Yamaha amplifiers
mn_polk_guy
Posts: 102
Just curious how you guys feel about yamaha amplifiers? Currently have a mx-630 with a nad 1130 preamp. have been looking at a c-70/m-70 setup but not sure on a price. Also open to other brands just not sure what to look for. I have seen a couple adcoms for sale im my area of minneapolis as well.
Monitor 4.6, 5jr, 5, 7, 10, 11. RTA 8TL. RTA 11T. SDA 2B.
Comments
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Yammy's seem to be well received here ( I have a low class receiver in the garage at the moment that I can't really hate on) but I'm curious if you have ever put a NAD amp behind the NAD pre?
I also just nabbed an Adcom from the FS section to play with. No impressions yet
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mhardy6647 wrote: »
Ok but you must USE them..... -
I havent seen a nad amp around yet, the nad and yamaha came together.Monitor 4.6, 5jr, 5, 7, 10, 11. RTA 8TL. RTA 11T. SDA 2B.
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Stop showing off, Doc. It's unbecoming of a gentleman such as yourself.
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mn_polk_guy wrote: »I havent seen a nad amp around yet, the nad and yamaha came together.
I've had lots of good luck on eBay... Just saying. -
I think Yamaha used to be better than they are now. I've never owned a Yamaha amp or receiver. If I was going to, it'd be an older one. And I'd be REALLY CAREFUL about verifying the 4-ohm specs.
They can still build a competent amp...but you'd better be prepared to dig deep into the wallet before taking it home.
Last I looked, if you wanted REAL 4-ohm capability, you were looking at $1600 and up. Phony 4-ohm capability was what the less-expensive offerings had--a switch on the back panel that strangles the power supply so the poor thing doesn't cook into a "low impedance" load. (I don't consider 4-ohm nominal to be "low" impedance...but Yamaha does.)
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mhardy6647 wrote: »
Ok but you must USE them.....
Oh.
Like this?
DSC_0184 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
DSC_0182 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
Or like this, maybe?
P1020541 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
Vintage Polk Audio Monitor Series loudspeakers* like vintage Yamaha amplification, IMO/IME.
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* or vintage a/d/s loudspeakers, for that matter
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Nope, neither of those was (a dump find).
The CA-610II I bought new from Soundscape in Baltimore, MD -- in (if memory serves) 1978. It has served admirably for nigh-on four decades, with one repair (when we lived in California).
The CA-800 I bought used but restored some years back. It is a very good sounding amplifier -- almost amazingly so when set to Class A operation (for something like 10 wpc).
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Yes, a buddy up the road from me has a CR-800 that he bought new with Large Advents, and I am constantly amazed at how good that baby sounds.
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I found this AV34 at a thrift store for $25. It has served me VERY well in the two years I have been using it, a stout 100 watts that drives my SDA2Bs without strain. Although not a looker she sounds pretty good.
Just a dude doing dude-ly things
"Temptation is the manifestation of desire which equals necessity." - Mikey081057
" I have always had a champange taste with a beer budget" - Rick88
"Just because the thread is getting views don't mean much .. I like a good train wreck doesn't mean i want to be in one..." - pitdogg2
"Those that don't know, don't know that they don't know." - heiney9
"Audiophiles are the male equivalent of cat ladies." - Audiokarma Member -
codycatalist wrote: »
I found this AV34 at a thrift store for $25. It has served me VERY well in the two years I have been using it, a stout 100 watts that drives my SDA2Bs without strain. Although not a looker she sounds pretty good.
I believe that was my first surround sound receiver I ever bought new. Used it for 20 years!
Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
codycatalist wrote: »
I found this AV34 at a thrift store for $25. It has served me VERY well in the two years I have been using it, a stout 100 watts that drives my SDA2Bs without strain. Although not a looker she sounds pretty good.
I think that looks awesome! I love receivers with that kind of design for some reason. Kind similar looking to my new Technics:
Your Yamaha probably sounds way better though. -
Micah, I bought a Technics RS-M205 cassette deck in 1982. Just look at this beast!
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Micah, I bought a Technics RS-M205 cassette deck in 1982. Just look at this beast!
I wouldn’t even use that, but I want it just because it’s SO COOL! -
ahem. This is a Yamaha thread -- just sayin'.
(In the interest of full disclosure -- the Yamaha TC-1000 looks considerably more impressive than it actually is. Yamaha did make some pretty good cassette decks, though... like the K-1000, an example of which, sadly, I do not have.)
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Getting closer, at least your in the Yamaha category. Just gotta work on that whole “correct company branch” thing. -
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mlistens03 wrote: »
Getting closer, at least your in the Yamaha category. Just gotta work on that whole “correct company branch” thing.
Here's a link to another good Yamaha thread to get us back on track.
http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/181126/yamaha-then-and-or-now/p1
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What, really? You never saw one of Yamaha's famous ear speakers?
That is a single NS-15. Found it at the dump and ultimately gave it away -- what were the odds of finding another single?
Yamaha sold several variants of the same basic design -- many were for pro/commercial audio (sound reinforcement) but some, like the NS-15, were for domestic use.
The NS-15 is particularly interesting as it is essentially just an open baffle. Here're some photos of the flip side.
P1030011 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
P1030013 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
P1030009 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
"How does it sound?" I hear you ask.
Actually, I thought it sounded decent. Very sensitive -- it wasn't the kind of loudspeaker I'd build a mono system around, though... and it wasn't anything so special it seemed worth waiting a decade or two to find a mate. Besides, chances are I'd have found a pair... and then I'd have had three, which wouldn't be an improvement
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Yamaha = boring to me. The "M" amps were pretty over-hyped then, and still are, IMO. So were the pre's that went with them. I'd take a Nak CA-5 over a Yam C-70 any day.
Natural Sound = lifeless and boring.
I never connected with any Yammy stuff. Sold it for years because that's what people wanted back in the day. A sales commission is a sales commission, but personally I preferred Nakamichi, Luxman and Adcom of the day.
Just my .02c since you asked
H9
"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
Not to derail the thread, but I can't seem to find any Nakamichi anywhere anymore.
But anywho, I agree with heiney, my yammy is rather lifeless, that's why it's in the garage and being replaced. -
nope never seen nor heard them Doc. interesting.
I liked my Yamaha integrated amps I had. I never had any amps. But those Nak's were and still are very nice.. -
The only problem with the Nak stuff and to a certain extent the older Yammy stuff is they need refreshing by now. I had a Nak CA-5 pre for quite awhile (built in 1987, IIRC and bought used in about 1990) and I had to have some caps replaced on or around 2007-2008 before I sold it. They started making noise.
This older gear is sometimes not worth the hassle unless your good under the hood, as paying a tech to do it gets pricey fast. Or they've been verifiably serviced.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
Sometimes I listen to Yammy amplifiers and sometimes I listen to Laurel amplifiers.
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Sometimes I listen to Yammy amplifiers and sometimes I listen to Laurel amplifiers.
I see what you did there =PJust a dude doing dude-ly things
"Temptation is the manifestation of desire which equals necessity." - Mikey081057
" I have always had a champange taste with a beer budget" - Rick88
"Just because the thread is getting views don't mean much .. I like a good train wreck doesn't mean i want to be in one..." - pitdogg2
"Those that don't know, don't know that they don't know." - heiney9
"Audiophiles are the male equivalent of cat ladies." - Audiokarma Member -
No good Nak stuff here, unfortunately.
I have a Receiver One that was given to me by an erstwhile co-worker. Nice looking, hefty piece of hardware, but it suffered a lightning strike and one channel's power amplifier is nonworking. Preamp sections work, tho'.
Also have a dump find OMS-7 CD player. It works fine, but is a bit beat up and, presumably, like most of those old Nakamichi CD players, the laser is on borrowed time.
Couple of completely unremarkable Nakamichi two-head cassette decks rounds out the paltry collection here.
