Yamaha M4/C4 question

[arcamguy1]

Hi group,
I've always had a soft spot for Yamaha; at my local vintage dealer the other day I spotted two M4 amps and a C4 preamp;

I'm thinking about getting these; here's my question: what should I know about these vintage pieces? I did some research, know their age...; your thoughts on these pieces of gear. They're 30+ years old. Still, I've always loved Yamaha from when I was a kid; the clean sound still appeals to me.

I also am wondering if they can be bi-amped; the C4 has two pre-outs; the manual shows it connecting to two power amps.

Your insight, most appreciated.
Thanks,
Jeff

 

[mech986]

Sounds like the foundation for a great system, and the amps should be able to be monoblocked.

 

[try1256]

Hi group,
I've always had a soft spot for Yamaha; at my local vintage dealer the other day I spotted two M4 amps and a C4 preamp;

I'm thinking about getting these; here's my question: what should I know about these vintage pieces? I did some research, know their age...; your thoughts on these pieces of gear. They're 30+ years old. Still, I've always loved Yamaha from when I was a kid; the clean sound still appeals to me.

I also am wondering if they can be bi-amped; the C4 has two pre-outs; the manual shows it connecting to two power amps.

Your insight, most appreciated.
Thanks,
Jeff

Bi-amping requires an electronic crossover that is between the pre-amp and amplifiers. Crossovers of that type are usually pro audio level pieces but I'm sure there are some hi-fi x-overs available. The 2 pre outs on the C-4 don't help with you with that. You also need speakers that have separate inputs for the hi freq and low freq drivers. Any speaker can be wired for that, just take out the passive x-over and wire the speakers to a connector. All that being said, a bi-amped or tri-amped system is a bit more complex to set up correctly. Care must be taken not to drive the high frequency's to hard so as not to damage the drivers. I'm not even sure it's worth the trouble unless you listen at very high volume levels. Hope this helps.

 

[arcamguy1]

Group,
Thanks for your input;
Try....I have B&W 805N speakers which I currently bi-amp with my older Arcam amplifiers, so I have the speakers taken care of;
Mech....in terms of using these as two monoblocks: one amp would power one channel, the other amp, the other channel; I bi-amp currently because I notice real improvement in audio quality. Would I notice the same thing by monoblocking?

Again, thanks for your help. Anybody else feel free to jump in.
Jeff