New CA-810!

zaskarx

zaskarx

Active Member
Thought I'd show off my new (to me) CA-810. I picked it up today at my local record store as a package deal with a CT-1010 tuner. I put it the slot where my Marantz PM-7200 had been in my den system to give it a test run and I am amazed at how it sounds even in its unrestored state. It has a very similar sonic signature to my A-S500: detailed, open, and lively; it really makes my Paradigm Titans come alive. With the Marantz, the bass on the Titans sounded a little bloated, which is a common complaint, but hooked up the Yamaha it is just right.

Although I like the Marantz, and it is by all accounts an excellent piece of gear, I never fell in love with the warmer, richer sound. I think the CA-810 may find a permanent home. :music:

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Congrats. The Yamaha is quite analytical,.almost surgical in its voicing. I think of it as the Klipsch of amps, not a bad thing. I have a CA610II, in fact 2, and with much music, I feel it somehow does not convey the emotion lf the music. A few days ago,.I had someone over who has been wanting to buy them based on reading about the Yamaha threads. He listened to both and felt similarly that they are too surgical, too analytical for him. We did listen to solo acoustic instruments on my Klipsch Heresys and he loved the combo but as be listens to classical they combo would not work for him.
 
I have a CA600 coupled to a CT410 and a pair of Paradigm Titans as my alarm clock. It's definitely a great pairing!
 
Nice amp congrats! I have one that developed a hum and found a leaking filter cap. They are board mounted and you can get cans that mount right into the existing holes.

Like Brian said above, very accurate sounding gear. Less warm but super accurate. Had it hooked to some B&W speakers and strong acoustic guitar sounds like your in the room with the player. Enjoy it!
 
Lovely! I dearly love my CR-420 and CR-240 receivers. Someday, I would love to get a Yamaha silverface integrated... The 420 is about my favorite piece of kit, bar none.
 
They are detailed and I suppose, surgical; that is Yamaha "natural sound". This is a sound I like very much. I have a ca 800, ca 1010, and a-s500 and the sonic signature on these are all very similar. If you forced me to pick a favorite based on sound alone it would be the a-s500...but not by much. I find it a bit more forward in the midrange and ever so slightly more detailed. I love them all:thmbsp:
 
Nice Rig, OP. You are lucky to have one.

I have had a CA-810 since 1979/1980, my Junior year in College. My Dorm Mates (all EE Students) all had one and told me that dollar for dollar it was the finest integrated amp available. Once I decided I wanted one, it was almost too late. My local music store finally found a new one for me. It's been a love affair ever since.

I have some excellent rigs including McIntosh, but the Yamaha CA-810 is still my favorite. Not just because it "Nostalgic" for me, but because it's just a damn good Rig that sounds spectacular.
 
HVHiFI said:
Nice amp congrats! I have one that developed a hum and found a leaking filter cap. They are board mounted and you can get cans that mount right into the existing holes.

Like Brian said above, very accurate sounding gear. Less warm but super accurate. Had it hooked to some B&W speakers and strong acoustic guitar sounds like your in the room with the player. Enjoy it!
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There seems to be a nice synergy between the Yamaha CA-series amps and B&W, at least the older models. I've paired both a CA-1010 and CA-1000 with some DM-14s and the results were really sweet. The CA-810 is really very similar to the 1010 in sonics. I don't feel a "clinical" response to the sound of these amps, they just sound "right" to me.
 
Great to hear the different opinions and stories, I guess it is a good thing that not everyone likes the same sound or we'd all be chasing after the same pieces of gear.

Eventually I'd like to recap the 810 for reliability, seems like there are a few good threads detailing how to do it. In the mean time I'll enjoy it as is, I can't imagine much of a sonic improvement at this point. Also looking forward to trying a MC phono cartridge, I've never owned a phono stage that was compatible.
 
Totally agree fiddlefye, 70's Yamaha and B&W do go very well together. Once listened to a friend's CR-1020 and a pair of DM7's and really got me into vintage yammie.

Zaskarx, everyone has opinions and you know what they say about opinions. No doubt to my ears Yamaha is an accurate, precision sound which really bring out details. Maybe not be as warm or soft as others but by no means inferior. Good build quality as well. The 810 is sweet in it gives you enough power to drive inefficient speakers but doesn't lose that sweet sound.
 
zaskarx said:
Great to hear the different opinions and stories, I guess it is a good thing that not everyone likes the same sound or we'd all be chasing after the same pieces of gear.

Eventually I'd like to recap the 810 for reliability, seems like there are a few good threads detailing how to do it. In the mean time I'll enjoy it as is, I can't imagine much of a sonic improvement at this point. Also looking forward to trying a MC phono cartridge, I've never owned a phono stage that was compatible.
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If your experience with the 810 is like mine with my 1010 this past year the recap will do more than improve reliability. Ive owned my CA-1010 for nearly 20 years now and after the full recap it is far superior to what it ever has been. The original caps were good for their time, but really good modern audio-specific caps are far superior and the difference is not subtle. When these amps were made not only were such parts of lesser quality (as a whole), but there were cost considerations involved. When recapping, not so much.
 
I have two CA-810's myself. Love them. Analytical, detailed, yes. Match them with a pair of "warmer" voiced speakers and you'll be very happy - I would not care too much for a Yamaha/Klipsch combo but put them with some KEF's and it'll knock your socks off.

Congrats on the purchase
 
I've had a CA-810 since 1978 and it still sings just as if new. You'll be very pleased with your purchase--well done!
 
Roboturner91 said:
I have two CA-810's myself. Love them. Analytical, detailed, yes. Match them with a pair of "warmer" voiced speakers and you'll be very happy - I would not care too much for a Yamaha/Klipsch combo but put them with some KEF's and it'll knock your socks off.

Congrats on the purchase
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Strange to say, but I had my CA-1010 paired with some KG-4s in the shop system for quite awhile and the pairing sounded quite good, much better than the Sansui AU-D607 (Japanese version of 519) I have in there at the moment.
 
I had my CA-810 paired with Realistic Optimus 10's from new (1979) until 1995 when I paired them with Infinity RS-4's. The Ops were great for bass, but needed a "Super Tweeter" for help on the high end. I think the highs were spec'd at only 18k on those stock tweets, but with the Super Tweeters they were fantastic. I currently have the Op 10's (refoamed) matched to my Realistic SA-1001 Integrated Amp.

The Infinity RS-4's sound, to me, absolutely fantastic with my CA-810. YMMV.
 
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