Vintage Yamaha Amplifier Question

I have a Yamaha Natural Sound Stereo Amplifier A -1020 from 1986 125 watts per channel.
It's built really well all black metal. I'm running it through JBL L 100 Studio Monitor speakers.
How well regarded is the Yamaha amp. To me it sounds incredible. What is the opinion on this
almost 30 year old amplifier?

 

Yamaha always made excellent stuff & sometimes at good prices too. I once played with a similar Yamaha amp (same vintage) but lower down & I really enjoyed . A mate of mine bought it off me.

One of the biggest myths in hifi is that things constantly get better. Sadly the reality is hifi components are just getting more expensive. As long as your amp is working 30 years makes no difference.

BTW forget those people who comment about preferring devices without tone controls ....purist etc. It's all about you & your enjoyment of your music.

 

For me, it would not be my first pick from that era.

Not one of the best sounding from the era IMO, in the mid 1980's there were some pretty amazing sounding integrated amps even from the regular big names. This one had typical low quality build quality at best too, note the shoddy thin heat sinks, small transformer. A budget built item more or less. As long as you like it that's all that matters.




Compare the build of a similar wattage Pioneer integrated of the same era, 2 massive transformers and massive heavy aluminum heat sinks:

 

What was the price differential between the two?

 

I have a M80/C80 combo from the 80's, 250 wpc, IIRC. It's a beast! Just not a lot of finesse IMHO.

 

I have a circa 1998 Yamaha Natural Sound receiver in storage somewhere. When I had my Rotel pre-pro sent out for repairs a few years ago, I temporarily hooked up the Yammy to my speakers. There is no pre-amp out on the receiver so I was stuck using the 75 wpc that came with it. I didn't drive my speakers too hard, but I was surprised to hear how good it sounded! Almost as good as the Rotel. If your receiver sounds good to you, that's what really matters! Is it something you recently purchased?

 

I bought it in 1986 brand new and is my go to for stereo only. Also bought the JBL's in 1974 brand new and they still look new and never any problems.

 

You are comparing a Caddy with an Impala, or a Caprice. That Yamaha is 125W/ch and that sure looks like an M-90 Pioneer at 200W/ch. The power transformer on the Yamaha is not impressive, but does the job. The heat sink is also fully adequate--note how thick it is where the transistors are actually mounted. The thin fins are designed for convection cooling and have plenty of surface area. With the availability of running Class A as an option, the Yamaha A-1020 is a respectable amp but shouldn't be compared to the over-engineered eye candy design of the Pioneer. I have owned and recapped various vintage Yamaha models and this one shouldn't be called "shoddy".

I understand the OP asked for opinions. I just don't think shoddy applies. The Yamaha and the Pioneer would have passed the FTC warmup and 1/3 power and full power rating rigamarole of the era. The "Cadillac" Pioneer is certainly rated to be quieter and has a tad less THD. But it was their flagship amp and cost an arm and a leg at the time...still does.

 

I don't know '80s Yamaha gear, but my c.1977-78 Yamaha CR-1020 integrated receiver acquitted itself very honorably when I recently hooked it up to a pair of very revealing KEF LS50 speakers - and the Yamaha is bone stock. I am planning to refresh some of the caps soon and will re-evaluate it then.

One thing that particularly impressed me is the deep, layered soundstage it produces, which is not something one generally associates with vintage Japanese solid state receivers.

 

Thanks I love the sound of the A-1020. When he said shoddy I knew he was comparing something way different! Thanks again BuddaBob.

 

The Yamaha you have is respectable and one of the better amps they made in the era. I would not call this one shoddy either. It's just fine.

 

I have owned the A-700 integrated amp from Yamaha since approx. 1981 when I bought in new along with a pair of Klipsch Heresy speakers. You know I still have and use the amp. It still sounds great to me. The Yamaha Natural Sound is not the house sound of early Marantz or even Sansui which I have experience with. I would call it a flat sound with no artificial boosts in mid bass or midrange. So it will not hit you with the same excitement level as the Marantz for example but it is very true to source in my opinion and is detailed and transparent. For me build quality is exemplary since knock on wood I had not had any issue in all these years. The class A operation switch is a very useful feature as well and the additional heat generated seems to disperse just fine as long as you remember to keep enough open space above and around this amp. I agree with others in this thread who indicate that the build quality is fine.

 

My experience also. As a side note, as with any and all amps of this era, I use a bit of extra cooling power. I have a pair of small CPU case fans, wired in series so they are at half speed, connected to a wall-wart power supply. It's easy to rig up and use the two fans, placing them on top of an amp, to assist in the convective cooling. I can't hear them running and they draw extra air up and through the top cover. Works great on my M-80 Yam when in Class A mode and helps heat the room, too.

 

Good idea!

 

Can you tell me more about how you did this? I have a small room and my Fisher 400 gets very hot in there.

 

Might not be what @BuddhaBob did, but these guys have a few kits and the parts to make it easy. I looked into it a few years back when someone told me my B&K amps ran hot....they never did so I didn't go any further.

http://www.coolerguys.com/compcooling.html

 

To the OP - those Yamaha's do sound great....rock on!

 

I always liked Yamaha a lot. Years ago I bought a new M80 amp and C80 preamp and used them for many years and they served me well. Damn, talking about them makes me wish that I still had them.

 

My solution isn't elegant at all, but it works and it was essentially free (for me), since I have a boxes of PC stuff.

I used two 12VDC PC case fans, about 3" size. Ball bearing type so they are quiet and reliable, brushless fans for low RFI and also quieter. Running them in series they still pull a good amount of air at 1/2 normal speed. I also cut up a couple of thin adhesive rubber feet (you can find them at a hardware store or building supply) and put a small piece on each corner of each fan, to avoid scratching equipment and to further deaden any noise. I cut the plug off of a good-sized wall wart power supply, 12VDC output, then wired the 12VDC fans in series, soldering the two remaining leads to the power supply 12VDC.

To have these running when my gear is turned on, the AC power for everything in my setup including the 12VDC wall wart is supplied by a 20A power strip, one that has a "sensing" outlet. So, I have my preamp in the sensing/master outlet and when I turn on my preamp everything else comes on. I don't want to get into a debate here about dedicated AC mains, power strips, connecting everything into one outlet, yadda, yadda. I have measured the voltage sag on a 'scope while playing music at ridiculous levels and there are voltage drops with an amp as big as my Yamaha M-80 or my Dynaco 400. They are quick, transient drops that are not audible TO ME during my listening. Any AC line will have some voltage drop if you crank a big amplifier. So, that's my setup and I am happy with the results as far as keeping things cooler. Cooler should mean better component life and reliability. For the past few years, so far so good.

Further details... when I place the fans on top of any gear, I look for places where the designer(s) intended airflow for convective cooling. Typically this is above power transistor heatsink fins and above the power supply. Hot spots can sometimes be felt if you don't want to remove the cover or can't see through the venting holes with a light. Usually there are obvious venting areas. The fans are placed flat, above the "hot zone" area(s), so that more air is drawn up through the chassis--augmenting the usual airflow.

I took a few snaps and posted to Imgur...I hope they are viewable and help show my lash-up, as you requested...
http://imgur.com/9qEuj7k
http://imgur.com/Vafnr8g
http://imgur.com/2XHF2IF
http://imgur.com/uzqOF3f
(When I am using a particular amp with these fans, they can't be seen with the amp pushed back on the bottom hi-fi shelf where I usually have it.)