Gary D Olson
Skilled Tightwad
I'd always considered myself a Marantz guy. Why? Because I drooled more heavily at their stuff when I was a kid in the 70's. I didn't own any Marantz gear until the past few years. I do like it, but it's mostly nostalgia. Looking back, I should have taken the "Yamaha Guy" moniker.
My first new dirt bike came Christmas 1974 (I was 13). It was a 1975 Yamaha MX125. I loved that bike.
In late 1985, after recording my second record as a professional musician, I bought my third and final drum kit - Yamaha's top-of-the-line Custom Recording Series with a true piano-finish (red). It destroyed any kit unfortunate enough to share a stage. Soundmen adored it and I loved playing it. I've since purchased other various Yamaha products as a musician, but never as an audiophile.
Then something happened a few years ago that got me turned on to vintage audio.
I stumbled across a CL ad for an early 80's Yamaha preamp with matching power amp and tuner. I don't recall the price but the seller was about 19 and wanted to meet at Starbuck's. I told him nobody will buy it without hearing it first. We met at his parent's house an hour later. Turns out his late uncle left it to him. He was in iPod guy and couldn't have cared less about the heavy gear. I had to connect the components myself because he didn't know how. Long story less long, I paid $190 for all three pieces because the tuner wouldn't power on and the left channel of the pre/poweramp didn't work. Btw, we're talking about the M70, C70, and T70.
I got home & pulled the top the tuner off. Four fuse holders inside were missing the fuses. His uncle must have taken them out and forgot to replace them. $1.50 later, the tuner was working beautifully. An oz of Deoxit later and the pre and power amps were working like new. This entire story happened in less than 2 hours, and my fire was lit!
I bought a new pair of Bowers & Wilkins 685 S2 speakers about a year ago. They're terrific speakers and I love them. A few days ago on a whim, I brought them to my office and placed them on my desk for near field listening. The next day, I brought the Yamaha M70 & C70 to the office and connected it to the speakers. It sounded great. About 3PM I decided to turn up the volume. Of all records to have this moment... It was Duran Duran's Rio playing (I don't recall the track). I'd just gotten back to business when I was startled by loud noises coming from another room. Then I realized it was coming from the stereo. This REALLY scared me because I'd heard this record 1000 times and these noises weren't part of the recorded music. But they were. I was floored. I'd "noticed" other things through superior audio gear before, but never anything like this. The sounds were loud and as clear as day, and it wasn't long before the musicality of these parts began seeping into me. I still can't believe this was the first time I'm hearing this.
An audiophile recently told me components older than 10 years don't have the resolution to justify a DAC costing more than $100. I guess he's never heard vintage Yamaha.
My first new dirt bike came Christmas 1974 (I was 13). It was a 1975 Yamaha MX125. I loved that bike.
In late 1985, after recording my second record as a professional musician, I bought my third and final drum kit - Yamaha's top-of-the-line Custom Recording Series with a true piano-finish (red). It destroyed any kit unfortunate enough to share a stage. Soundmen adored it and I loved playing it. I've since purchased other various Yamaha products as a musician, but never as an audiophile.
Then something happened a few years ago that got me turned on to vintage audio.
I stumbled across a CL ad for an early 80's Yamaha preamp with matching power amp and tuner. I don't recall the price but the seller was about 19 and wanted to meet at Starbuck's. I told him nobody will buy it without hearing it first. We met at his parent's house an hour later. Turns out his late uncle left it to him. He was in iPod guy and couldn't have cared less about the heavy gear. I had to connect the components myself because he didn't know how. Long story less long, I paid $190 for all three pieces because the tuner wouldn't power on and the left channel of the pre/poweramp didn't work. Btw, we're talking about the M70, C70, and T70.
I got home & pulled the top the tuner off. Four fuse holders inside were missing the fuses. His uncle must have taken them out and forgot to replace them. $1.50 later, the tuner was working beautifully. An oz of Deoxit later and the pre and power amps were working like new. This entire story happened in less than 2 hours, and my fire was lit!
I bought a new pair of Bowers & Wilkins 685 S2 speakers about a year ago. They're terrific speakers and I love them. A few days ago on a whim, I brought them to my office and placed them on my desk for near field listening. The next day, I brought the Yamaha M70 & C70 to the office and connected it to the speakers. It sounded great. About 3PM I decided to turn up the volume. Of all records to have this moment... It was Duran Duran's Rio playing (I don't recall the track). I'd just gotten back to business when I was startled by loud noises coming from another room. Then I realized it was coming from the stereo. This REALLY scared me because I'd heard this record 1000 times and these noises weren't part of the recorded music. But they were. I was floored. I'd "noticed" other things through superior audio gear before, but never anything like this. The sounds were loud and as clear as day, and it wasn't long before the musicality of these parts began seeping into me. I still can't believe this was the first time I'm hearing this.
An audiophile recently told me components older than 10 years don't have the resolution to justify a DAC costing more than $100. I guess he's never heard vintage Yamaha.
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