I've been busily consuming and using information on this forum as I have been acquiring/restoring gear over the last year. I have always liked the combination of sound/build quality and features in Yamaha products. My strong affinity turned into a fetish after buying an M-70 power amp on craigslist for $225. It sounded amazing, but when I got inside it to vacuum with a soft detail brush, there was an old spill that had corroded some parts. That initial despair has turned into a rapidly growing hobby of fixing stuff I thought only dad could, and it gives he and I something really special to share in his golden years
. Over a year later, I bought the matching C-70 from that same flaky guy on craigslist for $30, knowing it didn't work and excited for the challenge of replacing all of those caps. I need to give huge thanks to Avionic, sonovar, and the real mandak for providing much needed context and background on my C-70 repair, and other Yammy goods. Your informative posts spurred me to join this community. One day, I hope to be able to pay that forward some.
No other brand of gear gives me "the tingles" when I see the familiar font silkscreened on the black aluminum faceplate. Last week, I didn't even think about grabbing a neglected MX-600u at Goodwill for $29! Three cold solder joints on the protect relay, and I've got FOUR power meters for my mains.
Pics are on my phone, and will follow at some point today.
Primary system, used for music
P-520/Shure M97xe
CD-X1
C-70 or A-1000 for phono pre (currently finishing/testing repair of C-70. So many cold solder joints and caps)
RX-V775 (processor for digital/surround and powers rear/center, or pass direct analog to crossover network feeding amps. Also zone 2 is so useful for bath, patio, kitchen etc. Records in the back yard!)
M-70 (50-100Hz)
MX-600U (100Hz >)
NHT SA-2 sub amp (< 50Hz mono)
NHT X1 analog crossover splitting HPout from the NHT SA-2 sub amp, feeds the M-70/MX-600
NHT 2.5i mains, 1.5 surround, SC-1 center, SW2
Secondary system, used for moveis/TV and music when in our bedroom, AKA "The Lady Cave:"
RX-V871
Rotel RB-985 Mk II (Yamaha never made multi channel power amps I can afford!)
Crown CTs 600 with USP/PIP3 input card (DSP with up to 32 filter/PEQ per channel)
NHT 2.5i mains, SB1 surround, AC1 center
2 Dayton audio classic 15" subs in 10 ft^3 sealed boxes under the bed, fed by the Crown, tuned with REW and a MiniDSP Umik-1
Stacked in the "guest room," in limbo:
RX-V2090 (my first "real" phono stage, to be bettered by the A-1000, then finally the C-70)
A-1000 (current backup phono stage when the C-70 is being soldered upon)
DVD-S1500 SACD Player that I hook up to my computer system (Rotel/NHT/polk 4.1)
YDD-60 drum kit. Because it was too much fun for $40 to pass up! The niece and nephews love it.