Sound, power, design, looks, build qaulity and the price I paid (Aus $4k for both mx-d1 and ypc1) did I mention power?

Not much to complain about at this price point - this product is right on the edge of the slippery slope of diminishing returns - in my opinion

I purchased the mx-d1 and matching ypc1 2 weeks ago and straight out the box, cold this 2 channel 500w 'digital'(really its an advanced pulse witdth modulation design with a good deal of Yamaha proprietry technology)amp sounded surprisingly good on my Paradigm studio 100 v3. The build quality and finish is top notch as you would expect from a piece retailing for $5K US - its an understated yet classy finish with only a simple on/standby swith which glows a cool blue on the front panel. Yamaha has gone all out with this genuine audiophile product to lure the high end buyer as evidanced by the German made WBT RCA inputs and speaker outputs and balanced XLR inputs, kettle style power cord (supplied with no less than three good quality clamp filters) among other things. Lets get to the important stuff -the sound. Whilst there is no doubting the fact that the mx-d1 has its own unique audio signature, as does every design - however, what impressed me straight off the bat was that this amp did not sound digital (sterile, cold and lifeless) To my ears in my system it sounds very smooth, detailed and controlled but make no mistake the mx-d1 has huge reserves of good clean linear power and a very impressive dynamic range that im confident would easily drive even the most demanding speakers. Yamahas claim of 0.003% THD is no doubt taken in an ideally controlled inviroment but in my system the Paradigms have become the limiting factor, I cant get this amp any where near clipping - theres just oddles of power reserves. Now if 'size' does matter, along with lots of ineficient heat loss then you will be dissapointed because this deminative little baby stands just 75mm tall (thats 3 inches to our American friends)and produces far less heat than a solid state design - no heat sinks or fans to be seen or heard. In conclusion, if the mx-d1 had a upmarket boutiuqe label, cost thrice the price and weighed in at 40KG+ im sure many more of the somewhat (dare I say it) snobby audiophile community would sit up and take notice of this very impressive product - well done Yamaha

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