Yamaha CD-C805 - anyone know it?

It's somewhat embarassing needing to ask a question about a Yamaha component because for 16 years I worked for an electronics retailer who's main line was Yamaha.

I just acquired a CD-C805 made in 1990 for $5 because the tray did not open. I happened to have a belt that was going to go on a CD-C715 but that one had more problems and was not worth fixing. Since I still had the belt, I took a chance on the CD-C805, put the new belt on and it all works fine now.

From what I recall, 1990 was the first year Yamaha offered S-Bit and the changer lineup consisted of a CD-C605, CD-C705 and CD-C805. Also, from what I recall, the step up feature from a CD-C605 to a 705 was direct track access on the front panel and from a 705 to 805 - optical out, 2nd changer control and pre-set DSP equalizer settings. Would that be an accurate assessment? If there are other differences, I am keen to know.

I am most curious about the DAC's Yamaha used. From what I can determine, Yamaha used an S-Bit 4 DAC system in the CD-C805. Was that the same system used in the less expensive models? I remember Yamaha using S-Bit Plus then S-Bit Pro during subsequent years. Would these be significantly better that what was used in a CD-C805?

For $5, I did not get the CD-C805's remote but I kept the one for the CD-C715. Does anyone know or remember if a factory CD-C805 remote could change the DSP settings or were those only ever accessible from the front panel?

We were selling Yamaha gear at the same time! But like you I don't remember too many details and probably for the same reasons. They came out with a lot of models every year and keeping them straight at the time, let alone decades later was not easy. Often the reps from Yamaha did not know the real technical differences and would just focus on the features. It was very hard to find out what models might have sonic advantages over lower ones.

Here is the manual to the 805:

http://www2.yamaha.co.jp/manual/pdf/av/english/cdC/CDC-805.pdf?_ga=1.41412330.994046617.1415377223

Here is the site so you can compare specs to others, that might help:

http://www.yamaha.co.jp/manual/english/result.php?div_code=av

Great find for $5!

Thanks for the link. I spent a couple hours today trying to find an owners manual.

The Yamaha rep in this area at the time did have good technical knowledge but it was wasted on the salespeople because they were wasted most of the time and didn't care. There were only a few like myself who had an interest in such things.

Problem was, we all succumbed to making the quick sale rather than up selling. It was easier and faster to sell one of the lower priced Yamaha changers if you could convincingly state that they all sounded the same and all you got for the extra money were features which were not that important. I think we therefore believed our own sales pitch.

I just did an A/B comparison with this CD-C805 and an HK HD7600 (also an S-Bit) player that I've had since new. I used CD's which I have two of so they could play simultaneously and since both players have variable outputs, the volumes were equal.

Quickly switching between them, I must say it was close, but I think I prefer the Yamaha. Bass and vocals seem a bit more forward. Wish I had more duplicate discs to play. Not sure if AC/DC, Age of Electric or The Men are good enough to make a definitive comparison. I could play some classical or jazz but by the time I got the disc out of one player, put it in the other and hit play, I will have forgotten what the first one sounded like.

And from the owner's manual I see the 805's remote can change the DSP settings. The original remote did not come with it and I've got to use one from a CD-C715. No DSP buttons but it seems to have everything else. I'd probably just be leaving the DSP in the FLAT mode anyway.

You are right about the introduction of models. What you got in an 800 series let's say, became a 700 or even 600 series the next year. too bad this one was not an 835. Comparing the specs as you suggested show's it has better dynamic range and better channel separation. But us old audio guys know specs aren't everything. I have an ancient Philips 16 bit player with a shot display, no over sampling and comparatively bad specs that sounds really good. Different but good.

I am not a big believer in specs directly correlating to sound quality, but like you I was doing my best to sell on sound quality so comparing specs helped sort things out. If a series of machines all had identical specs it was a good bet the difference was just in the feature set. If there was a difference in spec it did not automatically mean the higher model sounded better but it was at least a clue that something was different and maybe it was worth giving the two a listen to find out. It was a shortcut compared to listening to every new model which would have been impossible at the rate they came out with them, particularly if you worked in a store that carried multiple brands.

Those Philips machines were also my favorites for sound quality even though the construction quality was well below the others. They came out with 14 bit 4x oversampling right off the bat when the others had 16x1. When they moved to 16x4 things really improved. That is probably what you have as I do not recall any 16x1 from Philips, unless you did some mods.

Going kinda off topic here in this Yamaha forum but yes, you could be right about the Philips oversampling.

What I have is CD492 which might be a bit of an oddball because there is little info to be found online. I'm in Canada so maybe it was sold here but not in the US. There was however a Magnavox CDB492 in the US and assuming it's the same thing, it did have 4X oversampling in conjunction with a TDA1543 dual 16 bit which is the same DAC mine has. What made me think no oversampling was that I recall reading about early Philips players not having any and since there's no graphics on the front of this one stating how much oversampling it has, I thought it had none.

Yes, we got the Philips and the US got the Magnavox but as I recall they are the same. Nice sounding player, great DAC, 16x4 for sure.

So you're in Canada? What Yamaha dealer were you with? I did a 16 year stint with a&b Sound here in the BC Lower Mainland with several dealers before them. The very first audio sales job I had was with an independent in Richmond, BC called Matrix Sound & Color that was also a Yamaha dealer. I finished my audio career with 4+ years at Best Buy/Future Shop doing insurance claims.

Yamaha CD changer Manuals

Raynald said:

We were selling Yamaha gear at the same time! But like you I don't remember too many details and probably for the same reasons. They came out with a lot of models every year and keeping them straight at the time, let alone decades later was not easy. Often the reps from Yamaha did not know the real technical differences and would just focus on the features. It was very hard to find out what models might have sonic advantages over lower ones.

Here is the manual to the 805:

http://www2.yamaha.co.jp/manual/pdf/av/english/cdC/CDC-805.pdf?_ga=1.41412330.994046617.1415377223

Here is the site so you can compare specs to others, that might help:

http://www.yamaha.co.jp/manual/english/result.php?div_code=av

Great find for $5!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the link to the Yamaha manuals. I have 4 of these and three (600, 635 & 675) can get the manuals available with it (600 is new so not really needed). I have a CD-C605 from apparently the same year as the C805 named in this thread, but no manual comes up on the link, nor did one for the C705 mentioned in the first post. Do you know why this is so and if there is any way to compare these different models? I have also noticed the the specs for the 675 exceed those for the 805, but whether this means anything is questionable. Is there any way to learn the DACs or DSPs for these units?

62vauxhall said:

So you're in Canada? What Yamaha dealer were you with? I did a 16 year stint with a&b Sound here in the BC Lower Mainland with several dealers before them. The very first audio sales job I had was with an independent in Richmond, BC called Matrix Sound & Color that was also a Yamaha dealer. I finished my audio career with 4+ years at Best Buy/Future Shop doing insurance claims.

Click to expand...

I was at The Audiocentre in Montreal.

njmpmcc said:

Thanks for the link to the Yamaha manuals. I have 4 of these and three (600, 635 & 675) can get the manuals available with it (600 is new so not really needed). I have a CD-C605 from apparently the same year as the C805 named in this thread, but no manual comes up on the link, nor did one for the C705 mentioned in the first post. Do you know why this is so and if there is any way to compare these different models? I have also noticed the the specs for the 675 exceed those for the 805, but whether this means anything is questionable. Is there any way to learn the DACs or DSPs for these units?

Click to expand...

Yamaha have not posted all of the manuals to their old models, but they have done a good job compared to many companies. Sometimes it is worth checking similar models as many manuals cover several models but the file will only show one in the title.

To find out about DACs you can try searching for lists like this one:

http://www.dutchaudioclassics.nl/the_complete_d_a_dac_converter_list/#Y

Raynald said:

I was at The Audiocentre in Montreal.

Click to expand...

Cool! I remember that store, loved it! Bought a few stereo units and tv's back in the day.