Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 21

Thread: Yamaha Amps - looking for input

  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Yellowknife, NWT, Canada
    Posts
    83

    Yamaha Amps - looking for input

    I have been pondering purchasing one of these older amps like the M-65 and was wondering if anyone here could comment on them and if they are significantly inferior to the pro P series amps.

    This amp would replace my NAD C370 which I would turn into a pre amp.

    Cheers

    Mark

  2. #2
    Senior Member SMKSoundPro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Anchorage, Alaska
    Posts
    1,019
    I have the P series in my shop rig and love them.

    I have a M-2 in my workshop office rig pushing my L110's and love it!


    I have another M-2 that came to me as a freebie with shorted output transistors sitting in a box. Maybe time to get it out and either fix it or break it even further!

    Scotty.
    One step above: "Two Tin Cans and a String!"
    Longtime Alaskan Low-Fi Guy - E=MC² ±3db

  3. #3
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Yellowknife, NWT, Canada
    Posts
    83
    Do you know the differenace between the M, MX and how the evolution of these amps took place?

    I gather the MX is the last evolution of the consumer line but I know nothing about the pro line.

    Cheers

    Mark

  4. #4
    Senior Member SMKSoundPro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Anchorage, Alaska
    Posts
    1,019
    No I don't have much experience with the home hifi line of Yamaha. I mainly have experience with the older pro amps, eq, xovers, spx90, and mixing consoles.

    Now, I see where I need to learn more about their hifi line.

    Scotty.
    One step above: "Two Tin Cans and a String!"
    Longtime Alaskan Low-Fi Guy - E=MC² ±3db

  5. #5
    Senior Member Chris Brown's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Northern California
    Posts
    165
    One thing about the Yamaha amps is that you have a lot of different designs. So you might find that you have a preference for a particular design. You have some models such as the B-2 which are famous for its V-Fet sound and others such as the M-70 which is known for its X-Power design. Models such as the M-2 are one of the few that used toroidal transformers. Models such as the M-80, M-85, MX-1000 are more conventional but powerhouses none the less. Seems like generally the pro amps tend to mimic one or more of the home designs (or vise versa). I’ve seen several pro designs such as the P-2200/P-2201 and the PC2002(M) that look unmistakably similar to the design of my M-2 inside and I’m sure the other pro designs could probably be matched up with the various consumer designs. Excellent amps all around.

  6. #6
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Yellowknife, NWT, Canada
    Posts
    83
    Thanks for the insight, Chris - I wasn't aware they were using so many different approaches.

    I have line on a MX-600 - any strong thoughts on this particular unit one way or the other?

    Cheers

    Mark

  7. #7
    Senior Member Chris Brown's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Northern California
    Posts
    165
    The MX-600 was a lower-end version of the MX-1000, produced around 1988 or so. 135wpc into 8ohms. It used the HCA circuit design whereas the older M-series (such as the M-65, M-80, M-85, etc) had a switch to choose between class AB or “real” Class-A. HCA tries to give you the benefits of Class-A without the heat or other drawbacks. Some love it, some hate it. I’ve yet to hear an HCA amp in person so I can’t comment any further but I believe HCA was Yamaha’s last analog design until it moved to digital so it can’t be too bad

  8. #8
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Yellowknife, NWT, Canada
    Posts
    83
    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Brown View Post
    The MX-600 was a lower-end version of the MX-1000, produced around 1988 or so. 135wpc into 8ohms. It used the HCA circuit design whereas the older M-series (such as the M-65, M-80, M-85, etc) had a switch to choose between class AB or “real” Class-A. HCA tries to give you the benefits of Class-A without the heat or other drawbacks. Some love it, some hate it. I’ve yet to hear an HCA amp in person so I can’t comment any further but I believe HCA was Yamaha’s last analog design until it moved to digital so it can’t be too bad
    Keep the info coming, Chris!

    Cheers

    Mark

  9. #9
    Senior Member duaneage's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    The First State
    Posts
    1,585
    i've had a M-45 with 125/ch for over 20 years and I'm happy with it. I even bought 2 more.
    Why buy used when you can build your own?

  10. #10
    FRAZIERHORN
    Guest

    yamaha amps dead after 20 years of service

    I had 1- m50 & 1 m60 that I got brand new in 1984-6 from J&R music NYC,I had them almost 20 years til they started having having problems. I had both in for service but was told they were not servicable.parts issues-I now have 2 mx 630 and they sound great.the only problem I see is when you need service,yamaha may not have the parts to repair them.

  11. #11
    Senior Member macaroonie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    near Glasgow Scotland
    Posts
    2,288

    Hmmm

    On that note Accuphase were able to supply me a full service schedule and a component sent by post from Japan at no cost to me for a 27 YO amp. Cool and that was five years ago and the old dog runs to this day.

  12. #12
    Senior Member duaneage's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    The First State
    Posts
    1,585
    It's really not yamaha's fault that some parts are discontinued. Most of the output transistors made 25-30 years ago are either discontinued or too expensive to consider repairing an amp with. If you got 20 years out of them I'd say you got your money's worth.
    Why buy used when you can build your own?

  13. #13
    Senior Member brutal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Parker, CO
    Posts
    1,051
    It depends on the product level as well. I just ordered a new faceplate for the MX-2000 (limited edition, 1987/1988) I picked up off CL that had a chip in the glass. They still had full driver boards, output trannies, side and top panels, etc. available at PartStore.com

    I paid as much for the front assy as the whole amp.

    I also ordered a dust cover for a 25 year old Technics table for $22 when the guys making/selling them on e-bay are getting $80. It pays to check around. The hardest part is sometimes just finding a service manual to get part numbers. On PartStore, the MX-2000 parts are lumped in with the MX-2. The Technics parts are under Panasonic. One of the crappier search engines around...

    Alas, I contacted Yamaha Pro direct and couldn't get any cosmetic parts for a PC2002M.


  14. #14
    Junior Member Robbie4477's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Denmark
    Posts
    10

    Yamaha M-2

    Quote Originally Posted by chris brown View Post
    one thing about the yamaha amps is that you have a lot of different designs. So you might find that you have a preference for a particular design. You have some models such as the b-2 which are famous for its v-fet sound and others such as the m-70 which is known for its x-power design. Models such as the m-2 are one of the few that used toroidal transformers. Models such as the m-80, m-85, mx-1000 are more conventional but powerhouses none the less. Seems like generally the pro amps tend to mimic one or more of the home designs (or vise versa). I’ve seen several pro designs such as the p-2200/p-2201 and the pc2002(m) that look unmistakably similar to the design of my m-2 inside and i’m sure the other pro designs could probably be matched up with the various consumer designs. Excellent amps all around.
    the yamaha m-2 its the same as the p2002m just the consumer version
    i own both

  15. #15
    Senior Member brutal's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Parker, CO
    Posts
    1,051
    Quote Originally Posted by Robbie4477 View Post
    the yamaha m-2 its the same as the p2002m just the consumer version
    i own both
    I disagree.

    I own and have repaired both. The PC2002M is loosely based on the M-2 design.

    The M-2 has 3 pairs of outputs, the PC2002M has four pairs. There are also different driver cards in them, etc. That rumor that spreads with some people claiming they are the same is wrong. There are more differences than similarities.

    The closest Pro=Consumer twins are the PC5002M and 101M. Only the cosmetics, panel, meters, etc are different. Internally they are identical.


Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 7
    Last Post: 02-22-2007, 05:56 PM
  2. L220's
    By F350SD in forum Lansing Product General Information
    Replies: 58
    Last Post: 02-12-2005, 02:20 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •