Several of the mid 70s Yammie amps and receivers had a rather unusual - although probably not unique - variable loudness compensation feature that I found very useful. Great sounding pieces.
The one I have behaves over much of its range, but clearly malfunctions at its maximum position (maximum loudness compensation, that is).
The only other detectable problem with the receiver is a significant left-right imbalance at low volume settings. Evidently the two halves of the worn old volume pot aren't tracking too well near the zero-volume end of the dial.
Some day I might dig into the amp to see if I can fix those two minor issues. For now, I'm simply enjoying it as a bedroom stereo system for those occasional lazy Sunday mornings.
-Gnobuddy
Which amp out of curiosity? In a former life and century, I was in the retail business and while there were some special models by other folks, Yamaha was probably my favorite overall brand . Being able to live with a range of products on long term home demo, or buying on promotional contest special pricing made for a very fun decade. I remember one of the posters for employees to track their progress on Yamaha "Up Your Points" contest - wet T-shirt and all - ended up with a CA1000 amp and NS670 speakers on that one.
RX-360. I had mixed reactions to see it in a thrift store with such a low price tag. Sad to see such a nice bit of technology so under-appreciated by society at large.
Yamaha still makes a lot of good stuff that's music-related in some way. For instance, IMO they make some of the best and most consistent acoustic guitars at the affordable end of the price spectrum. Same story with electronic keyboards.
-Gnobuddy
Yamaha was established in 1887 as a piano and reed organ manufacturer by Torakusu Yamaha as Nippon Gakki Company, Limited (日本楽器製造株式会社 Nippon Gakki Seizō Kabushiki Kaisha?) (literally Japan Musical Instrument Manufacturing Corporation) in Hamamatsu, Shizuika prefecture, and was incorporated on October 12, 1897. The company's origins as a musical instrument manufacturer are still reflected today in the group's logo—a trio of interlocking tuning forks.
Not too many other offshore based companies toying around with audio gear as part of their megalithic enterprises have that heritage. Of all the pieces of Yammy residential audio gear I had the opportunity to hear during those long lost decades, the only ??? WTF, was that crazy large ear shaped styrofoam speaker system.
While designs incorporating this driver ( NS20 and NS30) were apparently the origin of the "Natural Sound" title, there were anything but to my ears - not yet damaged - but then, neither refined by 10,000 hrs, etc. 😉
Now, the NS670 / 690 and 1000 were a different story - made the Marantz Imperial models of the same era sound very "juke-boxy".
Not too many other offshore based companies toying around with audio gear as part of their megalithic enterprises have that heritage. Of all the pieces of Yammy residential audio gear I had the opportunity to hear during those long lost decades, the only ??? WTF, was that crazy large ear shaped styrofoam speaker system.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
While designs incorporating this driver ( NS20 and NS30) were apparently the origin of the "Natural Sound" title, there were anything but to my ears - not yet damaged - but then, neither refined by 10,000 hrs, etc. 😉
Now, the NS670 / 690 and 1000 were a different story - made the Marantz Imperial models of the same era sound very "juke-boxy".
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