I acquired a Yamaha AX-2000 - a brute of a remote controlled integrated amp with on board DAC and MM/MC phono stage - a while ago with an existing fault, in the hope that it might be something straightforward/simple to fix (because it would need to be if I was going to be able to sort it out myself). I had a brief play with it when I first got it a few months ago and established, yes, it is definitely faulty in some way, as any music played back was simply too loud (and possibly distorted sounding) irrespective of how low the volume control was set. Playback via the digital direct option gave an improvement in volume level but it still seemed like the volume control wasn't really useable, going from quiet to 'turn it down!' with even the slightest of movement of the volume knob.
It took me too long, about 6 months at a guess, to pluck up the courage to follow the disassembly instructions and remove the 40 odd screws and various top/bottom/side covers in order to get inside the thing, with a view to attacking it with some Servisol switch cleaner. In the interim it just sat there, on a (strong) shelf, doing nothing but gather dust and issue taunts to me for being a lazy bugger. Anyway, about 3 months ago I did finally have a go at it and blow me down with a feather, the Servisol seems to have cured it. I'm not sure exactly which part/s of it was in need of the clean because I did every switch and dial on the amp thoroughly while I had it disassembled. I have been using it daily now ever since and think I can say without crossing my fingers anymore that it is actually working, and sounds great too.
I have had a number of high end amps from Japanese manufacturers that are more well known for their mass market products (Yamaha/Denon/Kenwood) and have always been impressed, and this one certainly does that. There is some info about the range it is from on the Vintage Knob site here: http://www.thevintageknob.org/YAMAHA/2000SERIES/2000SERIES.html . The onboard DAC is very decent sounding, good enough that I can sacrifice the slightly better sound quality from my Quad 99 CDP-2 and use my blu-ray player as a transport for music/movie playback, connected to the amp via optical cable and using the 'Digital Direct' setting. The moving magnet phono stage is excellent too, though I haven't tried the moving coil option yet, and doesn't seem to have a particularly high capacitance setting, which is good because there is no switch to reduce/alter it and my Audio Technica cartridge can be sensitive to too high a level.
All in all I am really pleased with the amp and would recommend one to others if you can find one for a decent price, maybe an alternative option to the big JVC integrated that has been the subject of a lengthy thread here in the Classic pages. It is a bit of a beast, weighing in at about 28 kilos and measuring about 48cm square x 17cm high, and it runs relatively warm so would need a bit of space to accommodate it. Now that I have finally decided that my one is definitely properly working, I have re-terminated all my cables with right angled plugs in order to keep the amp as far back against the wall as possible, otherwise it would overhang the front of the unit I have it sat on (or force the unit too far out into the room). Here are a couple of pictures of mine, one with an LP on top for scale and one with a CD set beside it to show height:
It took me too long, about 6 months at a guess, to pluck up the courage to follow the disassembly instructions and remove the 40 odd screws and various top/bottom/side covers in order to get inside the thing, with a view to attacking it with some Servisol switch cleaner. In the interim it just sat there, on a (strong) shelf, doing nothing but gather dust and issue taunts to me for being a lazy bugger. Anyway, about 3 months ago I did finally have a go at it and blow me down with a feather, the Servisol seems to have cured it. I'm not sure exactly which part/s of it was in need of the clean because I did every switch and dial on the amp thoroughly while I had it disassembled. I have been using it daily now ever since and think I can say without crossing my fingers anymore that it is actually working, and sounds great too.
I have had a number of high end amps from Japanese manufacturers that are more well known for their mass market products (Yamaha/Denon/Kenwood) and have always been impressed, and this one certainly does that. There is some info about the range it is from on the Vintage Knob site here: http://www.thevintageknob.org/YAMAHA/2000SERIES/2000SERIES.html . The onboard DAC is very decent sounding, good enough that I can sacrifice the slightly better sound quality from my Quad 99 CDP-2 and use my blu-ray player as a transport for music/movie playback, connected to the amp via optical cable and using the 'Digital Direct' setting. The moving magnet phono stage is excellent too, though I haven't tried the moving coil option yet, and doesn't seem to have a particularly high capacitance setting, which is good because there is no switch to reduce/alter it and my Audio Technica cartridge can be sensitive to too high a level.
All in all I am really pleased with the amp and would recommend one to others if you can find one for a decent price, maybe an alternative option to the big JVC integrated that has been the subject of a lengthy thread here in the Classic pages. It is a bit of a beast, weighing in at about 28 kilos and measuring about 48cm square x 17cm high, and it runs relatively warm so would need a bit of space to accommodate it. Now that I have finally decided that my one is definitely properly working, I have re-terminated all my cables with right angled plugs in order to keep the amp as far back against the wall as possible, otherwise it would overhang the front of the unit I have it sat on (or force the unit too far out into the room). Here are a couple of pictures of mine, one with an LP on top for scale and one with a CD set beside it to show height:
