1970s Yamaha.

MrTube

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I have a chance to grab two mid 1970s Yamaha receivers that need work, they are near mint cosmetically which is nice. I'm also told one of them maybe a black\euro receiver.

I've used late 70s yamaha integrated amps and one yamaha tuner and loved them. How were their vintage receivers? I'm waiting on model numbers but it sounds like they maybe either CR-800s or CR-820's. How do they compare to mid 70s Pioneer and Marantz?


I like projects to work on, but not sure if these are worth any time or effort?
 
IMO, CR receivers sound thin and not as nice as Marantz or Sansui. However, if you are looking to take on projects for enjoyment, go for it!
 
I probably should mention I'm considering trading a near mint fisher KX-200 for them. The fisher is from a few years back when I was into collecting and restoring tube fishers. Its the last one I have left out of 30 or 40 units and is near perfect other then needing a 7591 as one is acting kind of funky.

I may need to get him to throw in a 1970s kenwood with the trade as well just to make it fair money wise.
 
I probably should mention I'm considering trading a near mint fisher KX-200 for them. The fisher is from a few years back when I was into collecting and restoring tube fishers. Its the last one I have left out of 30 or 40 units and is near perfect other then needing a 7591 as one is acting kind of funky.

I may need to get him to throw in a 1970s kenwood with the trade as well just to make it fair money wise.

Personally, I'd keep the Fisher. The lower line receivers are not worth anything and sometimes are hard to sell.
 
Are the yamahas considered lower end? thats what i'm trying to figure out.

I've had my hands on many many pioneers like the SX-737's, SX-939's and late 70s like the SX-680, SX-780's and so on. If I remember right Yamaha was known for having some of the best tuners out there in the 70s I just don't know how the receivers ranked.

I have a feeling the answer is going to be I have to see them in person and look at them and just go with my gut feeling.

I kept the fisher KX-200 because its a nice amp and has a built in bias meter. Problem is as i'm sure many others here do, I like working on equipment and using different stuff. I've had the KX-200 for over 10 years now and am pretty much bored with it.

And as i'm sure many others also experience, my wife doesn't like me spending money to "exchange" equipment :)
 
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The Yamaha's you are talking about were on the lower end of the CR line, but most vintage Yamaha lovers consider that to be their best line of receivers.
They are desirable but nothing like the Cr 1020, 2020 or 2040
 
grillebilly : ah I see.

So if there receivers are a 1020, 2020 or 2040 I should definitely jump on them? The only reason we think they were the lower numbers was he didn't think they had 3 analog meters, but wasn't sure as they have been packed away for 10 years. It could very well be a CR-1000 I guess, they only has two meters.

He seemed to think they were "higher end" receivers from the yamaha line.
I won't know until a week from now.
 
The CR-800 was totl in the early 1970s. *shrugs* Nothing wrong with them. The CR-8xx are definitely nice pieces.
 
The CR-800 was totl in the early 1970s. *shrugs* Nothing wrong with them. The CR-8xx are definitely nice pieces.


In fact when they later came out with the CR-1000 ir shared many parts and design with the CR-800, to the extent that parts of the CR-800 service manual were reused.

I had a CR-800 and foolishly sold it, as soon as one came up on eBay I grabbed it. Currently driving Polk Monitor 10Bs.
 
Yamaha's are a great value and their tuner sections on both AM and FM are excellent. It is true that their sound is not as warm as a Marantz, Superscope or a Realistic, but what you get is nice balance between the low and high frequencies.
 
IMHO, Yamaha's sound is about accurate and uncolored sound and are without such heavy coloration or bloat or sloppy bass I've heard in Sansui, Pioneer, and Marantz.

I wouldn't classify it as "thin" by any means.

However, that's not to say that ANY vintage gear in need of a recap or repair and not currently operating up to spec isn't going to exhibit a bit of thinness or harshness, or sloppy flabby bass.

I loaned a CR-820 to a friend while recapping his Sansui G-7500 and here's what he called to say, "It doesn't have the power the G does (true statement) but I'm hearing things in my favorite music I haven't heard in years."

Upon returning the Sansui, it was hard to get him to give up the CR.

The CR-800 is, IMO, better sounding than the CR-820.
 
Are the yamahas considered lower end? thats what i'm trying to figure out.

I've had my hands on many many pioneers like the SX-737's, SX-939's and late 70s like the SX-680, SX-780's and so on. If I remember right Yamaha was known for having some of the best tuners out there in the 70s I just don't know how the receivers ranked.

I have a feeling the answer is going to be I have to see them in person and look at them and just go with my gut feeling.

I kept the fisher KX-200 because its a nice amp and has a built in bias meter. Problem is as i'm sure many others here do, I like working on equipment and using different stuff. I've had the KX-200 for over 10 years now and am pretty much bored with it.

And as i'm sure many others also experience, my wife doesn't like me spending money to "exchange" equipment :)
My wife doesn'tlike me exchanging much of anything lately :D
The Yamaha CR-820 is worth a listen. One really cool thing about it is the ability to really tailor the sound through the loudness contour and the presence control, besides the usual bass and treble. I had one for awhile and thought it was decent.
 
which 1970s yamaha receivers (if any) where available with a black face? Where these sold like the pioneers, for example SX-*80 was silver while SX-*90 was black?
 
The Black face were really a later generation, the CR-66 et al being not much more that CR-2xx in terms of power. Receivers tended to be Silver-faced, and separates tended to be Black-faced. There were a few variations to that generalization.
 
Most of the black-faced receivers were Canadian models with silver faced counterparts.

I also have a black-faced integrated CA-44 and Tuner CT-44 and a CR-55.
 
Ah,

So there is a CR-55 and a CR-66 and a CR-66 II. No black faced versions of the CR-1000, CR-1020, CR-2020 and CR-3020 I guess?
 
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