Yamaha - A-S1200 Integrated Amplifier

Where the A-S line stops being an affordable amplifier and becomes a heavyweight: a 625 VA toroidal transformer, floating balanced power amplifier topology, switchable moving-magnet and moving-coil phono, and Yamaha’s peak/VU level meters — 48.5 lb of it.

The A-S1200 is a different design from the four models below it, not a bigger version of them. Yamaha drops the ToP-ART and ART Base language entirely and describes this as a floating balanced power amplifier: the amplifier circuit is deliberately isolated from chassis ground so ground noise cannot couple into it, fed from a 625 VA toroidal transformer. The Mechanical Ground Concept chassis bolts the transformer, block capacitors and heat sink rigidly to the frame rather than isolating them, on the reasoning that a very stiff mechanical path damps vibration better than a soft one. Speaker terminals are machined from pure brass; the feet are chrome-plated iron.

Two features arrive here for the first time in the range. The phono stage now handles moving-coil as well as moving-magnet, switched on the rear panel, with a published RIAA accuracy of ±0.5 dB and a 150 µV MC sensitivity into a 50-ohm load. And the front panel carries Yamaha’s level meters, switchable between peak and VU response or off, with a dimmer.

Two things also disappear. There are no digital inputs of any kind — no optical, no coaxial, no USB, and therefore no DAC. And on Yamaha’s own documentation this model has neither the Pure Direct button nor the continuously variable loudness control that all four smaller A-S amplifiers carry. If you need digital inputs, the A-S801 is the model in this range that has them.

One number needs care. The A-S1200 is rated at 90 watts into 8 ohms, but at 0.07% distortion — roughly four times looser than the 0.019% figure used to rate the A-S301 through A-S801. Its 90 watts and the A-S701’s 100 watts are not measured the same way and should not be compared as if they were. The same applies to the JEITA maximum figure of 120 watts, which is taken at 10% distortion.

Features

• Floating balanced power amplifier topology with the amplifier circuit isolated from chassis ground
• 625 VA toroidal power transformer
• Mechanical Ground Concept chassis with transformer, capacitors and heat sink bolted directly to the frame
• Switchable moving-magnet and moving-coil phono stage with ±0.5 dB RIAA accuracy
• Switchable peak / VU level meters with dimmer
• MAIN IN and PRE OUT allow use as a separate preamplifier or power amplifier
• Speaker terminals machined from pure brass
• Bass and treble controls, bypassable when centred, plus balance
• Two pairs of speaker terminals with A / B / A+B bi-wiring
• 48.5 lb (22.0 kg) chassis
• Available in silver with piano black or black with piano black side panels

Specifications

• Type: Two-channel integrated amplifier
• Rated power output: 90 W + 90 W into 8 ohms and 150 W + 150 W into 4 ohms, both 20 Hz – 20 kHz at 0.07% THD. Note this is a much looser distortion condition than the 0.019% used for the A-S301 through A-S801; the wattage figures are not directly comparable across those models
• Maximum effective output power (JEITA): 120 W + 120 W into 8 ohms, 190 W + 190 W into 4 ohms, both at 1 kHz and 10% THD. A maximum figure at high distortion, not a rated figure
• Dynamic power (IHF): 105 W into 8 ohms, 135 W into 6 ohms, 190 W into 4 ohms, 220 W into 2 ohms, per channel
• Power bandwidth: 10 Hz – 50 kHz, 0.1% THD, 45 W
• Frequency response: 5 Hz – 100 kHz, +0 / −3 dB; 20 Hz – 20 kHz, +0 / −0.3 dB
• Total harmonic distortion (JEITA): CD to speakers 0.035% (50 W, 8 ohms); phono MM to Line 2 out 0.005%; phono MC to Line 2 out 0.02%
• Signal-to-noise ratio (JEITA, IHF-A): CD 110 dB; phono MM 96 dB; phono MC 90 dB
• Damping factor: 250 or higher (1 kHz, 8 ohms)
• Phono stage: Moving magnet and moving coil, selected by a rear-panel switch on a single phono input pair. MM 3.5 mV / 47 kilohms; MC 150 µV / 50 ohms
• RIAA deviation: ±0.5 dB, both MM and MC
• Digital inputs and DAC: None. This model has no optical, coaxial or USB input and no digital-to-analogue converter of any kind
• Analogue inputs: PHONO (MM/MC), CD, TUNER, LINE 1, LINE 2, MAIN IN (1 Vrms / 47 kilohms)
• Outputs: PRE OUT, LINE 2 OUT, speakers A and B, headphones. Trigger in, remote in and out
• Balanced XLR input: No. RCA only — the balanced input appears on the A-S2200
• Headphone output: 25 mW + 25 mW (1 kHz, 32 ohms, 0.2% THD)
• Level meters: Yes. Switchable peak, VU or off, with dimmer
• Pure Direct: Not found in Yamaha’s own materials for this model. Absent from the owner’s manual and product pages, unlike the four smaller A-S amplifiers
• Loudness control: Not found in Yamaha’s own materials for this model
• Tone controls: Bass ±9 dB at 50 Hz, treble ±9 dB at 20 kHz, bypassed when both are centred. Balance control fitted
• Subwoofer output: Not published. No subwoofer terminal appears in Yamaha’s rear-panel terminal list for this model, unlike the four smaller A-S amplifiers, but Yamaha does not state its absence outright
• Speaker terminals: Two pairs, pure brass binding posts, A / B / A+B bi-wiring
• Transformer: 625 VA toroidal
• Dimensions (W×H×D): 17-1/8″ × 6-1/8″ × 18-1/4″ (435 × 157 × 463 mm)
• Weight: 48.5 lb (22.0 kg)
• Power consumption: 350 W (owner’s manual; Yamaha’s US specification page omits this figure). Standby 0.2 W, off 0.1 W
• Finishes: Silver with piano black side panels, or black with piano black side panels
• Country of manufacture: Not published. Yamaha prints no country-of-manufacture statement on this model’s US product pages, specification tables or owner’s manual. The only geographic reference in Yamaha’s own documentation is the corporate head-office address in Hamamatsu, Japan, which is a company address and not a manufacturing statement. Third-party retailers and reviewers often assert “made in Japan” for this model — Yamaha does not.
• Warranty: Two years, parts and labour, under Yamaha Corporation of America’s general A/V Products limited warranty, which is the document Yamaha’s warranty index links for this class of product. Yamaha states that warranty registration is not required for coverage. The warranty is enforceable only by the original purchaser and is not transferable. The owner pays shipping to the service centre; Yamaha covers return shipping on a covered repair. Yamaha’s US warranty index separately links an Additional Promotional Warranty for select A-S models (A-S3200, A-S1200 and A-S2200) offering three further years — five in total — on registration of the model and serial number with a free Yamaha account. We could not confirm from the promotion page whether it remains open to new purchases, so we quote the base two-year term above and suggest checking current eligibility with Yamaha at the time of purchase. A separate registration-based “2+3” extension reported in 2025 applies to Australia and Europe only and does not apply here.