Merrylander

Yamaha A-1 Alive Again, Thanks to Rob...

Not too long ago due to shear stupidity and an acute lack of a third hand I fried a somewhat ugly-duckling of a Yamaha A-1 amp (complete...uh...incomplete with a lack of a flip down door).

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=68464

Some around these parts know that I have an affinity for these little amps and it sat as a boat anchor in the corner until I got up the gumption and cash to ask Rob if he would be willing to assess and fix the damage. He did most graciously and quoted me a VERY reasonable price for the repairs (parts and labor).

It is now fixed and back here in New England and it sounds great! It is indeed almost frightening how badly I fried this little amp (judging from the parts list!), but Rob brought it back to life and it was singing (Country and then Classical) this evening with the Yamaha T-1 Tuner that I currently have for sale in the Member Swap threads.

So, many many thanks Rob for resurrecting the A-1! :thmbsp:
 
Rob has been extremely helpful to me with my new (to me) Yamaha CR-2040. Not only did he email the pages of the service manual that describe and illustrate the procedure to make DC offset adjustments, he quickly answered my follow-up questions, which permitted me to successfully make the adjustments. I couldn’t have done this without his help. Not only is the receiver in better shape now, but also I’ve learned and accomplished things that were totally unknown to me not too long ago (and would still be so, if not for Rob and AudioKarma). Rob epitomizes the spirit of sharing that makes AudioKarma such a great place.
 
When a good friend of mine asked for assistance in setting up a 2-ch system for his bedroom, I told him I knew of just the receiver, around which to build this setup. Rob's Scott R-327 is now happily ensconced in its new home, singing away, with the help of a pair of Goodman Ministers. My friend, and, it goes without saying, I, are mightily impressed by this elegant and unassuming little reciever. It performs well above what one might presume, at first appearance.

It arrived, with usual promptitude and dispatch, in Rob's standard bombproof packing, all this for a pittance.

My friend is very happy with his new Scott. As for me, I was supremely confident of the quality of Rob's work, so much so, that I was met with skepticism, until the Scott arrived. There was a large plate of crow consumed that afternoon, with accompanying dinner music.

Thanks, Rob, I enjoyed that day. My friend sends his compliments on your work, and so do I.
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Yamaha 2020 Sings again

I bought a 2020 off ebay a couple months ago and was afraid to even plug it in since the seller was so vague on the internal condition. The wood was in pretty good shape but the knobs and glass were dirty and the volume knob looked like someone took an awl to it. Well Rob replaced a board, tuned it up, cleaned it up, did the service bulletin upgrades and put that knob on the drill press and gave it a spin. Now the face is pretty again and it is playing beautifull music once again. Thanks for the great work. He always has some great equipment in various stages of repair which is also my downfall. I saw the insides of a Maratz 2385 and now I want one :yes:
 
It's that Merrylander guy again...

...and his wizardry continues.

I just picked up seven units of mine that Rob has been working on, and the man has performed his usual magic on everything from my tiny Fisher 200T to my Marantz 2385. Everything sounds great and looks great. For a taste, see the photos I've posted in the Pioneer forum.

What a guy!

Thanks Rob!
 
alwayslooking said:
Since it's supposed to have that 2 martini sound I poured 2 martinis into it- how does it sound?:thmbsp:


If there is a knock on your door and a car in your front lawn with Mass tags I don't think I'd answer it. :D
 
alwayslooking said:
Since it's supposed to have that 2 martini sound I poured 2 martinis into it- how does it sound?:thmbsp:

It weighs as much as 1,000 martinis. :D
 
I followed on pbda's heels to pick up my Yamaha CR 620 and CR 1020. Rob even managed to fix a problem in the CR 1020 that I forgot to tell him about. He found a short and now both channels are the same volume.

The 620 is singing again in the guest room.

Thanks, Rob.

Ken
 
Once again, Rob has succeeded in feeding my audio addiction. A beautiful H/K 505 amp arrived on my front porch today........and, as usual, Rob packed it to withstand either an earthquake or a nuclear bomb, or perhaps both! I haven't plugged it in yet because I'm waiting for it to acheive room temperature, but I have no doubt that it will sing beautifully.
Thanks again, Rob. I may have to put you on my ignore list, though, because the stuff you put on the FS forum is just too enticing for a weak willed SOB like myself. :D
 
Rob does an awesome custom finish on a Yamaha CR 2040

I want to publicly thank Rob (Merrylander) for the unbelievably nice job on the CR 2040 I just received from him. Yeah...and it was packed so it could take a direct nuclear hit from either FedEX or UPS..maybe both.

What's more special, Rob actually matched the color on the pecan finish of the Yamaha to the Australian Cypress at my cabin. As you can see, the results are simply stunning....and I'll soon have 120 RMS to enjoy there.

Note, this will be the bigger brother to a Merrylander overhauled Yamaha CR 2020, also a phenomenal machine.

Haven't fired the 2040 up yet as it has been cold here and during shipping, but hope to hear it sing soon after it warms up to temperature here in the house.


Again, thanks Rob....
Best,
Randy
 

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Yamaha CA-2010 Picked up

I had dropped off my Yamaha CA-2010 that I found at a yard sale a while ago. Rob let me know it was ready yesterday. I was off so I headed on up to pick it up. Like usual, it is always enjoyable to see Rob and what is in the shop. Receivers, amps, speakers- it's a wonderland of audio.

The amp gave him lots off trouble but he finally tracked the problem down and figured a way to replace some diodes that are not made anymore. I walked out of there with it as well as a Sony front loading TT . I thought my 2020 had gone on the fritz but he hooked it up on the bench and it turned out my wife had tried to use it (always blame the wife) and had pressed the AM button. Oh, and I got my Pioneer 117d back that he tuned up as well.

Plugged the 2010 in and it is one sweet amp. I will have to figure a way to hook it up so I can have the A-90, 2020, and 2010 powering different speakers. Well, I do have 3 TT's now and 10 speakers in the basement....

Thanks Rob, it's always a pleasure.
 
Welcome, and I made a discovery on the CA-2010. In the box of NOS Yamaha parts I picked up last month there was a big IC with only the part number to go by. Well when I had to remove the meter amplifier board to get at the parts that needed changing, there was this big IC staring me in the face. So now if I ever get a CA-2010 with non-working power meters I will probably have the cure.
 
No Purchase, Just Teaching...

I have always greatly admired good teachers, and I have enjoyed my opportunities to teach (mostly back in college).

A while back, Rob was kind enough to share some low-tech instructions on how to do an informal FM Tuner alignment without all of the fancy equipment (using primarily the capabilities present within a given tuner). Initially, the instructions were for Yamaha CR-220 & 420 receivers (the usual issue was the FM Stereo not functioning properly), but I took a guess that the instructions might also apply somewhat to Yamaha Tuners of the same era (CT-series).

For a couple of years, I have had (what I thought was) a somewhat banged-up spare-parts Yamaha CT-810 Tuner--it's missing a Ferrite Rod AM antenna. From the moment I obtained it, it couldn't tune and hold an FM Station, let alone achieve Stereo output. I did my best to find parallels in the receiver tuner settings (comparing Service Manuals). I applied DeoxIT to the Variable Resistors and started the low-tech adjustments, watching the meters and LEDs...and so...

Volia!!--solid FM station tuning and...drum roll.........................S-T-E-R-E-O O-U-T-P-U-T!!!

Now, I can't verify all of the settings with an O-scope or signal generator, etc., but it sure sounds much better. Another Yamaha rescued from the "heap"...now to look for a replacement ferrite.

As always, thanks Rob, an excellent teacher, an asset to AK and more of what I love about AudioKarma.org.
 
No I have not purchased or have I had any work done by Rob. The reason for writing this is that I purchased a Yamaha CR-1020 a few days ago. Knowing that Rob is well know for is love of Yamaha I contacted him to see if he could help me with a copy of the manual for the CR-1020. All I can see that beside him been an asset to Audio karma he is also a classy individual. Hope to one day be able to own one of his masterpiece.
Many thanks Rob.
Ross
 
Today I received a CR-820, from Rob, for a friend. Another fine piece, lovingly restored, and packed to withstand its travels without a scratch.

Thanks, Rob, yet again, for the fine work that you do, and for supporting AK with these benefit auctions.
 
I finally capitulated to the Yamaha bug and asked Rob for a CR-1020. He was kind enough to earmark one for me and called when it was restored and ready to go.

Its a work of art. Thanks Rob!
 
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