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As should be clear by now, the Yamamoto is not a romantic amp. No hot'n'heavy infatuation which really is more of a fever that eventually must calm down. Instead, the Yammy is the ultimate sonic hybrid that takes its place smack on the dividing line between transistors and tubes. The amount of between-the-cracks detail is frankly astonishing. Yet it never defaults into highlighting. Dynamics -- such as the arpeggio lightnings of Vicente Amigo's guitar that flash on a brilliant high note; or the fat center of a bellows-expanded note on Ariel Hernandez' bandoneon, both on Un Momento en el Sonido [Sony|BMG 8287698742], the stunning follow-up to Grammy winner City of Ideas -- well, dynamics are alive and jumpy.

Antonio Ramos' bass work has leading edge way down low. Potito's voice contains appropriate metal shavings that flare up on peaks but don't cross the line into stridency. If that suggests a kind of tight rope walk, you're correct. The Yamamoto does not leave a lot of margin for error when it comes to recorded nasties. If the recording crosses the line, this amp follows it across, even if only fractionally because a singer just about overloaded a microphone or some close-miked strings peaked the recording level. I don't at all view this as a liability but the expected and fair price to pay when you insist on this kind of resolution and speed. It takes off the fluffy down comforter so if the winds blow frostily, you'll feel it just as you should - if you want the full dose of music, undiluted rather than smoothed over.
Can this mini do bass? For a demonstration that would still fall into the lowest reaches of the Definitions' passive array so I could disconnect the active rear-firing woofer brigade without losing the meat of the song's foundation, I cued up Seal's "Killer" from Best | 1999 - 2004 [Warner 48943-2]. Really, this was sick. You wouldn't believe it unless you'd heard it for yourself. Remember, the twin 10" wide-banders load into a sealed sub enclosure. My 2 watts of go juice didn't have to deal with a ringy ported alignment. Verdict? While not as fiercely chiseled as my chip amp manages on the same track, the kind of folks interested in a micro-power triode amp in the first place will be flabbergasted and well served. Call it truly excellent for a 2-watt amp and actually superior to the 8-watt Canary 300B monos.


How about complex convoluted stuff? Benjamin Britten to the rescue, on the excellent xrCD Decca remaster of Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra [JVC 0226-2]. For the full-on orchestral brunt at realistic levels, I finally ran out of gain in my passive setup - but I mean loud on an album with a lower-than standard recording level. The famous "only the simplest can accommodate the most complex" suggested itself. Besides marvelling at the unwavering solidity of the symphonic sources through crescendos and climaxes -- nothing clumped, moved or compressed -- I also noticed flaws in the master tape that hadn't registered before. By now, it was a redundant reminder that if it's on your source material, the Yamamoto will let you hear it.

This amp is an equal opportunity employer who won't find himself bullied into a corner or tripped up by the wrong music. By the time I reconnected the <40Hz woofers on my speakers, I was doing Power in Numbers [Interscope 493437] by Jurassic 5 with a huge grin. Yes, dark gritty Rap over triodes. And it cooked and slammed. Believe it. Just be smart about your speakers. This Japanese-launched resurgence of zero feedback micro power makes so much sense once you hear it. It's really not weird, fringe, out there, different just to be different or whatever label you care to pin on it. With the right speakers, it's simply perfect and while, as with everything, inferior examples of the breed might have you scratch your head, the Yamamoto makes you a believer. Secretly, I also believe that the choice of output tube here has a significant say in the final matter. As I discovered, I seem to be a 45 man...


The Fi 421A is another prime example for why low-power triodes are -- justly -- famous. It sounds more similar to the Yamamoto than, say the Canaries. The Yamamoto is more lit up and, where edge definition goes, the crisper of the two. That means subjectively even higher resolution and a more charged, rhythmically driven mode. The Fi is softer, its tonal balance weighted just a bit lower. Its low bass isn't quite as articulate but even more substantial and heavy. With the 45 and 300B amps on either end of my 3-amp spectrum, the 421A belongs in the middle but it then narrows that distance to sit a bit closer to the 45 amp from the center mark.


Folks already tube heads might initially gravitate to the Fi amp, transistor devotees to the Yamamoto. That's because the Yammy's handling of transients is essentially transistor while Don Garber's is more tube. In a system with bright speakers -- Lowthers for example -- the Fi would be more appropriate since the Yamamoto will emphasize the silvery aspects: speed and energy. In a well-balanced system that could go either way, the Fi will be a bit more relaxed and micro-dynamically not as explosive but somewhat warmer and mellower. These differences are plainly audible but in the bigger scheme of things closer together. For my personal tastes -- and the context of partnering equipment -- the Yamamoto gets the final nod. And that's prior to the EMLs.

If, like me, you're enamored with the Cherry-clad amp, should you go for the new Czech or old-stock RCA tube? That decision is a no-brainer. The (much larger) Czech tube not only sounds bigger both spatially and tonally, it increases the contrast setting for occasionally nearly psychedelic pop. It's the kind certain polarized sunglasses create. The best word for that is energy. For me, the Emission Labs solid-plate is the one. Tone intensifies and so does the 'difference' between silence and sound. It takes the amp up a solid notch and increases its lead over the Fi 421A. The Cunningham is a bit softer and a touch more sedate - relatively speaking. Sedate is not a word in the Yammy's vocabulary either way. By contrast, many tube amps in fact sound just a bit - er, homogenized.
I haven't yet heard the other current-production tube, the TJ 45 that's available for $269/pr from DIY HiFi Supply.
On-line commentary suggests it too takes a few steps back from the EML's life factor, allowing an amp owner to shift the emphasis from the transients to the bloom portion of the tone - or not, depending on preference. Same with the EML mesh plate. It's said to be a bit softer and more billowy, with a positively gargantuan soundstage. A bit more sauce, a bit less spice?


The bottom line is that this promises to be a low-maintenance amplifier that won't break the bank too badly when it comes time to retube or just roll for flavors. When Jeff Day affixed a Blue Moon award to the original A-08, he called it right on the money. Of course I can't know how much better today's S version is. What I do know is that I'm sorely tempted to elevate Jeff's Blue Moon to Lunar Eclipse status.


That's because this amp fulfills the requirements of true superiority, an original approach and fair pricing. There's just one hitch: universal applicability. No kidding, Jack. The number of 'philes savvy enough to own speakers that are appropriate for 2 watts of high output impedance zero-feedback power - well, their numbers are like the proverbial drop in the bucket. The concomitant niche-within-a-minority status for the Yammy thus prevents our ultra-rare Lunar Eclipse recognition. That is reserved specifically for products that have common appeal and practicality.


A Blue Moon -- with extra sparkle -- it thus is. Again. And again, I must now refer back to the asking price. This is a product hand-crafted of essentially all custom parts. It stems from what's often called the Germany of the East - Japan. That's very different from low-labor China. There's still a US importer in the loop to demonstrate and service the product for our domestic market. How Yamamoto Sound Craft and Venus Hifi manage to land the A-08S in the hands of US customers for the money they ask is nothing short of mindblowing. It puts into stark relief the domestic makers of competing amps who ask for double or more and actually give less in exchange.

Today's amp is like the perfect meal. Opinions and tastes differ as to what we call our personal favorite cuisine. Still, any epicure worth his belly knows when he's had something ultra-fine, sophisticated and well-balanced, served with a flourish and presented in an elegant setting without a single faux-pax. The Yamamoto presents one such 5-star meal. I will enjoy it on a very regular basis from now on, as one of my choice but still affordable reference amps. Perhaps it's growing audiophile maturity, perhaps I'm getting tired with components that perform editorial license. What I'm looking for these days is not sonic extremes. Instead, get me smack into the heart of what we call neutrality and unmitigated transparency. I want to hear everything that's on my CDs. Maintain the bite and edge that's an essential part of live music. Deliver this energy uncut but in its natural state where it doesn't hurt your ears as it so often does during playback. Give me tone, bite and dynamic jump factor all at once. Then throw in dimensionality to make up for the lack of visuals in Hifi. Then if you've got it without touching anything else, give me even more vibrancy of tone. The answer to that impossible list? The A-08S from Yamamoto Sound Craft of Japan. Did I mention that this amp is available as a kit, too? Two very choice and potent watts either way!
US importer's website
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