YAMAHA B-3 on the way...to me!

[gibber]

Yes, i had to do that of course, but the fact you did not need to move the metal with exact same caps used makes me even more convinced i have a little different version of that amp. In your amps you say you could even fit in that screw, albeit shortened. Means you perhaps have in excess of 5mm more space than i had in mine...

Interesting picture, the bottles you took out are partly matt, partly shiny surface on their insulation wrapper; were they all Nich 18mF/63V ?
Apart from the relays and the input arrangement, we did throw out the exact same it appears.
Leaves the question what you put in, on my end it's a deliberate mix of 'lytics ROE EKM, ELNA CerF, Nich FG, Nich Muse, Nich ZL, Pana FC and the orig Sanyo Oscon. Plus the Wima FKP/MKP.

 

[rottalpha]

the fact you did not need to move the metal with exact same caps used makes me even more convinced i have a little different version of that amp

ALL B-2s are exactly the same when it comes to the mechanics and the bulk cap cage / space. yours is no different and the KG caps would fit just fine if you use shorter screws and rewire the AC feed to the right side transformer. The EU version you have has different transformer primaries and that voltage selector but that is where the differences end.
Moving that rear plate in any direction would have required that Yamaha made different PSU boards among other things, or stretch the plastic hinges, etc.

Nich 18mF/63V

yes, all of them, but some would look different than others, depending on the serial number of the amps, which in my case vary from some of the first ones sold all the way to the last few sold....and Yamaha sold in excess of 10k B2s over a period of a few years.

 

[rottalpha]

Leaves the question what you put in, on my end it's a deliberate mix of 'lytics ROE EKM, ELNA CerF, Nich FG, Nich Muse, Nich ZL, Pana FC and the orig Sanyo Oscon. Plus the Wima FKP/MKP.

I think that is a topic for a different thread. We are already poo-pooing on the B-3 thread here and Cosmin might eventually protest, so it would probably de a good idea to move the B-2 discussion to a B-2 thread.

 

[Vint Age]

BTW, for the KGs I never had to shift any metal covers.

Nor have I.

 

[Vint Age]

i have a little different version of that amp.

Between Rott and I we must have at least 20 or more that we've recon'ed and so far they've all been the same mechanically. I'm thinking yours is no different ... unless you want it to be.

 

[gibber]

I'm not going to open it for shooting pics of the metalwork or the TO126 solder joints, the thing purrs nicely as it is. Guess B2/B3 go further than where middle of the road power amps can be stretched with more €€ on passive components and hours of time spent. As this thread hints at, the B3 saves even more grooming effort than the B2 does, for perhaps same sonic result.

Sometimes it's funny how complications added to top-of the line offerings kill their main objective by doing "too much". And this not only @yamaha -- the input section of a 700m is perfect parallel to the B2 in this respect. Nuff said, great thread.

 

[rottalpha]

I'm thinking yours is no different ... unless you want it to be.

it seems that way

 

[Cosmin2000]

I think that is a topic for a different thread. We are already poo-pooing on the B-3 thread here and Cosmin might eventually protest, so it would probably de a good idea to move the B-2 discussion to a B-2 thread.

Greetings to all! I am always delighted to read your comparative impressions regarding the YAMAHA V-FET power amps.

As I told you in my previous posts, I was piloting my first B-3 with the laptop at first which has caused a few issues, and a Luxman L-5 with full recap. The B-3 and L-5 made a good match soundwise, better, in fact, than the same Luxman L-5 and Accuphase P-260 (MOSFET power amp from 1979) on the same NS-1000M speakers.

To go into further into this audio journey, I sold my beloved YAMAHA NS-10M speakers to purchase two vintage preamps which I believe are very good (of course, this "very good" is always relative, as one could always find superior products, but more expensive).

I spotted, on the local Chinese market, a Accuphase C-222 preamplifier launched in 1983, and a Luxman CL-30 tube preamplifier, whose production started in 1974.

All said and done, I wanted to buy one of these preamplifiers to pair with my YAMAHA B-3s in BTL mode. I have started to talk to the seller, proposing the NS-10M in this exchange (to reduce the price of the unit), and he advanced a very tempting offer for both units. Of course, I have bought both preamps in no time. Waited for almost one week, and finally I have them already on my table.

Some words about these preamps now.

Accuphase C-222
https://audio-heritage.jp/ACCUPHASE/amp/c-222.html

This preamp was the succesor of the Accuphase C-220 preamp, a unit dedicated entirely and exclusively to vinil audition. The C-222, however, is a unit which has also regular line inputs for CD-player, and Tuner.
It does not have tone control, only "Compensator" function, which is similar to Loudness.
Inside, top notch layout from Accuphase. A well designed power supply with three outputs, filtred by 18000 microF/10V (yes, no mistake here!), 3300 microF/50V, and 6800 microF/35V Elna for audio electrolytic capacitors. This is a true DC preamp having no capacitor in the signal path.
The output transistors are made by NEC company, while on the input it has the 2SK146 dual FET. The volume and balance potentiometers are made by Matsushita. It is a very "robotized" preamp with no more than 17 relays.

Luxman CL-30

https://audio-heritage.jp/LUXMAN/amp/cl30.html

This is 100V, tube preamp, first launched on 1974 by Lux Corporation. Is by far more complex in terms on knobs and settings, having almost all possible settings a preamp could have.
There are no potentiometers on Luxman CL-30, only old-school ball contacts for the tone control knobs. The volume is constructed in the same manner and is made by Alps, with +-0.5 dB/step error. The tubes inside are Matsushita 12AX-7 (six pieces), and 12AU7(one piece). The face of the preamp is slightly tilted, while the overal appearance is more sophisticated comparing to Accuphase C-222.

 

[rottalpha]

very nice Cosmin!
Post your listening impressions.

 

[Wally1955]

Thanks for your thoughts and well since 2 days hooked up the Victor JM-S7 for a soundcheck to compare with the B-3 i heared couple of days so just few hours ago switched back to B-3 +DR5 combo
Seems the JM-S7 isnt matching so well with the Classe DR5 as the B-3 so my ears give the preference to this well matching Setup
The JM-S7 matches far better with other preamps know it from earlier listing sessions surely always use same source and speakers
Cheers

View attachment 1884581
Nipper don't agree with the DR5
View attachment 1884580
gorgeous match with C-2 or even better in my ears with DR5 in fronthave todo double-check after C-2 had service
View attachment 1884586

Update
the Victor JM-s7 matching excellent with
Sony TAE-8450 best results sofar hooked on JBL 4311B
the JM-s7 is running very very hot well soundwise its really really good now but im abit worried about the heat
Cheers and stay safe

 

[Vint Age]

the JM-s7 is running very very hot well soundwise its really really good now but im abit worried about the heat

My JM-S7 runs a little hotter than my B-2 but only a little hotter; IIRC it's biased slightly higher than the B-2 so that would make sense.

The Victor sounds very very nice but to my ears the B-2 sounds just a little nicer. Of course YMMV.

 

[Vint Age]

 

[Cosmin2000]

YAMAHA C-1 and Victor JM-S7. You can't go wrong with this combination. I must admit, I admire your pursuit exclusively for V-FET amplification. Wally, I see that you also have the Trio L-07M mono amps. How do these compare to the B-3s in BTL mode? Are they better?

 

[Vint Age]

YAMAHA C-1 and Victor JM-S7. You can't go wrong with this combination. I must admit, I admire your pursuit exclusively for V-FET amplification.

Thank you. To my ears there's nothing quite like V-FET's when it comes to amplification. I've tried lots of other preamp/amp combinations over the years but I always keep coming back to my C-1, B-1 or B-2 and more recently, the JM-S7.

 

[rottalpha]

Thank you. To my ears there's nothing quite like V-FET's when it comes to amplification. I've tried lots of other preamp/amp combinations over the years but I always keep coming back to my C-1, B-1 or B-2 and more recently, the JM-S7.

even astute audiophiles succumb to the pleasure of the vfet magic, agnostic of other high-end gear they have access to. I had the opportunity to witness that in a few occasions.

 

[rottalpha]

Update
the Victor JM-s7 matching excellent with
Sony TAE-8450 best results sofar hooked on JBL 4311B
the JM-s7 is running very very hot well soundwise its really really good now but im abit worried about the heat
Cheers and stay safe

View attachment 2252448

Wally, I love your gear but you are slowly cooking it. Meister Heinz will be busy for years to come...if there will be anything left to fix. Heat is the enemy of most electronic components. It is not the vfets that will succumb to heat. It is the vfets that put out the heat, that will kill ancillary components, that will in turn kill the vfets....
If you are displaying your beautiful gear stacked for illustrative reasons only, but are allowing for proper ventilation when operating them, then please disregard my comments.

 

[Wally1955]

Wally, I love your gear but you are slowly cooking it. Meister Heinz will be busy for years to come...if there will be anything left to fix. Heat is the enemy of most electronic components. It is not the vfets that will succumb to heat. It is the vfets that put out the heat, that will kill ancillary components, that will in turn kill the vfets....
If you are displaying your beautiful gear stacked for illustrative reasons only, but are allowing for proper ventilation when operating them, then please disregard my comments.

Rott thanks for your kindly posting and right have to avoid long-term overhead for the amazing Vintage Audiomachines that's why i change from time to time the setup and always take care and prepare some xtra ventilation
All the years none of my gear never had any overhead problem hope it will continue as just the tropical nights starts here in Germany
Cheers and stay safe happy weekend
by the way couldn't resist to grab new heater system its a Sony TA-N902 and will arrive Monday next week

 

[Wally1955]

YAMAHA C-1 and Victor JM-S7. You can't go wrong with this combination. I must admit, I admire your pursuit exclusively for V-FET amplification. Wally, I see that you also have the Trio L-07M mono amps. How do these compare to the B-3s in BTL mode? Are they better?

Cosmin thanks for asking
truly can say the Trio L-07mk2 Combo paired with the matching C-7mk2 is a mighty fine setup which i actually dont want compare cause im not a good writer or good in describing Soundexpiriences all can say it's good to have one set of this fast, powerful and excellent Trio combo in the house
Cheers and stay safe
Happy weekend

 

[Vint Age]

even astute audiophiles succumb to the pleasure of the vfet magic, agnostic of other high-end gear they have access to. I had the opportunity to witness that in a few occasions.

Yes indeed!

 

[Vfetish]

Hello All,

First off - I'm very happy for this forum and the contributors to this thread. I've been eyeing up some B-3 amplifiers for the past year and researching them tirelessly for quite a while. It would seem that a bulk of my knowledge comes from this forum and there are so many knowledgeable folks! I recently acquired one of what I assume would be few B-3s in North America - in Canada of all places. Well, it took me about 3 hours to be completely hooked with the sound - fast, warm, lively, punchy... basically think of an adjective to describe audio nirvana and that's it. I was using some decent Rogue tube equipment and this just blew it out of the water. My brother who is a Simaudio aficionado was also converted immediately.

So naturally, I had to buy another one (which is now on route) for BTL mode to pair with my NS1000M. I have a few questions for the group if anyone would be so kind to answer them:

1. I understand that these amps would technically lose half their dampening factor in BTL mode, but gain additional power. It would also seem that there are a lot of people who have success pairing them with NS1000/2000/FX-3 speakers etc. Should I be concerned about this trade-off? I know the woofer in the NS1000 has a minimum rating of around 4-5ohms.

2. Does anyone have any good contact for service of these units within Canada or North America?

3. Is there a cure for the v-fetish ? My brother would tell you it's contagious!

Thanks all and happy listening