New 2 channel gear from Yamaha

[Earlsays]

Wow, the audio gods are smiling...it would be nice, as others have stated, if the other manufacturers would follow suit...what would really be great, is if the "current" company known as Sansui would ditch that pitiful new logo, bring back the old logo design, ditch the horrid cheapness and nasty build quality, quit making crappy TVs & such and start producing new AU integrated amps, BU/BA power amps, preamps, etc. etc. But that's probably not gonna happen...I might have to buy one of those at some point...:thmbsp:

 

[Stoffie]

Guess we all wish our favorite brand would go back to the days of old and start making some nice inspiring quality gear again, if only limited production runs, but these days more than ever, it is all about profit and getting as much cheap crap sold as possible, so our hopes may be in vain...

Nice to see Yamaha step up with this really nice combo though !

 

[EricC]

Come on guys get a grip. You bitch about all the new crap at "worst buy" and when someone builds a piece that looks great you complain about the price. You guys can't have great build quality and BPC pricing.

 

[Fedallah]

You guys can't have great build quality and BPC pricing.

I was thinking the same thing. Good design and build quality costs money without regard to time or place. Much of our beloved vintage gear cost a very pretty penny back in the day. A Luxman R-1120 went for close to a grand MSRP in 1978. That's still a lot of money. Adjust for inflation and it comes out to well over $3K today. Three grand is a very nice computer, for example. An R-1120 was a pretty high-end piece of gear in its day, but you get the idea.

Now think about building an entire system based on those prices. You're looking at the price of a good used car.

 

[Yamaha1]

The price is perfectly fine for whats being offered by Yamaha.

 

[madpioneer]

Love them both!:tresbon::thmbsp: Don't have a problem with the prices either.
Problem is that average 'Joe' is not into putting together a nice quality stereo. Nice to see someone has balls to put something out like this in these times of throwaway electronics. Bet it sounds saweet with just the right type speakers!:yes:
Doubt many companies would follow Yamaha's lead as the sales would be dissapointing here in the US I would assume. Too bad:thumbsdn:

 

[JohnVF]

How much has changed?

I'm just curious (this is not a swipe at this piece of gear, as I really want one)...how much better would this be than, say, a twin-powered Harman Kardon? I have an H/K 430 and PM665vxi that seem to be designed in a similar manner as this Yamaha, but I could be very wrong. Is this just "making it like they used to" or has there been a lot of improvement in the technology? I've heard some newer integrateds in this price range that sound fantastic, but they don't "look" like the 70s gear...

cheers,
john

 

[ponderbear]

I can't shake what they are selling for, but there's no doubt in my mind the price is reasonable.

I could liquidate my rack, buy this amp, then start over again. It would almost be worth it, not just to have a nice, new high end amp, but also to give Yamaha the sales they would need to show the industry this sort of thing is worth doing. If that doesn't happen, well, you can forget seeing more brands doing it.

 

[restorer-john]

JohnVF, the PM665vxi isn't a bad integrated, but it isn't balanced. The 660 was a better amp in every respect but until I see the schematic of this new Yamaha, I wouldn't be expecting much in terms of improvement. I would lay money on the overall performance to be no better than your 665vxi. That being said, the yamaha is good value for what we will be a niche product in the scheme of things. If it has a microprocessor in it, it aint a real amp tho':thmbsp:

 

[BalancedXLR]

...

 

[tfarney]

Wasn't there a thread recently wondering aloud what gear built to vintage standards would cost today from a major manufacturer?

Looks like I'll keep hitting the thrift stores.

Gorgeous, though.

Good idea, those thrifts, but there's nothing here that says these new $2k Yamahas are built to 1970s standards, even if they do have a 1970s look.

Tim

 

[JohnVF]

I like vintage for more than it's sound.

Well, I guess even if it does sound better than what I have, it probably won't sound $2000 better. For that price I'd probably go for a modern tube integrated by the likes of Jolida. I'm not one of those people who think everything new is crap...there's a lot that isn't black plastic...I just think vintage has a 'feel'...a history that new equipment can't match, not to mention that it's a huge bargain and each piece has it's own sound (even if that sound is the result of degrading parts!). My HK PM665vxi sounds crystal clear, my Marantz 2275 sounds more "musical", my Stereo 70 sounds "warm"...my 9090db sounds "big"...all these varieties for less than the price of the one new Yamaha. But they did it right and more power to them. I hope a lot of people with more money to throw around buy it and discover how wonderful 'stereo' can sound.

cheers,
john

 

[Snade]

Sorry, I don't get it.

I'm looking at this photo:

The look / design is nothing special to my eye, the front actually looks sparse compared to most vintage integrated amps.

Does look better than a lot of the black gear of the last 20 years, but I don't think it's an especially beautiful retro design.

Just my two cents. Snade

 

[JohnVF]

That big open silver space to the left of the knobs is just screaming for meters. Maybe then it would look right?

 

[junkaudio]

i think it s the best looking integrated amp for a long time from yamaha reminds me a bit of c2a and m4 in one box

 

[roadie1]

Makes me want to dig out my CA2010 and give the old girl another whirl for a while:yes:...............R1

 

[outshined]

The NAD Master Series integrated looks good, too. I like the new Yamaha, too.

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=1NAM3

 

[BalancedXLR]

...

 

[the-real-mandak]

That big open silver space to the left of the knobs is just screaming for meters. Maybe then it would look right?

I was thinking just the same, somthing like this:

 

[wajobu]

Hmm...

Asymmetrically speaking...