Yamaha AP-U70 CAVIT External Audio Soundboard with Integrated Amplifier

Rating:
Summary: Good sound, not so good price performance
Review: The AP-U70 is the middle of the road in the Yamaha CAVIT range. The major attraction for me was the shear number of inputs (2 optical, 1 coax, 3 aux) making it a great addition to any computer/multi-media centre. Another advantage is the USB connection. Works with PC and Mac. Recording in 24 bit 48kHz.

There are a few cons to the CAVIT range, power output is one. 20W per channel is a little on the small side (but is ok for general listening). You need to have a nice set of magnetically shielded speakers to get. Some of the effects seem a bit cheesy / useless (Church = echo chamber).

Price. It's a bit steep for the features, but I'm having fun with mine. Now that I'm used to the sound from my CAVIT/speaker combo I don't think I can go back to my creative/"amplified speakers" set.

Rating:
Summary: Great idea, fantastic performance, still a little pricey...
Review: There's a caveat here: I was able to purchase this unit after it had been discontinued, and so the price was well below the $350 MSRP. Even at the $200-ish price point, it's still a little pricey, but I suppose when you really pick things apart, you get what you pay for...

First of all, you get a nice little amplifier. The amp in the AP-U70 is a smidge under-powered, but anyone looking for something to run their floor-standing home theatre speakers can look elsewhere (and should have a long time ago). It's an amp-on-a-chip design, but still maintains a really smooth, natural sound. Driving a pair of Koss Dyna Mites, the Yamaha can fill a room with effortless sound, and is painstakingly accurate for such a smallish piece of equipment which really never claims to be audiophile grade.

Second, you get some interesting DSP options. Other reviewers may lament them, but I beg to differ. While the "Church" setting is totally inappropriate for, say, pop, it's rich and breathtaking on choral pieces. I personally was never a fan for adding room acoustics to recordings that didn't originally contain them, but it makes for an interesting listen once in a while.

Third, you get a fairly decent USB A/D - D/A converter. The Yamaha lets you play audio through it, true enough, but also supports a number of options for recording to your computer from one of it's numerous inputs. This alone should be a boon to any hobbyist or someone looking to do a little more than just basic audio I/O with their machines, and is particularly valuable for use with GarageBand on a Mac (and with the price of a basic M-Audio A/D converter being around $150, the Yamaha offers a number of advantages for a little more than $30 more).

My only real gripe is the fact that the software is necessary for controlling more advanced features (note that the unit is still 100% functional without the software), and running on a Mac which is incapable of booting in OS 9 (which the software requires...you can't just run it in Classic) means not being able to futz with the more advanced settings of the DSP and EQ (but, in fairness, there isn't a huge need to do that, anyway).

It certainly isn't the cheapest piece of computer audio gear you'll find, but it's the only device I know of that allows you to use an upscale set of speakers on your computer while keeping your desk free of big, bulky receivers or amplifiers...it's elegant, simple, and does the job exceedingly well. It's a shame Yamaha has stopped marketing these (as far as I can tell).