Yamaha AX-596 Amplifier

I've been looking for an amplifier (integrated, solo, tube, solid state)to replace my ageing Kenwood KA-87 integrated amplifier (100W rms). Initially i eyed the Yamaha AX-496 since this would be for my bedroom system. The only models available here in Manila were the 396 and 596 models. With a little haggling i was able to bring down the price of the AX-596 to US$300. So i bought it even if it was above my budget. And i am happy that i went through with it. A good tube amp was way over my budget and so were other solid state amp brands of similar power to the AX-596. Yamaha provided me with a reasonably priced amp that gave me clean, high quality sound.

What i like about the AX-596 is that it has 2 bypass switches in order to get the purest source sound. Since i like tube sound but couldn't afford a nice set, i bought a tube pre-amplifier (Tono) which is connected to the cd/dvd input of the Yamaha. With the press of the CD/DVD Direct button i now have a hybrid system. While the AX-596 already gave a nice clean sound to my CD player (a cheap JVC DVD player for now), the addition of the tube pre-amp now coloured the sound like you'd expect tubes to do: warm, full-bodied and smooth. I also have my Thorens TD-166 MKII turn-table hooked up to the pre-amp/AX-596 and my wife is amazed at the clarity that she always thinks the CD player is playing.

All this i'm playing through my ageing Polk Audio Monitor 4 stand/bookshelf speakers (100W, 8ohm, 87dB) which i bought in 1990. Never heard my speakers sound this good before. However i am on the lookout for a good pair of speakers to match to this hybrid. Maybe the JMLab Chorus 706 or Dynaudio Audience 42. These are the leading candidates so far.