One is a streaming all-in-one and the other is an amplifier. Judge them on how many boxes you want and what you already own, not on the spec sheet alone.
| Area | Better | Why |
|---|
| Power | evenly matched | Effectively the same output - 80W against 80W into 8 ohms is under 1dB, which is not an audible difference in loudness. |
| Built-in DAC | A | Both decode on board, but only Yamaha R-N600A handles DSD. |
| Streaming | evenly matched | Only Yamaha R-N600A has AirPlay 2. Neither list is longer in a way that matters - check the one service you actually pay for. |
| Analogue inputs | A | Yamaha R-N600A takes more analogue sources - 4 against 3. |
| Room to grow | B | Only Arcam A15 offers preamp outputs - which decides whether you can add a subwoofer or a power amplifier later without replacing the box. |
| Price | A | Yamaha R-N600A costs less - $800 against $999 at list. |
A Yamaha R-N600A B Arcam A15
depends neither is better in the abstract - it turns on your room, your system or how you will use them. Only specs published for both amplifiers are judged; anything missing on either side is left out rather than guessed.
Which should you choose?
Yamaha R-N600A has the edge on paper, though not by much. The rows marked "depends" are more likely to decide this than the score is.
What a spec sheet cannot show: how either sounds with your speakers, how the controls feel day to day, and what the app is like to live with - which is where most all-in-one amplifiers are actually won or lost. Power figures are the manufacturers' own and are not measured to a common standard, so treat small differences as noise. If you can hear both, that will tell you more than any row above.