Yamaha Separates vs. Integrated vs. Receivers

Sasquatch2

Active Member
What makes the Yamaha preamps better than their big integrated and receiver counterparts. I have a CR-1020, 2020 and a 1040. Would a C2 or a C-4 added make that much of an improvement in the sound on the either the 1020 or the 2020? Can't configure the 1040 that way. Convenience switching etc. is not on the table............just the sound.
 
Having a vintage receiver (Yamaha in this case) is like having a puppy dog; every woman that sees it wants to pet it.:D

Well.......That at least has been my experience, which adds, should I say, to the excitement; I mean the vintage excitement.:D

Separates would be like......One more of those mens toys....:D ...But that is only from the aesthetics point of view.
 
The pre stage in the big Yamaha integrated amps and receivers is very good to begin with. I'm not sure that I'd bother with a separate pre-amp unless it has features you needed that weren't available already. If you want to take the separates route then I would go completely that way try some different power amps as well. Could you make some slight improvement on the replacing just the inboard pre? Possibly, but if you want to try that I'd go whole hog on it (and have done so).
 
The amp section is just as important as the preamp section. The separates amps light years ahead of the receivers amps. They are faster and sharper sounding with none of the base shyness that plagues CR receivers, large and small.
 
Huh? Sorry Sam, I disagree: the amp and preamp sections of the CA series are often found in the CR series (same circuitry in one box). Also, many of the features and components of Yamaha's separates are found in the CAs and CRs. The separates and upper end CAs have some higher quality components (like volume controls), but the rest of the controls and circuits are quite similar or identical. Example: the CR-1000 and CA-1000 internally are essentially identical, the exception being the missing Class A of the CA-1000...the tuner section is somewhere between the CT-800 and CT-7000 within the CR-1000.

The exceptions, of course, are the upper end products like the A-1, B-1, B-2, C-1, C-2, C-2a and especially the C-2x.
 
Huh? Sorry Sam, I disagree: the amp and preamp sections of the CA series are often found in the CR series (same circuitry in one box). Also, many of the features and components of Yamaha's separates are found in the CAs and CRs. The separates and upper end CAs have some higher quality components (like volume controls), but the rest of the controls and circuits are quite similar or identical. Example: the CR-1000 and CA-1000 internally are essentially identical, the exception being the missing Class A of the CA-1000...the tuner section is somewhere between the CT-800 and CT-7000 within the CR-1000.

The exceptions, of course, are the upper end products like the A-1, B-1, B-2, C-1, C-2, C-2a and especially the C-2x.

Disagreement respectfully noted! I have owned multiple CA, CR, and R models including the CA-1000, CA-1010 (x2), CA-2010 (x2), CR-3020, CR-1020, CR-1040, R-2000 (x2) and too many smaller models to list. All except for one CA-2010 and a CR-3020 are sold. OTOH, Yamaha separates and speakers are at the top of my list. I run NS-1000M's with PC2002M amps in my main system. Not all separates are to my liking. The M and MX series amps run too hot for my comfort.
 
I was a young Yamaha service tech when the CA/CR gear arrived in North America; before that it was all separates we serviced and not very often at that I might add. We received all the brochures and SM's first. I was very excited the first time I open up a CR something-or-other high powered! I have to admit that in the end I didn't like them much at the time because they had such a commercial cosmetic to them, with all the shiny brushed aluminum as compared to the black separates I new and love to this day :D ... but these days I realize Yamaha did one fine job integrating their quality engineering into CA/CR gear. :thmbsp:
 
... but these days I realize Yamaha did one fine job integrating their quality engineering into CA/CR gear. :thmbsp:

Nearly all of my CA/CR/R pieces ran hot which is unacceptable considering they don't sound that good in my comparos against other receivers. Other makers made receivers that sounded good AND ran cool, so it can be done.
 
The M and MX series amps run too hot for my comfort.

I've got a MX-1 that has never seemed like it was running hot at all, even after some extended listening sessions at higher volumes. I've been a little surprised at how cool it does run, actually.

John
 
In order to douse some of the flames:), the only M Series amplifier that ran hot was a M-50 that I got rid of....all the other M and MX Series I use run rather cool considering some speaker loads dip quite a bit under 4 ohms.
 
My MX-600 runs pretty cool, then again it doesn't see too many extended loud volume sessions anymore. Sure is a sweet little amp, though. Run it with a NAD 1155 pre...
 
The only piece of Yamaha gear I've owned that runs hot is the C-4 pre-amp and that's just the nature of the beast I guess. My CA-1010 sure doesn't, not even all that bad in Class A.
 
Ooph, I should have excluded the excellent M-2 and the M-4. The later M-70, M-80, and M-85 are IMO fire starters.

They might be fire starters (at least in my house), but it isn't because they run hot.
 
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Afraid I cannot because I have had no occasion to audition many of the separates. My only listening experience over some twenty years was with the A-1 integrated and it was excellent. As to CAs and CRs running hot they must not have been properly adjusted because none of mine run hot.
 
I've always loved yamaha gear...just picked up a tx-1000 last night....am looking into an A-1020 but don't know much about it so this thread will be of great interest to me.
 
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