gonzothegreat
Super Member
Earlier this month I was at a hamfest where I had just sold most of my Pioneer & Sansui receivers to somebody with more time & storage space than I do when my buddy Steve called me over to his stand and asked if I was interested in a huge Yamaha amp. Never having seen a B-2 before it took a moment before I realized what was in front of me. He said the amp would come out of protection but he never finished the sentence. I couldn't remember if the B-2 was a VFET model but judging by the weight I knew this amp could be a major find (especially since I have a C-4 preamp). Even though I was supposed to be getting rid of stuff & not bringing anything new home (upcoming move), my gut said passing on it would haunt me for the rest of my days. A minute later (and seventy dollars poorer) I was the proud owner of a B-2 shlepping it the 100 feet to my car across my shoulders.
I didn't have time to test it until this weekend and it was worth the wait. Before I powered it up, I resoldered some minor cold solder joints around the fuseholders on the relay/PSU board. A quick examination of all other boards revealed no red flags so after a quick prayer to the silicon gods of the magic smoke, I hooked it up to a Phase Linear 2000 preamp, plugged it in and hoped for the best. Slowly bringing up the gain controls on the amp & preamp I was eventually greeted with music sans any sort of noise or distortion (not to mention smoke, sparks or flames). Both channels checked out OK aside from some slight noise on the speaker switches.
First question for $100 - the bias and offset pots are clearly labeled but I'm not sure about where the bias testpoints are. There is a three pin terminal in plain sight but I didn't see any markings on them.
Second question for $200 - what type of bulbs are used on the VU meters? I'm one for four and I suspect the good one is not long for this world.
Third and final question for $400 - the power switch cover/paddle is broken off flush with the faceplate. It still works and isn't in any danger of disintegrating and exposing line voltage. Any replacement suggestions or should I just live with it?
Maybe I never watched VU meters up close but the B-2's meters seem much more twitchy than those on my Kenny 700M & Phase Linear power amp.
I didn't have time to test it until this weekend and it was worth the wait. Before I powered it up, I resoldered some minor cold solder joints around the fuseholders on the relay/PSU board. A quick examination of all other boards revealed no red flags so after a quick prayer to the silicon gods of the magic smoke, I hooked it up to a Phase Linear 2000 preamp, plugged it in and hoped for the best. Slowly bringing up the gain controls on the amp & preamp I was eventually greeted with music sans any sort of noise or distortion (not to mention smoke, sparks or flames). Both channels checked out OK aside from some slight noise on the speaker switches.
First question for $100 - the bias and offset pots are clearly labeled but I'm not sure about where the bias testpoints are. There is a three pin terminal in plain sight but I didn't see any markings on them.
Second question for $200 - what type of bulbs are used on the VU meters? I'm one for four and I suspect the good one is not long for this world.
Third and final question for $400 - the power switch cover/paddle is broken off flush with the faceplate. It still works and isn't in any danger of disintegrating and exposing line voltage. Any replacement suggestions or should I just live with it?
Maybe I never watched VU meters up close but the B-2's meters seem much more twitchy than those on my Kenny 700M & Phase Linear power amp.
Last edited: