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elasticus

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Hi from Australia

I am hoping somebody has the experience to guess the next likely upgrade for my friends sound system. We get together often to compare the best lp pressing we can find and drink beer.
With my very limited technical knowledge and a lot of online help from MBZ I have been able to keep at least one of three Ca-1000's tuned and operating with quality components.

The system is currently... project evolution 10.1/ ortofon 2m black/ ca-1000 recapped/ current model paradigm S8 speakers.
Several years ago I got sick of listening to the horrible amps my friend was purchasing new from hi-fi shops. He would spend thousands on monster surround amps which would ache your ears. The final straw was a Chinese Anthem for about $3000 au....bloody horrible! In desperation I humped over my first ca-800 hooked it up and had my first real yamaha experience on good speakers studio 100 paradigms.
From there we tried separates with m45, m85, mx1000 which were all adequate. The pre-amps c60, ca2a, cx600 and cx1000 were too hard to adjust between songs while half or fully pissed in a dimly lit room.
The ca-1000 has been favorite for the past two years for overall sound and ease of use.
Would adding a dedicated phono amp to the ca-1000 be a likely upgrade?
If so where would I start?
 
Hi from Australia

I am hoping somebody has the experience to guess the next likely upgrade for my friends sound system. We get together often to compare the best lp pressing we can find and drink beer.
With my very limited technical knowledge and a lot of online help from MBZ I have been able to keep at least one of three Ca-1000's tuned and operating with quality components.

The system is currently... project evolution 10.1/ ortofon 2m black/ ca-1000 recapped/ current model paradigm S8 speakers.
Several years ago I got sick of listening to the horrible amps my friend was purchasing new from hi-fi shops. He would spend thousands on monster surround amps which would ache your ears. The final straw was a Chinese Anthem for about $3000 au....bloody horrible! In desperation I humped over my first ca-800 hooked it up and had my first real yamaha experience on good speakers studio 100 paradigms.
From there we tried separates with m45, m85, mx1000 which were all adequate. The pre-amps c60, ca2a, cx600 and cx1000 were too hard to adjust between songs while half or fully pissed in a dimly lit room.
The ca-1000 has been favorite for the past two years for overall sound and ease of use.
Would adding a dedicated phono amp to the ca-1000 be a likely upgrade?
If so where would I start?
Probably first and foremost the best upgrade to try out would be operating and listening to the equipment while in a sober state. :confused:
 
Hmm...I would think a CX-1000/MX-1000 or C-2a/M-85 pair should bury a CA-1000 but I guess I've never heard one after a recap.
 
Despite elasticus's laid back demeanor, he and his friend are no mugs, they know what they like and have spent $$$$ on
separates only to come back to a CA-1000. The question is about a stand alone phono stage, I would think most stand alones
would out perform the CA-1000 however I'm not (yet) into vinyl. Recommendations?
 
Probably first and foremost the best upgrade to try out would be operating and listening to the equipment while in a sober state. :confused:

I would have to agree with you however I would be keen to see any scientific research of the effect of alcohol on hearing. A couple of drinks to usually relaxes my mood and makes me more inclined to play an entire album with skipping. I can also become more tolerant of pop and crackle in records and tend to follow particular instruments at times.
 
My CA1000 acts a phono stage into my valve amp.

Look at the service manual, 40% of the circuit is phono (well a lot of it is) - Yamaha took it seriously. Is it and your cart and everything else genuinely optimised and all options exhausted for getting the most out of it?
 
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My CA1000 acts a phono stage into my valve amp.

Look at the service manual, 40% of the circuit is phono (well a lot of it is) - Yamaha took it seriously. Is it and your cart and everything else genuinely optimised and all options exhausted for getting the most out of it?

Thanks for the reminder I have been meaning to look into getting a test record. I believe the adjustment is very close but how do you test.
 
Look at the service manual, 40% of the circuit is phono (well a lot of it is) - Yamaha took it seriously
Would have to agree, Yamaha have made an effort to get it right, compared to some manufactures with 4 transistor or opamp based. Keep in mind
that some of the part count on the function board is for microphone (4 transistors, caps, R's...).

While surfing I've come across NAD as having a good phono but I'm sceptical from past experiance. Nakamichi CA-5 alsi has a well regarded phono.
Primare R32 phono stage selling locally $700-, is it any good???
 
The CX-1000 is an outstanding preamp. The MX-1k is a refined beast of an amp.
I am sure that the CA-1000 is a very nice piece of equipment, but separates rule the Yamaha line. In this case a CX/MX 1K is an outstanding combo and if $ is not a constraint, I would not spend too much time on that decision.
 
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but separates rule the Yamaha line.
Yeah, that was my understanding/recollection at the time, separates were for the serious guys.
Designers didn't have the same restrictions as with integrated's.

In this case a CX/MX 1K is an outstanding combo and if $ is not a constraint, I would not spend too much time on that decision.
They've tried the CX/MX-1000, I was surprised at their feedback. I always had the nagging thought that their CX/MX needed refurbishment. I'm 2000km away
so sadly I don't get a listen.
 
Yeah, that was my understanding/recollection at the time, separates were for the serious guys.
Designers didn't have the same restrictions as with integrated's.


They've tried the CX/MX-1000, I was surprised at their feedback. I always had the nagging thought that their CX/MX needed refurbishment. I'm 2000km away
so sadly I don't get a listen.
 
Yes, had a mx-1000 that seemed to work fine but it tapped out at ~30w. World of difference after restauration.

But I have different hypothesis:
The CX/MX 1k combo is very unforgiving. Really transparent duo. In other words, when you feed from a good source, you love it.
When crap goes in, crap comes out. It will not smooth out the imperfection from the source.
Many fail to recognize this aspect and rule this awesome duo out as being dry, metalic, no color sound etc...
It is all in what you feed them and of course, the speakers.
 
The CX-1000 is an outstanding preamp. The MX-1k is a refined beast of an amp.
I am sure that the CA-1000 is a very nice piece of equipment, but separates rule the Yamaha line. In this case a CX/MX 1K is an outstanding combo and if $ is not a constraint, I would not spend too much time on that decision.

We gave the CX our best shot mbz delivered us a bag of premium caps which we had installed by a pro. The resulting sound was too cold and sterile compared to the ca-1000. That is not our final opinion on all Mx and Cx amps it's just an opinion on that particular pair with an untold 40yo history. The same goes for all the vintage equipment mentioned. In 40years of service the amps have possibly drifted from their original showroom performance due to fatigue or replacement parts.
There is a notable sound difference between the the three ca-1000's we have in rotation which have been restored by different technicians.
 
The resulting sound was too cold and sterile

it sounds like I read your mind :)
My CX sounds nothing like that. I have a few MXs. None sounds sterile, unless I pair them with a shitty source such as my phone. I do notice a substantial difference between when an MX is restored and when not.

but I concur that other amplifiers are more forgiving and "round on the erges" in terms of sound. I take it C-1000 is one of them.
 
My friend never checked whether the technician installed the new caps or kept them for himself. There was no change in sound after the repair.:idea:
 
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