Yamaha (then and/or now)

mhardy6647

So, there's a nice current thread on the oh-so-nice Yamaha A-S3000 integrated amplifier http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/181092/new-integrated-amp-has-arrived-yamaha-a-s3000/

As is my wont (Yamaha fanbeing that I am), I kinda sidetracked it a bit with some vintage Yamaha blather. I felt kinda bad about that, but I also kinda felt like continuing on that topic so I figured a new thread was worth a try.

Sometime ca. 1975, Yamaha decided to expend some effort on the burgeoning US hifi stereo market with a full line of components. Their earliest, "blackout dial" hifi offerings are (at least in my experience) pretty uncommon and don't seem to have aged terribly well (i.e., every thread I've seen on one of them involves extensive restoration). Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about that stuff.

Now - the stuff that came next... that stuff I got to know rather well.

A line of receivers: CR-200 to CR-1000 and integrated amplifiers: CA-400 to CA-1000; coupla cassette tape decks and turntables... and some loudspeakers, too.

Nice sounding electronics -- very honest and neutral, particularly (IMO) compared to most of the other massmarket Japanese components of the era.

The Yamaha components also mated up very well with the first generation of Matthew Polk's loudspeakers (particularly the Monitor Series Models 7 and 10).

A little 'spensiver than the competition, and not even necessarily as impressively built "under the hood"... but nice stuff. Elegant, timeless (IMO) cosmetics that belie their mid-70s genesis.

Who else has a Yamaha hifi thing - any era - goin'?
This thread is meant to be a safe space.

Here's a CA-800 integrated from that ca. 1976 line of Yamaha "Natural Sound" hifi components. 45 wpc @ 0.1% THD or (with the flip of a switch) Class A output for 10 wpc at 0.1% THD. A very respectable sounding amplifier (IMO, of course), especially in Class A.


DSC_0180 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

More to come (I hope)!

[Deleted User]

Yammie has kept the fire going for a long time. The latest from them is still very good. I do miss the old days when they had a full line of separate components at several price points, however.

amI'll probably have my M65's until I die.

mhardy6647

I have embarrassingly little experience with their separates (excepting some tuners), in the interest of full disclosure.

Tony M

I'm glad you posted this new thread for the Yamaha classics and even some not to long ago products Yamaha has put out.

I'm tired now but will add some experiences to your thread. All good too.

I like Yamaha a lot. I like Onkyo products a lot to but Onkyo has had a longevity problem here at my home. There are some great Onkyo older receivers that are still pretty reliable but not to long ago something happened when they brought out the Integra line. I've seen so many Integra BIG surround receivers that have broken down it's not funny. Beware of BIG Integras from a few years ago.

Yamaha, on the other hand, has impressed me a lot. I've bought a lot of used Yamaha surround receivers and it seems ALL of them still work. I did buy a newer HDMI capable Yamaha surround SYSTEM at a yard sale 6 months ago for 30.00. Rec. , speakers and sub AND wire too. The owner said it worked and I had the cash so I took a chance. The remote was still in the bag I beleive. I don't think they even hooked it up fully. But anyway, I got it home and tested it a week or two later and it was AWESOME sounding! I was AGAIN, IMPRESSED. I haven't heard anything bad about the Advantage series, only GOOD. So that's good.

But I just remembered something. I'll post about that Yamaha Integrated later.

Lastly for now. I've been useing a Yamaha surround receiver for my main BIG system out in the cottage for years and years. Tottaly satisfied and even thankfull for it's protection capabilities too.

More to come.

Clipdat

I would someday like to experience what Yamaha proudly describes as "natural sound".

Nightfall

Clipdat wrote: »

I would someday like to experience what Yamaha proudly describes as "natural sound".

The vintage units are very neutral. Maybe ever so slightly to the bright direction of completely neutral. They pair great with warm vintage Polks and probably a lot of British speakers. Maybe not the best with Klipsch, B&W, Focal etc.

Nightfall

Easy Runnin

Here’s my CR-800 currently pair with Monitor 7Bs.

I like this much better than my Technics SA-400 of roughly the same vintage.

FestYboy

I'm a big fan of yammy's LFA series equipment, it sounds amazing...

Clipdat

Are you referring to this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWrmXO4GjSY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0m6dvpK4m8

FestYboy wrote: »

I'm a big fan of yammy's LFA series equipment, it sounds amazing...

Viking64

My first Yamaha component was an A-500 integrated amp that I bought in 1984. It was 80 watts and I mostly used it with various types of headphones for about 8 years.



For Christmas 1988, my brother bought me a Yamaha CDX-510U. It was my first CD player ever.



In 1992, I built my first home theater around a Yamaha DSP A-1000 Dolby Pro-Logic surround sound integrated amp. At that time, I also bought my Polk SDA SRS 2.3TL's for my mains, a Polk CS100 for my center, and a pair of 4.6's for my rears. I already had a pair of Polk 4.5's, so I used those for front effects.



In 1999, I upgraded from Dolby Pro-Logic to Dolby Digital with a Yamaha DSP A-1 integrated amp. At that time, I added a Polk CS400 for my center channel and a pair of Polk RT55's for my rear channels. I also bought my first DVD player: A Yamaha DVD S700.



The 1999 Yamaha DVD player only lasted 5 years, but the DSP A-1 that I got at the same time is still working, although I eliminated it from my rig a few months ago. That's 18 years of daily use!

When I bought my DSP A-1000 in 1992, I gave my 1984 A-500 to a friend and he used it for another 5-7 years until it finally died. 13-15 years of steady use.

When I bought my DSP A-1 in 1999, I gave my 1992 DSP A-1000 to a friend and he used in his home theater up until 2 years ago, when he finally replaced it with a new Yamaha Aventage. That's 25 years of daily use!

I have been very happy with my Yamaha gear and the way it sounds paired with my various Polk speakers.

FestYboy

Clipdat wrote: »

Are you referring to this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWrmXO4GjSY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0m6dvpK4m8

FestYboy wrote: »

I'm a big fan of yammy's LFA series equipment, it sounds amazing...

You know it, that's pure sex right there.

motorstereo

I ran this Avionic C4 preamp in my main rig for several years. Yamaha is good stuff and once rebuilt with quality modern caps it's really special

mhardy6647

la2vegas wrote: »

I especially like to listen to my CR-1020 With some Monitor 7B's with peerless tweets. They are currently being used in garage duty, but they could easily highlight a modest living room setup, they are truly that nice cosmetically.

I've been on the prowl for a CA-1000 or higher, but you know how that goes.

CR1020 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

That is a good combination IMO/IME.
When those components were new -- I'd opine that most folks who could afford the speakers couldn't afford the receiver! I know I couldn't.

I saved my nickels and dimes (nearly literally) from my much-beloved work study job in the stockroom in the Biology Dep't at JHU to buy this integrated amplifier (CA-610II) for $270. Still have it (and it still works fine & sounds good -- one repair was required in the intervening 40 years) and the receipt from Soundscape in B-more.

P1020541 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

Yeah -- a CA-1000 would be nice to have.

dpowell

I bought a rig for my barn on CL a few years back. A pair of stock 1C studios and a Yamaha V2090 receiver (circa 1994) together for $125. This unit was from the day when an AC3 decoder was sold as a separate unit.

The Yamaha sounds very natural and musical for an AVR....and of course, 1C's sounding good goes without saying.

jeremymarcinko

Another Yamaha fan here. My first serious amp was a M60 on Monitor10’s. Currently have an AVENTAGE 1010 at the heart of the RTi home theater and the A-S801 integrated paired with LSiM705s and I love them both. I would really love an A-S3000 though.

mlistens03

One more Yamaha fan here, I love my rx-v665. My friend once brought over his Denon, and we switched them around, and despite the fact that the Denon cost around $400 more when they were both new, I hated the sound of that Denon!
I remember almost a year ago, I would wait for my parents to leave the house and then I would I’ll crank the bass and push my old mission 770s real hard... it’s a wonder I didn’t blow them up.
I’ve been looking for a Yamaha separate amp for a long time, but I never found one (that wasn’t crazy expensive, the only ones I could afford had $200+ shipping), though I’m happy with this crown for now
I would love a vintage yamaha like pictured above, but I wouldn’t be able to use them, they just don’t got enough power for the LSis.

Nightfall

I mean no offense or disrespect but one of the vintage Integrated Yamahas in this thread vs an RX-V665 AVR and Crown would be no contest on LSi's from a sound quality perspective on

mlistens03

I know, but they don’t have enough power for me to turn up the volum loud (at least as far as I know), and they lack subwoofer outputs. And they aren’t cheap. So while they would sound way better, I am satisfied for now.
Besides, all the integrated amps above don’t have 5 channel outputs and that is now a necessity for me.

Jimbo18

This has been on our local CL for a while. CR-840 for $150.

mlistens03

Oh they are that cheap? I might start looking for one of these amps, all the ones I saw online were around $400 and up.

steveinaz

I was a huge Yamaha fan in the early/mid 80's, owning numerous preamps, tuners, turntable, and CD players. Really loved my C-85 pre which I used until 2001. Excellent build quality. I tried to replace the C-85 on 3 separate occasions, it never went anywhere; the competition was returned.

Tony M

I didn't know a C-85 existed. I like. Thanks.

I thought these pieces below were Yamaha's for a few minutes. MIGO. man, I'm getting old.

But they are cool anyway.

I've had 2 of these Basic C2's for years. I think I still own the 2 units. The one I was useing and still have in one system, needed some of the controls cleaned. I just never got around to it but they really weren't too bad to begin with. I liked all the TT Cartridge controls and other controls these have.

nooshinjohn

I have run a bunch of Yamaha gear through my rig, but the longest serving pieces were an RXV 2090, which was amazing, and my PX-3 turntable, which is now with Nightfall. I miss that one...

Tony M

^^^^^^^^^^ NICE.

dromunds

Big fan of the vintage Natural Sound. I had a CR-810 I think it was that I eventually gave to a friend after Jesse did some cap work on it and installed five-way binding posts. I really liked that unit. A friend of mine just down the street has an original CR-800 that he bought new with some original Large Advents. He's still using it along with his original Thorens TD-160. I always thought that pairing of the CR-800 and large Advents was very nice also.

steveinaz

I had the PX-3 and wished I had never sold it. It, and my Yamaha PF1000 were my favorite turntables.

pitdogg2

Very nice turntable Steve.

steveinaz

Not mine...she sadly was lost years ago when I divorced my first wife and forgot it was in the attic many years later.

Tony M

^^^^^^^^^^

pitdogg2

steveinaz wrote: »

Not mine...she sadly was lost years ago when I divorced my first wife and forgot it was in the attic many years later.

I figured it was a lost soldier, It is still a nice table. To be honest i have never seen one with dual arms. Mine back in the day was also a Yamaha. Forgive me it was no cheapy but for the life of me i do not remember the model. It was the most finicky sumbuck i just lost interest when CDs came i gave it away.