arcam which seems to me having some hole in the mid range but shows more separation between the two channels, then Nad which is muddy as all the Nad amps I've ever heard and never liked. I would be undecided between the first two should I have to buy one of these. They are very similar in this video. I'm listening with a couple of Sennheizer hd 500 headphones but I can't hear much deep basses in any of them. I 'd like to verify in person if Audiolab has at leas as much bass range as Yamaha, in case I'd go for AudioLab otherwise for Yamaha. In mid high range I prefer audiolab. Please if you like doing these comparisons which I really appreciate you should manage to let us hear the same frequencies with all the amps: take for instance "bedroom" song. We can hear the drums only from A B and D but they are totally absent in the song while playing with C. it's a little useless this way. Then the rock song: when drums are attacking on amp A you swirch on B so we don't have time to assimilate how drums on that song are reproduced by A. From here on it's a mess with 4 secs on A 8 on B ... I mean you do a very complex job I don't wanna criticize but if you play LESS songs with a wider spectrum and give us more time to assimilate the differences it's to me much more meaningful.
I thought that C is some Cambridge audio amp. I thought that A is Yamaha and B is Arcam amp. I guessed that D is some class-d amp. One wrong and one I didn't quite know 🙂.
Hello, I apologize, the amplifiers that are in the video match the letters (A Yamaha, B Arcam, C Audiolab, D Nad) or do you have to guess which is which, if so, where are the results? Thank you.
I watched the previous video and this and still don’t know what is the name and model of these Amplifiers am I missing something or I’m supposed to figure it out from the way the amp looks 🤦🏻♂️ For Example which Arcam Model is it ?
There was not a single one I liked as is. The Yamaha was bright, clean, clear, plenty of seperation, nice highs. The Arcam had better mids and lows than the Yamaha a bit more punch but the mids where a little muddy and the highs where a bit flat and lifeless. The Yamaha and Arcam need to have kids! The Audiolab was the most ballanced but for some reason I just did not like it. The NAD sounded blurry, muddy and just seemed like it was not doing anything right!
In my opinion, Yamaha all day. Arcam a close second, Audiolab with this setup too glaring, and NAD a little dull. Yamaha for a fraction of the cost as well.
Appreciate the effort but the appearance of these amp are so different, this isn't really a blind test at all. Suggest next time you stack them all up and not show which one is connected to the speakers, then that's a true blind test. 😅 Using Seasons (Cinematic, Classical), and Fields (Acoustic Guitar) for comparison in sound stage, - Arcam is narrower and forward, - Audiolab is wider because it has a bit brighter mid than Arcam, and it seems position in-between speakers, - NAD is a bit recessed and it's a bit darker/warmer, the switching from C-D, and D-A is more obvious than the rest - Yamaha has similar sound stage like NAD but a bit brighter in mid & high, makes it sound a bit wider or open up Personally, I would pick Audiolab because it has almost everything and it's performs generally good in every aspect.
Yamaha makes damn nice amps! I’ve owned Krell, YBA, McIntosh, Bryston, NAD, Arcam, Proceed, etc…for the money Yamaha is incredible. Put your money into speakers first.
Thx for that audio test! Between A&B there is for me nearly nothing different, the Audiolab 6000A vs. this two have a nice clearer sound for me but the price is a bit shocking^^ and the NAD sounds for me in every song only sry to say it shit and dull.
yamaha sounds waaay better with pure direct nonsense OFF! i don't know why every reviewer insist how pure direct mode is better, because it is not...with pure direct sound becomes dry and sterile, even compressed...
![[BLIND TEST] Three Amps with Wharfedale Diamond 12.2 - Cambridge AXA25 vs AXA35 vs NAD C316BEE V2](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/BoMr_nOLyB0/mqdefault.jpg)
![[BLIND TEST] Three Amps with Wharfedale Diamond 12.2 - Cambridge AXA25 vs AXA35 vs NAD C316BEE V2](/img/tr.png)
![[Sound Battle] Yamaha A-S301 Integrated Amplifier vs R-S202 Stereo Receiver / KEF LS50 Meta](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MLUvy_HhDcs/mqdefault.jpg)
The Arcam and Audiolab need to have a baby.
They did, it is the Rotel A11 tribute!
Audiolab sounds far clearer. Much better than the others to my ears.
Respect to E for arranging this little torture test. I've learnt that the Arcam didn't sound warm at all. It does have a distinct sound but it's difficult to say what it is, maybe more emphasis on the lower mids/bass. I was really surprised how similar the Audiolab and Yamaha sounded in the end as well. I couldn't have reliably differentiated them so not surprised I got them mixed up.
It’s also rather shocking how much the performance of an amp can change according to speaker pairing
I like C the most, though I still like the CAX81, CAX61, Rotel A12 and even the $80 AIYIMA A07 more than all 4 of these options with the R3. I would love to see a blind test with the R3 and those amps, or maybe even one with those amps AND a subwoofer. I've been loving all the R3 content on this channel. I've gone through every video, spending hours comparing. It's an amazing resource.
Great test setup/recording, can hear easily differences. Liked A first did not sound bad, then B came with more natural treble and was my new favourite, then C became my favourite , sounded like B but with more dynamic and air , unfortunately for D it came after C, sounded dark and muffled in comparison. For me Audiolab nailed it. In other video it was tested with Polk R200, this combo sounds amazing 👌
I can hear (using high quality closed back headphones) why the Audiolab 6000a has won so much praise and awards over recent years. In a majority of scenarios it provided a soundstage and tonal clarity exceeding the others, and in the case of the NAD by some margin which sounded dark & dull and not at the same level of the others in this test. The Yamaha had the classic ‘smile’ sound profile of Far Eastern design origin amplifiers which sounded initially impressive, but when the audiolab kicked in, faded away in comparison. I would also observe the Arcam with its brand trademark creamy midrange, sounded better to my ears for the slightly less demanding passages of Classical, Jazz and acoustic music which the audiolab sounded a bit too lean and clinical. I can also imagine if the Audiolab were to be paired up with revealing / forward speakers, has the potential to become fatiguing over extended listening. I would give the Nod to the Audiolab with caution to equipment matching, and the Arcam for those who favour acoustic / Jazz material. The cherry on the cake for this test would be to include the Rotel A11 tribute. I have a feeling this would offer the warmth of the Arcam with some of the detail of the Audiolab which may offer the perfect compromise.
Wow, what a surprise….6000a is way brighter than I thought….it seems c388 is more suitable for speakers with bright treble like b&w or sonus faber…..not for R3. Also it quite reflects the sound signature always being mentioned for warm Arcam, dark NAD and brighter side of neutral Audiolab, really cool......I admit I can't guess any of these right anyway.....
The NAD C388 goes very well with the brighter KEF LS50 Meta.
It also looks good with the hottest Wharfedale Diamond, Evo and ELAC DBR62.
Im in complete agreement with you the NAD is a good match for bright speakers but for my ears overall I liked the Audiolab and the Yamaha better with the speakers in this test. I think the NAD might have better faster dynamics and a bit wider as well than the rest it is hard to say. Of course you could adjust the tone controls in the NAD to tke out the bit muffeled sound but as it is I liked the Audiolab the best.
Yamaha the brightest, Arcam Neutral, Audiolab forward side of Neutral and the NAD is muffled, they are all awesome, just pick the specs and features that you want.
I felt the same. I loved the Audiolab and this test made me basically decide I don’t want the Nad
@@valkyrieorion7200 Class D is about 1 to 2 generations before catching up to AB, but it will come, it's cheaper to make and to ship for hifi companies.
@@thomasward00 It's funny, I think with the Elac DBR62 I quite liked the C388. But yeah the class AB has still been my favorite "sound"
@@thomasward00 when? In 20 years?
I'm a fan of NAD But in this combination, 55% Arcam 45% Audiolab.
thanks for this, as I am thinking about Arcam A15 - A25.
Beautiful arcam , audiolab.
The Yamaha AS 301 for the price is the best deal. The Audio Lab is the best sound 👌
Well, after an hour or two of brain racking and changin my mind 40 times, I got it 50% right and 50% wrong. Oh, boy! The A-S301 and the Audiolab are my favorites for some reason with the R3s anyway.
They may be mine too. I know the Yamaha is my favorite, but for second place, I'm not sure if I'd choose the Audiolab or Arcam, or maybe even something else
Watching this again E, I realized what an amazing and telling comparison this is.
(fun and torture of the blind test aside)
Thank you again!
It's strikes me too that I genuinly tend to like them most with the R3s, mainly in reverse price order!💥🤣
It's what I often said before, the Audiolab isn't a 'warm' amp and it shows. It's neutral and lean, combine it to a neutral, slightly forward and lean speaker and it gets (too) bright for some.. Still, I did like it for some tracks, although it did remind me of studio monitors 😄. The Arcam was also a good match, imo, but it lacked a bit sparkle. My biggest disappointment was the NAD. Imo the DA9 did a better job.. So much love for C, lol!
Thanks E Project, for setting this up and your overall commitment!
Agree, I just bought a pair of Paradigm 200B to go with my Arcam SA10, it's a perfect match because it's a touch forward of Neutral. Makes for a very balanced sound.
@@thomasward00
O man, I like that one. Is with the patterned frontguards, right?
@@34332 Yes, they are very nice... Made in Canada too....
Strange how the Yamaha A-S301 with the R3 has better bass than with other speakers (Elac DBR62, Wharfedale Diamond 12.2). And stranger is the NAD C388 with that sound so dull, without salt and with weak bass. This same NAD with other speakers (mainly the KEF LS50 Meta) is much better than with these KEF R3.
And the Audiolab 6000A that had a warmer, smoother, pleasant and musical sound with other speakers, with the R3 it was very exaggerated and over the top in the high frequencies.
For the cost benefit, my vote goes to the Yamaha A-S301. It costs much less than all other competitors and does not disappoint against them.
Yamaha's always respond well to low impedance loads, the R3's drop to under 3 ohms in the bass.
I love these vids. Since budget is a factor I’d like to see the 12.2, R200, Bronze 100 and DBR62 with the Cambridge AXR85 possibly even the Yamaha. That’s about the most I’d be able to spend.
for me yamaha AS301>Audiolab 6000A>Arcam SA10>>NAD C388,i think its no wonder why the result comes like this ,if we accept that there should be a little bite difference between amps due to the different ways that they were made,i would say the yamaha as301looks much better inside,it has the basic thing that appears in the very expensive amps:symmetric of left and right.
The Arcam and AudioLab have MUCH higher quality internal parts.....
So we're comparing a 350$ amp (yamaha) with a 900$ amp (audiolab and arcam) at least in Portugal that's the cost of them 😆 I liked yamaha especially for the price.
Wow, the Audiolab sounds really good! I have the R3´s but paired with an Arcam SA20, this was the best fit after a "blind test" at my dealer for the loudspreakers. But now I am really puzzled to try to find an Audiolab Amp for retesting 🤔😮.
I don’t think you’d like it when listening to music for over an hour. I have the r3 with the sa30 and am very happy if I use it via the digital input. The best amplifier I ever heard through my r3 was a French amplifier manufacturer called lavardin
Very Interesting, I thought the competition was between the Yamaha and the Arcam then it was the Audiolabs turn with the more classical muse, however the Yamaha was consistently there throughout.
great video as always，thank you , I found in your all clips , there is no any Rega amp to be put in comparison ? I am quite curious about that 😄
A and b were my favorite and my least was D . I think the Arcam sounds great. To bad it 2 channel only
@@DougMen1 I wonder it the Arcam avr sounds like their intergated amplifier., I know the amp technology changes from AB to G amplifiers.
@@DougMen1 I am. yesterday bought a Yamaha Rxa4a from crutchfield but missed a phone call from them later that day verifying my purchase since it was my 1st buy from crutchfield and when I fixed it10 hours later after they had just gotten 16 in stock & they were out of stock and they refunded my money 💰 so the search continues!! I might move up to the A6A for the XLR inputs, more power, better dac and all that. Depending which one comes back into stock 1st.
@@DougMen1 I wasn't sure if audio advice was legit. I've never bought anything from them
After Dm's tips and his conversation with E, all he had to do was choose the correct order by identifying the sound typical of the amplifiers. :) I wouldn't have invented "D", for example, and David (and E is answer) helped me with that. for the latter, it was certain that the amplifier was class D. so without their help I wouldn’t have had a hit.
You did fine, all good 😄👍🥂
@@DougMen1
And after that we had to put you in a straitjacket. You said it yourself 😄
I'm not kidding, there's a position for soundengineer vacant (over here). 😉
@@DougMen1
LOL, DM.
Not far off indeed, dampened and all 🤣
Deep respect. The only ones I was pretty sure about (in the end) were B (Arcam, rolled off top end) and D (NAD C388, mainly because E said it wasn't a cheap amp) and it does sound a little different to the others.
@@DougMen1 Too kind
What mode did you use the Yamaha? Pure direct or your won set up?
YAMMI SOUNDS GREAT- I HAVE ONE
Never mind I found the names models of the amps in the description box wasn’t easy for you to put it on the image on the video thanks a lot
For those of you checking this out right now, the Arcam SA20 is on clearance, under $1000 USD. Get it before it’s gone (I’ve had mine for six months, it’s awesome)
Could we have the similar test only swapping the R3 to another speaker? Will the sound signature just totally follow the amp or very speaker-dependent? I am so curious about that. Thanks.....
@@DougMen1 agreed “a little of both”. Then the real question is what’s the neutrality of R3. Can we detect the neutrality when pairing with C388? Without comparison, can we detect anything wrong as most of us didn’t like the sound of R3 with C388 in this test? I actually can’t choose them by the sound signature. My real preference is the naturalness of smoother vocal.
Si me quedo solo con las dos primeras pistas es altamente probable que falle en la elección final, arranque con A o D pero luego de escucharlas todas B y C resultaron muy agradables. Buen video!!!
Audiolab seems brighter only because of its instruments separation. So Audiolab wins all the way, because of its natural et realistic soundstage.
AudioLab the brighter but wider in spectrum, then Yamaha with maybe more bass freqs but little narrower high freqs, then Arcam which seems to me having some hole in the mid range but shows more separation between the two channels, then Nad which is muddy as all the Nad amps I've ever heard and never liked. I would be undecided between the first two should I have to buy one of these. They are very similar in this video. I'm listening with a couple of Sennheizer hd 500 headphones but I can't hear much deep basses in any of them.
I 'd like to verify in person if Audiolab has at leas as much bass range as Yamaha, in case I'd go for AudioLab otherwise for Yamaha. In mid high range I prefer audiolab.
Please if you like doing these comparisons which I really appreciate you should manage to let us hear the same frequencies with all the amps: take for instance "bedroom" song. We can hear the drums only from A B and D but they are totally absent in the song while playing with C. it's a little useless this way. Then the rock song: when drums are attacking on amp A you swirch on B so we don't have time to assimilate how drums on that song are reproduced by A. From here on it's a mess with 4 secs on A 8 on B ... I mean you do a very complex job I don't wanna criticize but if you play LESS songs with a wider spectrum and give us more time to assimilate the differences it's to me much more meaningful.
I thought that C is some Cambridge audio amp. I thought that A is Yamaha and B is Arcam amp. I guessed that D is some class-d amp. One wrong and one I didn't quite know 🙂.
I like the open and neutral sound of audiolab. Maybe audiolab A Play + CDT with well paired stereo speakers would be enough.
The Nad sounds horrible almost like something is wrong with the amp
เสียงต่างกัน คนละเเบบ ฉันชอบ audiolab สว่าง สะอาด
Arcam and Audiolab rule!
Hello, I apologize, the amplifiers that are in the video match the letters (A Yamaha, B Arcam, C Audiolab, D Nad) or do you have to guess which is which, if so, where are the results? Thank you.
Yamaha sounds brightest & details, Audiolab is neutral, NAD & Arcam sounds like suffocated & smuffled while not cheap
I like B, I just earlier today ordered A 🤣
I watched the previous video and this and still don’t know what is the name and model of these Amplifiers am I missing something or I’m supposed to figure it out from the way the amp looks 🤦🏻♂️
For Example which Arcam Model is it ?
The thing you're missing is the title of the video.
E project... whats your favorite pairings?
@@DougMen1 thank you!
@@DougMen1
Can't argue with E (Emperor) 😄👍
I can't hear the bass on Audiolab :/ Yamaha and Arcam very nice bass
Audiolab all day
as an audiolab 6000a owner i prefer the sound of arcam, hmmmm...maaaybe I should gernone for testing...
There was not a single one I liked as is. The Yamaha was bright, clean, clear, plenty of seperation, nice highs. The Arcam had better mids and lows than the Yamaha a bit more punch but the mids where a little muddy and the highs where a bit flat and lifeless. The Yamaha and Arcam need to have kids! The Audiolab was the most ballanced but for some reason I just did not like it. The NAD sounded blurry, muddy and just seemed like it was not doing anything right!
In my opinion, this is a comparison of DACs
Where’s the amplifiers name and models?
In my opinion, Yamaha all day. Arcam a close second, Audiolab with this setup too glaring, and NAD a little dull. Yamaha for a fraction of the cost as well.
Appreciate the effort but the appearance of these amp are so different, this isn't really a blind test at all.
Suggest next time you stack them all up and not show which one is connected to the speakers, then that's a true blind test. 😅
Using Seasons (Cinematic, Classical), and Fields (Acoustic Guitar) for comparison in sound stage,
- Arcam is narrower and forward,
- Audiolab is wider because it has a bit brighter mid than Arcam, and it seems position in-between speakers,
- NAD is a bit recessed and it's a bit darker/warmer, the switching from C-D, and D-A is more obvious than the rest
- Yamaha has similar sound stage like NAD but a bit brighter in mid & high, makes it sound a bit wider or open up
Personally, I would pick Audiolab because it has almost everything and it's performs generally good in every aspect.
Audiolab..Yamaha/Arcam are close...Nad ..to soft....Best value Yamaha....And I'm a lifelong Arcam owner of probably 12 of there Amps and cd spinners
.
Arcam discontinued this model. For the same money you can now get the (also discontinued) Arcam SA20, which is much, much better.
I like the sound from my iPad
I think it has to be between the Yamaha and audiolab. They bring our the most detail. NAD is the most dissapointing.
6000A.
Yamaha and Arcam good. Audiolab has highs a bit much… Nad (my personal view)… not good
1. A Yamaha good ,
2. B
3. C
4. D
Аrcam 👍
A....C.....B.....D
There are nearly no arguments for the NAD.
best : A , worst : D
No matter what combos I have never liked arcam amps for some reason
What hifi dont like as301 although it can take on amps costing twice the price.Just buy it.😂
Yamaha makes damn nice amps! I’ve owned Krell, YBA, McIntosh, Bryston, NAD, Arcam, Proceed, etc…for the money Yamaha is incredible. Put your money into speakers first.
This comparisons confirms my longtime opinion that Yamaha amps sound very "hifi" and irritating.
хахахаха у усилителей ачх ровные но звучат по разному где то вы обманываете🤣
Thx for that audio test! Between A&B there is for me nearly nothing different, the Audiolab 6000A vs. this two have a nice clearer sound for me but the price is a bit shocking^^ and the NAD sounds for me in every song only sry to say it shit and dull.
they are all fatiguing...the music coming out are so grating...but NAD sounds least inviting
yamaha sounds waaay better with pure direct nonsense OFF! i don't know why every reviewer insist how pure direct mode is better, because it is not...with pure direct sound becomes dry and sterile, even compressed...