Now,I love my Pioneer
but
Did you ever want to:
Punch a Pioneer in the nose?
Slap a McIntosh across the face?
Kick a Marantz in the rear?
Then you roll out the 1975 Yamaha C-1 Preamplifier and matching B-1 Power Amplifier,plug it in and enjoy the show.
Now,the word 'Vintage' is not automatically synonymous with high end or even mid-fi.
We can pay a lot of money for older gear,while that same money may purchase new and perhaps better performing equipment.
Outrageous prices for hi-end tube gear from the 50's and 60's,up to five times the original retail,leaves some people speechless.
For others,more often than not,some vintage pieces may be equal or even superior to the modern hi-end gear,as they try to assemble a system with synergy,free of listener fatigue.
Both new and vintage buyers will likely share the common goal of finding which models are the over achievers.
We are here in this forum thread because we like collecting vintage hi-fi and take pleasure in the way it sounds,despite the fact it may not measure up to an outsider's standards.
These are collector pieces,as well as being working audio electronics.
1975 and transistors,sit squarely in the middle of the transition between Valves and Microprocessors as conveyances of sound.
Valves (Tubes) were hot,chunky,used lots of power and were fragile.
Enter Transistors,where you needed Quantum Physics,or at least an understanding of how electrons worked,to design one.
Some AudioKarma Yamaha musings:
Quite a big step down from the C-1 to the C-2:
C-1 full of FETs (139) -> C-2 two FETs.
So when they introduced the B-2/C-2 combo was an all-FET:
- way too expensive,or
- not practical anymore for some other reason
The C-1 really seems to be a one-of-a-kind type thing.
Only the few people who have heard a C-1 and B-1 together had a chance to get an idea how different an all FET system (or Solid State in general) can sound.
These two devices (and especially the C-1) are in reality,exclusive.
So,get a spine in your shirt and some balls in your pants because owning a C-1 & B-1 pairing entails these ponderings:
"Do you own 25+ senile V-Fet transistors? No ? :no:
I do and it´s still like a nightmare to switch the unit on after day after day on the shelf, even if it was refurbished the year before.
It already chases me in me in my dreams...
Perhaps that explains a little bit my dark thoughts ..."
Audio capacitors often have a specified lifetime of typically 2000h at 85°C.
How many hours do you think your baby runs a year ?
If it´s > 2000h you should recap it at least every five years.
Dead caps may be the #1 reason of failures.
In the B-1, a dead cap then kills a pair of mostly unobtainable V-Fets ...
“They (B-1 & B-2) sound very good but the B-1 is larger in soundstage and has a silky smooth,fat sound.
I’ve never experienced listener fatigue from one.
Upon turning it on, you can actually hear the sound becoming magical after the big V-Fets warm up”.
My take on the the Yamaha
Ahh,the musings of the Invisible Yamaha Society,so similar to the Invisible Sansui Empire.
Does the Yamaha combo emasculate newer amplifiers,reducing them to the role of Chihuahua carried around in a rich lady’s purse,proving stressful for the newer amplifier owners?
No.But I wish it could.
You can move on,if you want to.
You can stay where you are,if you prefer.
You can can even go back if you wish.
Some people dedicate their lives to preserving – or recreating – the past.
If the planets offer an excellent chance to own the Yamahas,can you really reject your opportunity?
Whatever you decide,be wholehearted.The only ‘wrong’ thing you can do is be afraid of owning a FET Amplifier.
Truly an audio statement of the day,there is a reason the C-1 retailed for $1,800 and the B-1 for $1,600 in 1975.
Together,simply a high degree of euphony.Enough said.
This is my Yamaha C-1 & B-1,I'll up some better photos shortly:
click to supersize...
