What does Mr Nelson Pass think of Yamaha power amps...

I still have not had one of the Yamaha VFET amps to play with,

If we were neighbors I would gladly loan you one of mine for a listen ... but then I would worry that you might enjoy it so much you wouldn't want to give it back. ;) :)

but I do have the
re-do of the VFET transistors 2SK77 that Digital Do-Main had made, and I consider
them best of breed.

If you're saying that, they must be tweaked to V-FET perfection.

And ZM will probably agree as he now has a pair....

ZM is very lucky indeed to be the recipient of your generosity!
 
Official Court Jester
Joined 2003
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If we were neighbors I would gladly loan you one of mine for a listen ... but then I would worry that you might enjoy it so much you wouldn't want to give it back. ;) :)



.....

you're forgetting that Pa is thinking as guy who is making amps, not as guy who's having one and using one

and frankly , value of these overcomplicated amps from Yore is more in their exclusivity than in sound

pull 15% of parts from these , make new amp using just these parts ( and un poco passives on top of that ) , you'll be blown how's that sounding
 
I wonder how much different those curves are then the original ones..
I have several samples of the original Yamaha K77 and I'd love the opportunity to compare them with even one K77B on my curve tracer but given their rarity and cost, I'm not holding my breath waiting for one to fall into my lap anytime soon ... unless of course Mr. Pass is feeling generous today.
:wave: :D
 
not as guy who's having one and using one


In the end isn't that the purpose for having one? ;)


and frankly , value of these overcomplicated amps from Yore is more in their exclusivity than in sound


If you say so ... :)


pull 15% of parts from these , make new amp using just these parts ( and un poco passives on top of that ) , you'll be blown how's that sounding


Maybe some day I will try that but in the mean time I'll continue to enjoy my overly complicated and exclusively wonderful sounding Yore amp.
 
Official Court Jester
Joined 2003
Paid Member
I'm not trying , in any possible meaning ,to spoil amount of your enjoyment

as long you're happy , amp is fulfilling its purpose ...... be it most cheapest or most expensive one..... and that's solely your business , not anyone else's

edit: I'm spending probably equal time of music listening on system worth few dozens of E , and on system worth few dozens of KE ....... joy all day :)
 
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I'm spending probably equal time of music listening on system worth few dozens of E , and on system worth few dozens of KE ....... joy all day :)

I would be interested in knowing what your system of a few dozen of E is... :D
Over time I compared quite some amps with a 'nah' reaction... some differences yes, but worth the extra investments...? Ok, the building was fun...
When I got frustrated soundwise, I decided to take the 'final' plunge on the diy Sony Vfet, was an investment but could luckily safe some on the re-use of parts. Boy, am I happy... it 'blows' my hat off every day and it is whiping the floor with anything I ever heard before... :D Probably I made some bad choices before.
(now it is waiting for a good volume control ;) )
 
I'm not trying , in any possible meaning ,to spoil amount of your enjoyment

as long you're happy , amp is fulfilling its purpose ...... be it most cheapest or most expensive one..... and that's solely your business , not anyone else's

and you haven't. Nor am I trying to spoil the fun of building and enjoying an as simple as possible approach amp especially if it includes a SIT or 2 at the O/P. ;)

I can also appreciate the satisfaction in building such an amp and then sharing the excitement and enjoyment with others. :)

edit: I'm spending probably equal time of music listening on system worth few dozens of E , and on system worth few dozens of KE ....... joy all day

The best of both worlds is always a very nice option.
 
When I bought my first audiophile piece of equipment a couple of generations ago, a Yamaha Class A amp, it blew away anything else I'd previously heard.

Today, all of the Pass designed amps I've heard, and those I own, blow away the very nice Yamaha amps of yesteryear that I experienced.

In the end, it's just like Nelson says. It's not dialysis, it's simply entertainment. :)
 
They are well made but lack anything that resembles soul.
I am commenting regarding their bass guitars but I am sure their 6 string guitars are probably the same.

I am on my 4th Yammie motorcycle; the FJR1300. A roomy, comfortable rocket ship that can chew up twistie mountain roads and pass a Corvette on a drag strip.

My bass guitar is a Yammie. Intonation is excellent. Action is excellent. I am not proficient enough to sense any soul from a bass guitar.

None of my stereo/audio equipment is Yamaha. If I was involved in Pro Sound, I would probably have some that is Yammie.
 
+1 on Yammie motorcycles.

I've found the overall quality and performance of Yamaha products to be outstanding. Including our upright piano that has beautiful tone and, dare I say, "soul." However, my daughter's playing is probably most responsible for the "soul" part.

That said, I admit that I'm not familiar with Yamaha electronics since the 1970s.

:D
 
I am on my 4th Yammie motorcycle; the FJR1300. A roomy, comfortable rocket ship that can chew up twistie mountain roads and pass a Corvette on a drag strip.

My bass guitar is a Yammie. Intonation is excellent. Action is excellent. I am not proficient enough to sense any soul from a bass guitar.

None of my stereo/audio equipment is Yamaha. If I was involved in Pro Sound, I would probably have some that is Yammie.



The FJR1300 is truly a classic.
The yamaha bass' build quality is very good like I indicated earlier, which certainly does give good intonation etc. You can't fault it for build quality.
 
I just got a decent Yamaha B2 VFET amp from Ebay. It is perfectly functional (even the meters), but the cosmetics are a bit rough.
The sound has the smoothest treble I've heard from solid state. The bass is not nearly as impactful as my Adcom GFA5800. Compared the the Adcom, the midrange is leaner but it and the lower treble are more spotlit ,for lack of a better term. I wonder whether this is due to the 20 odd bipolar transistors the signal passes through from the input JFET pair to the output VFETs.

I am curious whether a BA-3 or F5 input section could be adapted to drive the Yamaha VFET output section. Has anyone attempted this previously, or would this be considered sacrilege?
 
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The one and only
Joined 2001
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Yes, you have to wonder whether the engineers were paid by the part. ;)

However the VFETs are complementary followers, so resembling the circuit
of the DIY SONY VFET amp of 2016 could serve.

I think the fact that your amp is working makes it smarter to leave it alone
for the time being.....