Yamaha CA-610 restore or CA-1010

[axxman]

Hello, I am new hear so please forgive my ignorance. I recently Bought a CA-610 that is in pretty good shape both cosmetically and acoustically. After reading through the forums here, I understand that this is maybe not the best model from that era, to be honest, I bought it mostly based on looks. My question is if I go through with a full restoration will this thing sound good or would I be better off selling it and looking for a CA-1010?

 

[avionic]

CA-2010 or a CA-1010

 

[avionic]

Welcome aboard the AK train.

 

[avionic]

My question is if I go through with a full restoration will this thing sound good

Its a Yamaha.Of course it will sound good.

 

[avionic]

 

[zaskarx]

Good looking amp, seems to be in great shape. That entire series of Yamaha amps sound excellent. I have a CA-810 and it is the best sounding amp that I own. What type of speakers do you have? Are you planning to do the restoration work yourself? A CA-1010/2010 will likely also need restoration and will be a much more complex and/or expensive undertaking.

 

[wormhole]

I have a CA-610 II that I bought new and am happy with it. The only thing I have done to it was clean a scratchy volume control several years ago. It is my secondary system. Used to be primary until got a home theater system.

 

[axxman]

Thanks guys, I am lucky there is what looks to be a pretty good shop in nearby Baltimore that specializes in Vintage audio, I am not good enough at soldering, nor do I have a place to work on it where I live. Cleaning it up is about all I can do. My plan is to use my 1988 polk audio speakers that I have owned since new. I just took them out of the box after 15+ years in storage and hooked them up to an old JVC surround sound amp I had, the speakers are at my house in florida, I just work in MD. This will be my "old school" stereo, I may pick up an old turntable, and get a few vinyl albums. I grew up with tapes and CDs never had a record player. I have a Yamaha AS801 for everyday listening, the CA-610 will only be for special stuff. I just didn't want to go down the wrong path, if I am going to end up in a place where I want to get a 1010 or beyond......

 

[zaskarx]

It'll probably sound great with your Polks as long as they aren't too inefficient and your listening space isn't too large. The 1010 is awesome, but will likely cost many hundreds of dollars to fully refurbish and make reliable. If you are up for spending $500+ for the amp and an equal amount or more for refurbishment, then go for it. Personally I would have a hard time justifying that spend for an amp that wasn't part of my main rig. Good luck!

 

[SuperLead100]

Thanks guys, I am lucky there is what looks to be a pretty good shop in nearby Baltimore that specializes in Vintage audio, I am not good enough at soldering, nor do I have a place to work on it where I live. Cleaning it up is about all I can do. My plan is to use my 1988 polk audio speakers that I have owned since new. I just took them out of the box after 15+ years in storage and hooked them up to an old JVC surround sound amp I had, the speakers are at my house in florida, I just work in MD. This will be my "old school" stereo, I may pick up an old turntable, and get a few vinyl albums. I grew up with tapes and CDs never had a record player. I have a Yamaha AS801 for everyday listening, the CA-610 will only be for special stuff. I just didn't want to go down the wrong path, if I am going to end up in a place where I want to get a 1010 or beyond......

I own a refurbished CA-1010 which is a phenomenal amp. However, I also own an A-S501 which competes very well in terms of sound quality, not so much in power. Since you already own an A-S801, the CA-610 won't really be any better; maybe just aesthetically. I would also consider an A-
S1000, 2000, 1100, or 2100.

 

[axxman]

I own a refurbished CA-1010 which is a phenomenal amp. However, I also own an A-S501 which competes very well in terms of sound quality, not so much in power. Since you already own an A-S801, the CA-610 won't really be any better; maybe just aesthetically. I would also consider an A-
S1000, 2000, 1100, or 2100.

Thank you, that was kind of my point when originally posting, I am also a cyclist, and in cycling there is a saying, or wrather a formula for the "number of bikes you need" being N+1 with N being the current number of bikes you have. I was trying to avoid the same scenario with this hobby. Of course, posting here was probably the last place I would find unbiased advice. So what I have decided to do is restore the CA-610 and keep my eye out for a 1010 or 2010 in GW or other places. The original idea was to have and old system for occasional listening and a new one for every day use. so I guess I will need to have 3 now. plus my computers system which is a sony HAP-S1 with B&W 607s connected to my Mac (which is how all this started).

 

[axxman]

Well I haven't even restored my CA-610 but now this thing just showed up, a friend bought a house and found it in a closet, apparently it was powering in ceiling speakers throughout the house. Cosmetically it is good shape, lights are burnt out, tuning knob is really hard to turn, and every knob needs a De-oxit cleaning, but it sounds quite good, oh well considering the price I cannot complain. I plan on getting the Ca-610 recapped first then I will work on this one.

 

[avionic]

tuning knob is really hard to turn,

Seen that before. The tuning shaft needs to be disassemble.It will have a greenish sticky mess covering the portion of the shaft in contact with the brass bushing. Needs to be thoroughly cleaned off with acetone and a fresh light coating of white lithium grease re-applied.

 

[axxman]

Seen that before. The tuning shaft needs to be disassemble.It will have a greenish sticky mess covering the portion of the shaft in contact with the brass bushing. Needs to be thoroughly cleaned off with acetone and a fresh light coating of white lithium grease re-applied.

Thanks man, I finally got around to opening it up this week, I took all the knobs off and cleaned them and the faceplate up. I was able to spray some deox it in the volume pot, but the rest were pretty inaccessible without extensive disassembly. I am pretty sure this one has never been opened, there was a little transistor with a small heatsink in the center of the board that looked like it had some corrosion around the bottom and the main capacitors had something around them, it may have been leakage, it may have been glue. To make a long story short, I cheated, I took it to a shop in Baltimore that specializes in vintage stereos. I really need this one to be ready when I travel back to florida in september. I just started a new job in VA and I will not have time to do it myself. I still have my CA-610 I can work on over the winter. It will be at least 2 weeks to hear back from the shop and then another week or 2 but I should have a good reliable stereo I can put down in my house in Florida. I am just looking forward to hearing it and comparing with my 2019 yamaha.

 

[avionic]

there was a little transistor with a small heatsink in the center of the board that looked like it had some corrosion around the bottom and the main capacitors had something around them, it may have been leakage, it may have been glue.

Glue.....It caused your oxidation as well.

 

[SuperLead100]

Thanks man, I finally got around to opening it up this week, I took all the knobs off and cleaned them and the faceplate up. I was able to spray some deox it in the volume pot, but the rest were pretty inaccessible without extensive disassembly. I am pretty sure this one has never been opened, there was a little transistor with a small heatsink in the center of the board that looked like it had some corrosion around the bottom and the main capacitors had something around them, it may have been leakage, it may have been glue. To make a long story short, I cheated, I took it to a shop in Baltimore that specializes in vintage stereos. I really need this one to be ready when I travel back to florida in september. I just started a new job in VA and I will not have time to do it myself. I still have my CA-610 I can work on over the winter. It will be at least 2 weeks to hear back from the shop and then another week or 2 but I should have a good reliable stereo I can put down in my house in Florida. I am just looking forward to hearing it and comparing with my 2019 yamaha.

The 620 is a nice receiver. I had one for a couple years or so and then moved into integrated amps (Yamaha of course) instead. Your 801 will share its sonic signature with your vintage Yamaha's. It may not necessarily sound "better", but will sound a bit more authoritative. It is, after all, more powerful than both the 620 and 610. The 1010/2010 are truly impressive and difficult to beat - including a few of Yamaha's newer line of integrated amps. No matter how you go you'll no doubt enjoy your music.

 

[axxman]

Holy F%^&&( was my reaction today when I got my CR-620 back from the shop. it sounds as good as it looks. I have it jerry rigged up with wires all over the place otherwise I would post photos. I dont know how much power this thing has but it is giving all of it. If there was only away to retrofit a remote control to the volume.

update: here are the photos

 

[axxman]

Seen that before. The tuning shaft needs to be disassemble.It will have a greenish sticky mess covering the portion of the shaft in contact with the brass bushing. Needs to be thoroughly cleaned off with acetone and a fresh light coating of white lithium grease re-applied.

You were absolutely correct, now it turns as if it is floating on ball bearings, they replaced the string as well.

 

[Tiver]

Yamaha is very nice gear IMO. The styling of today's integrated amps is very consistent with the style of the CA series.

Enjoy the restored CR620. It's a very nicely styled piece. Even if the future pushes you into higher power requirements, it's has plenty of goodness to hold a place for an office, bedroom, den, garage, shop, cottage system.

 

[superdog]

The cr620 was my gateway to the Yamaha sound that I prefer now.I sold it about 15 years ago and have since bought another.The 1010 is an amp that I REALLY liked but was in and out of the shop too many times.No really qualified repairmen around locally.