OF FINE VINTAGE – YAMAHA CA 1010 Integrated

[Fiftyfifty]

Ah, but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.

Out of sheer nostalgia, I developed a desire for the kind of sound I enjoyed when I first started playing around with audio setups. Commercial brands today, but cutting edge at that time - Hamlin Kenwood tube amplifier, TEAC deck, AKAI spool deck, Arphi speakers. In ignorance, I gave them away when I left India to go abroad. I would happily trade my current setup for that deep musicality from 50 years ago.

In an attempt to recreate that magic, began a hunt for a vintage amp. A good knowledgeable friend and on the forum helped me come up with a shortlist of sorts. The challenge was to find a reliable seller and an amp running on 230V. Amps made for Japan and the USA run on 100-110 V, and using a step-down transformer was likely to degrade the sound. What came up was a Yamaha CA 1010 from 1978 in pristine condition. The seller was Audio Antiquary in Italy (audioantiquary.com). The dealer confirmed that the amp had been fully checked out for functionality by their technical staff.

The amp arrived a few days ago. As promised – immaculate condition. As promised – fully functional. As anticipated – divine sound!

It is a very transparent but rich sounding amp, with a host of superb features. These include:

- Class A and B switchable
- VU meters that display wattage, db and REC OUT volume
- Stereo/Mono switchable
- Balance/Tone adjustment
- Superb MM/MC phono stage
It is beautiful looking too, with the wood finish cabinet matching very well with those of my Spendor speakers.

As expected, it lacks the resolution and imaging of modern gear. My Kinki EX-M1 has better resolution, better imaging and is sweet sounding. In comparison, the Yamaha is more dynamic with a ‘big’ sound. Weighty bass, live presentation. The best comparison is perhaps a statement made by my caretaker, “The Kinki sound reaches the ears,’ she said “ but this new amp touches the heart.”

The moral of this story, the moral of this post, is “don’t go mistaking paradise, for that sleek store across the road.” If you get a chance, before your next purchase, do listen to some vintage gear that FMs in your city may have. And if you are ever in Goa, it will be my pleasure to have you come over. As for me, I’ll probably move towards more vintage gear and let go of some of my current components in due course.

Cheers!

PS: Any other CA 1010 users here? Please post your impressions.

 

[Sushant Sharma]

Hi Kishore. Very nicely written. I just saw the 1010 and subsequent 2010 models on the internet. They look beautiful and yes those vu meters are a bonus. Your description of the sound sure peaks my interest in vintage amps. Wish Goa wasn't such a distance away. Congratulations on the amp.

 

[Bloom@83]

Very nicely written.
Coincidentally somebody I know got this exact amp from a Bangalore based reseller and is very happy with it too.

 

[prem]

Congrats fiftyfifty. If one values musicality and dynamics, good vintage amps are hard to beat.

Problem is most of the modern amps sacrifice dynamics and musicality for staging and imaging. Doesn’t make sense to me. Ditto with modern speakers too

 

[arj]

......

As expected, it lacks the resolution and imaging of modern gear. My Kinki EX-M1 has better resolution, better imaging and is sweet sounding. In comparison, the Yamaha is more dynamic with a ‘big’ sound. Weighty bass, live presentation. The best comparison is perhaps a statement made by my caretaker, “The Kinki sound reaches the ears,’ she said “ but this new amp touches the heart.”

----

Lovely !
On a similar note, I recently got hold of an Old Scott 222c from the 60's and am running with my Tannoys. One can complain it has a slightly rolled off treble and not the same Resolution/Separation and clean sound as my Quicksilver amp but the there is a way it draws you to music especially with recordings of 70s and earlier is truly mesmerising !

Its the sentence in Bold which is truly encapsulates the feeling.

 

[Fiftyfifty]

Congrats fiftyfifty. If one values musicality and dynamics, good vintage amps are hard to beat.

Problem is most of the modern amps sacrifice dynamics and musicality for staging and imaging. Doesn’t make sense to me. Ditto with modern speakers too

Thank you Prem for all your valuable inputs leading in to this purchase of mine

Lovely !
On a similar note, I recently got hold of an Old Scott 222c from the 60's and am running with my Tannoys. One can complain it has a slightly rolled off treble and not the same Resolution/Separation and clean sound as my Quicksilver amp but the there is a way it draws you to music especially with recordings of 70s and earlier is truly mesmerising !

Its the sentence in Bold which is truly encapsulates the feeling.

Congratulations on the Scott, @arj. I believe it's a true gem. Tell us more about it.

 

[Dev.R]

Congratulations Fifty Fifty , the Yamaha CA 1010 and Yamaha NS 1000 were the first quality system i purchased from a place called Chavakkad , Kerala way back in 1999. The DTS and DD wave made me sell these beauties and go for 5.1 system, believing that more speakers will sound better

 

[arj]

Congratulations on the Scott, @arj. I believe it's a true gem. Tell us more about it.

My first memory of Hifi was a Scott Amp running a klipschorn in the US in the early 2000's and the image still stuck to me, so when something came up thought ill risk it and what a risk it turned out to be

The amp is from the early 60s and has the usual scratches which come up with 60 years of use .Got it from someone who had restored it to specs and 220v as well and has 11 tubes

The sound is difficult to describe but plays big, has a strong and profound bass which envelopes you and pulls you into the sound especially the older vinyls.
On the other hand has a slight hum which i need to figure out...on modern music you can make out that the treble has slightly less sparkle and in audiophile records a little less resolution

Listening to it, no one would associate the word "Vintage" to it based on how we would perceive that to be...the first kickdrum I heard knocked that perception right out

Thank you Prem for all your valuable inputs leading in to this purchase of mine

Ditto for me too @prem guided me to the seller and the amp !

 

[keith_correa]

Originally (don't know if the practice continued), pre-production Yamaha "Natural Sound" amplifiers were run by a panel of musicians who determined if the amplifier reproduced musical instruments close to accurately. Hence, the term "Natural Sound".

 

[prem]

Hey Fiftyfifty and arj. You guys are most welcome. I hope it gives you guys years of listening pleasure.

 

[coaltrain]

@Fiftyfifty and @arj

Wow, and wow again!
Those are two gorgeous specimens
There’s no denying the sheer joy one experienced while listening to hifi in the 80s. Or, perhaps, we were less critical of our equipment and more open to the music. Every time I see someone post a pic of vintage kit, I get all misty eyed. Old sure is gold!
Now if only I could convince the missus that I, too, am getting better with age

 

[doors666]

In an attempt to recreate that magic, began a hunt for a vintage amp. A good knowledgeable friend and on the forum helped me come up with a shortlist of sorts.

Could you please post the shortlist.

 

[Fiftyfifty]

Could you please post the shortlist.

Mostly the Luxman, Macintosh, Sansui, Sony from the 70's. Perhaps FMs can add details of amps that they have heard and liked.

 

[arj]

Add Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer Exclusive ..all before 80's to the list.

 

[prem]

Yamaha CA 1010
Yamaha CR 620
Luxman L3
Luxman L4
Denon PMA 850 Mk 2
Denon PMA 830
Scott 222C
Scott 299B
Pioneer A 09
Pioneer M22
Sansui AU 7500
Mcintosh MC30

Above are some good vintage amps. Generally as a rule, as far as possible don’t cross 40 watts when buying vintage SS amps. There might be a few exceptions though

 

[RRR]

Generally as a rule, as far as possible don’t cross 40 watts when buying vintage SS amps. There might be a few excepti

Is it because of the higher distortion that you recommend so or other reasons?

 

[prem]

Is it because of the higher distortion that you recommend so or other reasons?

The higher powered SS amps of the 70s sound a bit hard. I don’t know why. I guess design of high powered amps had not yet evolved. If you want high powered stuff stick to SS amps post 90s.

 

[arj]

Might also be as most of the high end domestic speakers of that time were easy to drive and higher sensitivity.
There were of course exceptions.

 

[jenson]

lovely thread, I guess vintage gear is the true end game after trying out all modern gears.. The best system I had heard was from my growing up years at my uncles place, a massive three way speaker with 15 inch woofer and a basic sansui amp, folks from Kerala had good taste for audio back them. Warm punch. Music soundes damn good on it.

Couple of queries - is there any modern amp that emulates vintage flavor?
How are these amp from reliability perspective...

 

[powerslave]

Here is the thing about vintage gear, once you are in love with it , you may even prefer it to say even a dead silent and clean Pass Integrated despite former's occasional hiss/hum. It's how humans are wired, if you are in love with someone you will do so despite all their faults. I have fleeting memories of my first 2 in 1 casette player from Sony which my elder brother got from England in early 90s. To me some of the Mukesh songs I heard on TDK tapes back then are unmatched by even my decent Tube amp and Audio Notes. It's like trying to compare an experience you had of having Old Monk with friends during the college trip to Shimla with a fine Macallan 18 years at JW Mussorie. Latter will never match up to the former.