Yamaha A1 - quality assesment of the pre amp - comments please

[Hifibythekg]

I have the opportunity to purchase a Yamaha A1 integrated amp at a low price and am happy to service it myself.
I intend to use only it’s pre section teamed up with a my recapped Yamaha P2200.

Please could anyone comment on the quality of the A1’s pre amp?
I hear that the phono section is very very good, and I only need a couple of inputs.

Would the audio quality be as good as a Yamaha C4, or the pre in a CA1000, CR-1020 ?

 

[redstarjedi]

I doubt the phono section would be as good as the C4, but it will probably be better than the CA1000 or the CR1020. I have a A1 and the phono section is really good. It's a problem prone amplifier, and id spend some time on the RCA jacks in the phono section they will likely need to be resoldered. Honestly, unless you want a beutiful and great sounding integrated. I'd stick with the C4

 

[Hifibythekg]

Thanks Redstarjedi.
Unfortunately, I don’t yet have a C4. I have a CR1020 and think it’s wonderful but would rather leave it in a second system setup.
Currently using a very upgraded NAD 3020 with the P2200... would like to hear how it sounds with an excellent Yamaha pre..
All suggestions welcome.
Thanks again

 

[Hifibythekg]

Just read that ..there is no real pre-out with this amp. That "pre-out" comes directly from the main amp. That's why there is no separate input for the power amp..
Does anyone know if this is true, or if there might be a workaround?

 

[Beobloke]

The A-1 is a lovely amplifier but I personally wouldn't buy one specifically to use as a preamp. As said above,the preamp output is not a 'proper' buffered output taken from before the power amp section but merely an attenuated version of the main output. It'll work and it'll sound good but it won't perform as well as a dedicated preamplifier.

 

[Hifibythekg]

Thanks Beobloke, this sounds like very good sense.