Yamaha C 4 preamp in comparison with ca 1000II preamp

Soimmvt

New Member
As I read a lot of positive reviews about the Yammies C4 and 2a preamps (C2x is very rare) I was wondering if an addition of a C4/2a in my set would make a lot of improvement/difference.
Now I use the preamp of the CA 1000II with my B2 for my main speakers and the the CA 1000II for my second pair of speakers on the other side of the room.

On e....pay Germany there are currently four C4's going for more than 400EUR. I like the model a lot, nice backlitknobs :thmbsp:

Any comments or advise on that?
 
I bought a C2a and recapped it. Is the best pre I've had in my system to date, it has not left front and center since getting into my lead system.

I also purchased the C4, and plan to do a recap on it as well, prolly doing all new transistors as well.

Couldn't tell you which to buy as I have not heard both and the net is full of opinions, split around 50:50 on which is best. You can prolly get the C4 a little cheaper as I think more of these were purchased by the public. Think they were less expensive.
 
I bought a C2a and recapped it. Is the best pre I've had in my system to date, it has not left front and center since getting into my lead system.

I also purchased the C4, and plan to do a recap on it as well, prolly doing all new transistors as well.

Couldn't tell you which to buy as I have not heard both and the net is full of opinions, split around 50:50 on which is best. You can probably get the C4 a little cheaper as I think more of these were purchased by the public. Think they were less expensive.

There are some very good threads on this subject in the Yamaha forum. Google. Some AKers have included a pecking order for Yamaha preamps. It looks like the common price on ebay in the US is around $200. A recapped one sold for $400. It looks like the older Yamaha preamps have gone up in price quite a bit in the last two years. My guess is that prices have doubled in the last three years. The Yamaha preamps have very good phono sections. I think the resurgence or vinyl (records) is contributing to the inflation.
 
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I used my CA-1010 (basically identical to your CA-1000II?) as a pre for awhile many years ago and it did a good job, but the C-4 I have in my SS system now is leagues better. Coming from the integrated the control logic is the same so it will all feel quite intuitively similar.
 
Hi and thank you for all the replies. I just missed a c 4 that went for 292 eur on e... Pay. The ca 1000 ii pre sounds more or less the same as a ca 1010 pre, just a bit warmer and more defined upper mids. As I also owned a recapped ca 1010 I did a one on one comparison. The mk ii was the one to stay.
Now that I lost the auction, I can still look for a c4 or a c2a. As I read from your reactions, i can now assume that the c4/2a will outperform the pre of my mk ii. Which is good to know, now i have to find a nice priced one.
 
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This Friday I will have a look at a C-4 for 300EUR, the guy said is it in excellent shape. If it is worth it I'm planning to do a recap myself this time.
 
Last Friday I went to see the fellow with the C-4. He had it hooked up with a M4. I must confess it all sounded nice, but then he funniest thing happened. He also had a battered C 50. And of course we hooked it up as well, incredible but the c 50 souned way better than the C-4. More warmth and punch than the C-4.....
Could it be due to the age of the C4, maybe a recap will do wonders? As I read a lot about the C-4 I had high expectations, never thought that the cheaper C 50 would sounded better......Anyway I bought neither of them and start to think that maybe the C2a is a better choice.....
 
That doesn't surprise me at all. A old stock c4 is pretty lifeless imo. But recapping changes things a lot. Out of all the pieces that I've had recapped over the years (speakers included) the most significant difference I heard were my c4's before and after.
 
Last Friday I went to see the fellow with the C-4. He had it hooked up with a M4. I must confess it all sounded nice, but then he funniest thing happened. He also had a battered C 50. And of course we hooked it up as well, incredible but the c 50 souned way better than the C-4. More warmth and punch than the C-4.....
Could it be due to the age of the C4, maybe a recap will do wonders? As I read a lot about the C-4 I had high expectations, never thought that the cheaper C 50 would sounded better......Anyway I bought neither of them and start to think that maybe the C2a is a better choice.....
Sounds like a C-4 in desperate need of service. No way would a C-50 come close to a C-4 in good nick.
 
No doubt your amplifier is very nice but the synergy of using the CA-1000 alone in conjunction with whichever speakers you may be using, may be simply quite excellent without any concern for another preamplifier.
That being said it would be nice to have a matching preamp for the B-2:)
 
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No doubt your amplifier is very nice but the synergy of using the CA-1000 alone in conjunction with whichever speakers you may be using, may be simply quite excellent without any concern for another preamplifier.
That being said it would be nice to have a matching preamp for the B-2:)

And it does a fine job....
Indeed I like my ca 1000 a lot:tresbon: it is a keeper:yes:

I pulled the trigger yesterday and got myself a c2a on e....pay.:banana:
It has a faulty channel which starts to crackle after 15 minutes or so.
 
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I own a c-4 and c-50. Both fully recapped and cleaned.

C-50 has too much (lower)bass for my liking (this is in a small room)

c-4 sounds more balanced/neutral. More likeable in a way difficult to discribe but I clearly prefer the c-4.


It really is difficult to compare gear that's not properly maintained and at different 'wear' to eachother.
 
And it does a fine job....
Indeed I like my ca 1000 a lot:tresbon: it is a keeper:yes:

I pulled the trigger yesterday and got myself a c2a on e....pay.:banana:
It has a faulty channel which starts to crackle after 15 minutes or so.

Lets hope its not a broken control.Just a dirty one or a bad solder connection. I had to pick-up two C-2a's to build one serviceable unit. One had a busted Bass control and one had a busted Volume control.:scratch2:
 
Lets hope its not a broken control.Just a dirty one or a bad solder connection. I had to pick-up two C-2a's to build one serviceable unit. One had a busted Bass control and one had a busted Volume control.:scratch2:

:no:Let's hope not......The seller said that it works fine the first 15 minutes, so I hope it is a faulty transistor or cap or solder joint.
 
Well today my c2a arrived. It played fine for more than an hour or so. It sounds fine and adds "something" to the sound, don't know what but the difference with my ca 1000ii is really not noticable. In short I like the sound:music: and will be better after a recap.
Then hooked it up to my second systeem and after a few minutes....bam, a hard plop and both channels went dead and the poweramp went into protection mode...something with the dc?
Immediately the sound came back and it played wonderful again. So i have to find out what it was, I hope a faulty transisitor or a cap.

But there is more. I have bought also a very good looking and sounding c-4. I got a bit carried away.......After inspection I noticed that the headphone amp was recapped, not the entire amp, only the headphone amp. Deoxit the controls and it plays wonderful. It is near mint as well. Everything works, you've got a ton of features on this thing. It also adds "something" to the sound...nice!

Both are going to be recapped, then I can compare them.

The ca 1000II does a really good job, I don't expect that both of the pre amps will own the ca after a recap......the ca is one hell of an amp.:thmbsp: imo
 
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I finally broke down and got the full recap done on my C-4. It was still playing fine, but I figured that at 35 years of age it needed it. I had already done LEDs for the buttons when I first got it and a couple of simple mods that really opened up the sound (upgraded PS diodes and replaced all of the connectors with hard wiring). Burning in the new caps in the bedroom system with a Mac MC250 and sounding great already! One would really have to spend some serious coin to improve on the sound (IMHO) and then you would be unlikely to get such incredible flexibility of use. Good for another 35 years I hope.....
 
fiddlefye could you share which PS diodes you used? And is this a method of improvement with no or little doubts as to its effectiveness? Thanks in advance
 
This weekend I finally had the time to spend with the C-4. And oh boy.......this one sounds very very sweet!!! NICE!!!! I really like its sound...;-) More tube like? Very good soundstage.
I'm very curious how it will sound after a recap. I've downloaded the schematics and service manual. Does anyone by any change has the recaplist of a c-4? Otherwise I have to open it up again. It is now in my main systeem together with a nice looking and good sounding T-1 tuner. Are there any other suggestions besides a recap?

I also might consider the changes Fiddlefye suggested.
 
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This weekend I finally had the time to spend with the C-4. And oh boy.......this one sounds very very sweet!!! NICE!!!! I really like its sound...;-) More tube like? Very good soundstage.
I'm very curious how it will sound after a recap. I've downloaded the schematics and service manual. Does anyone by any change has the recaplist of a c-4? Otherwise I have to open it up again. It is now in my main systeem together with a nice looking and good sounding T-1 tuner. Are there any other suggestions besides a recap?

I also might consider the changes Fiddlefye suggested.

Send a PM to avionic. He recapped my C-4 and many others for Akers. Mine sounded OK before the recap, but it was starting get a bit wonky. After the recap it sounds incredible and will probably outlast me.
 
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