A good friend of mine got a Yamaha CR-1020 receiver at a local sale. It is in great cosmetic shape. I'm going to test it.
It was bought along with a more powerful CR-2040 which unfortunately was recapped, and the two 22mF filter capacitors were replaced with larger parts that couldn't be secured with the existing strain relief. The well thought out metal bracket was bent aside, cardboard was lightly stuffed, prayers were likely quietly uttered for good luck.
At some point the weight of unsecured upgraded capacitors cracked the power supply board near on of the standoffs.
I will fix that at some point.
Fortunately the CR-1020 is unmolested. I cleaned it, fixed a couple issues, adjusted the bias. Here are the performance results, and tests of a few of the features.
This Yamaha Receiver was released in 1977. The serial number is missing, so I am not clear on the exact date of manufacture, but likely 1977-1979. When introduced, it was Yamaha's second most powerful and feature-laden receiver.
It has inputs for two turntables (MM only), two tape decks each with tape loop, auxiliary, plus the built-in AM/FM tuner. It has three-band tone controls plus Yamaha's variable loudness.
Additional features include low- and high-cut filters, and two headphone jacks. It is wide (21.25", 540mm) and heavy (40 pounds, 19 kilos). The next unit above this in Yamaha's 1977 lineup was the CR-2020, which had 100 Watts per channel with similar features.
Preamp out / Main in allows testing of each component independently, and make this unit particularly future-proof.
You could add DSP or integrate subs.
Lots of switchable speaker connections, and electrical outlets for additional equipment.
With so much stuffed into one chassis, there must be compromises.
Also, is the urban legend true that Yamaha electronics have a lean and bright sound? Alternately, should we go break the bank on vintage electronics and receivers?
I will try to answer some of these questions.
First, let's look at the preamp:
Here is the THD and Noise with 2.5V input signal, and the volume control gain adjusted to just under 2V output. Note that I needed to adjust L/R balance, more on that in a bit.
This is respectable performance, neck and neck with my Apt Holman preamp, or a Parasound JC2 (which I don't have).
Sweeping the input voltage gives the following noise and distortion vs. output:
Good performance across a fairly usable range. Spec claims 0.02% THD at 1kHz, with maximum output of 5 V, which it does.
As noted, the volume control has a Left / Right offset. The top graph is Left and Right vs. overall gain. The bottom is L-R for three different runs, one while increasing the volume, another while decreasing the volume, and a third with the -20dB mute switch depressed (offset by 20dB for the overlay).
Up vs. down was to see if there is some asymmetry in the wiper, there is not. The -20dB offset is just to see if it is exactly 20dB (it is), and if it has an effect on the balance (it does not). My experience with receivers is volume controls are often mismatched L and R even when new, no idea if this is age or tolerance. I measured the resistance, it is L/R mismatched, and no amount of cleaning addressed the issue. The mismatch is 2dB at unity gain, fairly high volume, but certainly in a region where the unit likely will get used and the imbalance will be potentially audible. This is probably one of the biggest issues with the unit, possibly has been there since day 1.
The tone controls are vast. Here are the bass and treble contours for each detent:
Not as useful as PEQ, but fun! And they match the frequencies that Yamaha published in their literature.
Yamaha has a great variable loudness feature on many of their older integrated amps and receivers. The control has 11 detents, Flat to 10. Rotating the knob reduces the volume in approximately 1dB increments, each reduction increased the depth of the Fletcher-Munson Compensation curve. Below is the measured performance of the control at the bottom, with the family of equal loudness curves above:
I aligned the frequency scales, but the Y-axes are not scaled. Yamaha's circuit isn't exact match to the loudness compensation, but is really useful. It's a great way to reduce volume up to ~10dB, retaining the similar perceived tonal balance.
Regarding the long repeated urban legend of Yamaha having a lean sound, here is the frequency response of the preamp, including the performance of the high and low filters:
This receiver is -1dB at 10 Hz and 70 kHz, and +- 0.2dB from 20Hz to 20kHz. Not lean or bright. Nor are the contemporary gear from other manufactures attenuated in a way that might make a flat-measuring Yamaha sound bright in comparison. It's fairly contemporary performance. The High and Low cut filters are exactly 12dB/oct at the corner frequencies Yamaha specs in their literature.
I measured the phono preamplifier. It has two selectable inputs, both use the same Moving Magnet preamp.
Here is the performance with a 5mV input signal:
36dB gain, and it meets Yamahas spec for THD and SNR. It's quite good performance.
If I sweep the input voltage, it clips at 250mV:
Frequency response to the RIAA EQ curve is near perfect, 0.5dB bass boost that definitely isn't lean, if it is audible.
This is a good phono stage.
After cleaning and and repair of the Pre-out/Main-In switch, the unit operates flawlessly, buttery smooth. The controls are a joy to operate. The FM tuner pulls in my usual stations. The meters provide useful info. It all looks cool and brings back good memories.
The power amp is specified by Yamaha at 70 Watts per channel, 0.05% THD. I did have to adjust the bias on both channels, which had both drifted low by an equivalent amount. After warm up, both snapped to spec with a slight turn, and stabilized with no fuss. Neither has drifted in the few weeks I have had this.
I tested the amp using the Main in RCA jack.
At 5 Watts, it performs great, with noise and distortion as good as many contemporary amps.
Here is the left channel swept into 8 and 4 Ohm loads:
This exceeds spec into both 4 and 8 Ohms! Driving both channels reduces peak power by about 5 Watts, it still has margin to Yamaha's published numbers. It got hot during power testing, but not unduly so. The frequency response of the amp is flat to from 5Hz to 10kHz, down 0.5dB at 20kHz.
What a great piece of vintage gear. I'm a fan of Yamaha, and stem to stern this doesn't disappoint. Aside from great looks, it has really good performance, with the possible exception of the volume control. And no hint of lean, clinical sound.
All in one very wide and heavy package. I seldom see one of these big beasts tested, I hope you find this interesting.
It was bought along with a more powerful CR-2040 which unfortunately was recapped, and the two 22mF filter capacitors were replaced with larger parts that couldn't be secured with the existing strain relief. The well thought out metal bracket was bent aside, cardboard was lightly stuffed, prayers were likely quietly uttered for good luck.
At some point the weight of unsecured upgraded capacitors cracked the power supply board near on of the standoffs.I will fix that at some point.
Fortunately the CR-1020 is unmolested. I cleaned it, fixed a couple issues, adjusted the bias. Here are the performance results, and tests of a few of the features.
This Yamaha Receiver was released in 1977. The serial number is missing, so I am not clear on the exact date of manufacture, but likely 1977-1979. When introduced, it was Yamaha's second most powerful and feature-laden receiver.
It has inputs for two turntables (MM only), two tape decks each with tape loop, auxiliary, plus the built-in AM/FM tuner. It has three-band tone controls plus Yamaha's variable loudness.
Additional features include low- and high-cut filters, and two headphone jacks. It is wide (21.25", 540mm) and heavy (40 pounds, 19 kilos). The next unit above this in Yamaha's 1977 lineup was the CR-2020, which had 100 Watts per channel with similar features.Preamp out / Main in allows testing of each component independently, and make this unit particularly future-proof.
You could add DSP or integrate subs. Lots of switchable speaker connections, and electrical outlets for additional equipment.With so much stuffed into one chassis, there must be compromises.
Also, is the urban legend true that Yamaha electronics have a lean and bright sound? Alternately, should we go break the bank on vintage electronics and receivers?
I will try to answer some of these questions.
First, let's look at the preamp:
Here is the THD and Noise with 2.5V input signal, and the volume control gain adjusted to just under 2V output. Note that I needed to adjust L/R balance, more on that in a bit.
This is respectable performance, neck and neck with my Apt Holman preamp, or a Parasound JC2 (which I don't have).
Sweeping the input voltage gives the following noise and distortion vs. output:
Good performance across a fairly usable range. Spec claims 0.02% THD at 1kHz, with maximum output of 5 V, which it does.
As noted, the volume control has a Left / Right offset. The top graph is Left and Right vs. overall gain. The bottom is L-R for three different runs, one while increasing the volume, another while decreasing the volume, and a third with the -20dB mute switch depressed (offset by 20dB for the overlay).
Up vs. down was to see if there is some asymmetry in the wiper, there is not. The -20dB offset is just to see if it is exactly 20dB (it is), and if it has an effect on the balance (it does not). My experience with receivers is volume controls are often mismatched L and R even when new, no idea if this is age or tolerance. I measured the resistance, it is L/R mismatched, and no amount of cleaning addressed the issue. The mismatch is 2dB at unity gain, fairly high volume, but certainly in a region where the unit likely will get used and the imbalance will be potentially audible. This is probably one of the biggest issues with the unit, possibly has been there since day 1.
The tone controls are vast. Here are the bass and treble contours for each detent:
Not as useful as PEQ, but fun! And they match the frequencies that Yamaha published in their literature.
Yamaha has a great variable loudness feature on many of their older integrated amps and receivers. The control has 11 detents, Flat to 10. Rotating the knob reduces the volume in approximately 1dB increments, each reduction increased the depth of the Fletcher-Munson Compensation curve. Below is the measured performance of the control at the bottom, with the family of equal loudness curves above:
I aligned the frequency scales, but the Y-axes are not scaled. Yamaha's circuit isn't exact match to the loudness compensation, but is really useful. It's a great way to reduce volume up to ~10dB, retaining the similar perceived tonal balance.
Regarding the long repeated urban legend of Yamaha having a lean sound, here is the frequency response of the preamp, including the performance of the high and low filters:
This receiver is -1dB at 10 Hz and 70 kHz, and +- 0.2dB from 20Hz to 20kHz. Not lean or bright. Nor are the contemporary gear from other manufactures attenuated in a way that might make a flat-measuring Yamaha sound bright in comparison. It's fairly contemporary performance. The High and Low cut filters are exactly 12dB/oct at the corner frequencies Yamaha specs in their literature.
I measured the phono preamplifier. It has two selectable inputs, both use the same Moving Magnet preamp.
Here is the performance with a 5mV input signal:
36dB gain, and it meets Yamahas spec for THD and SNR. It's quite good performance.
If I sweep the input voltage, it clips at 250mV:
Frequency response to the RIAA EQ curve is near perfect, 0.5dB bass boost that definitely isn't lean, if it is audible.
This is a good phono stage.
After cleaning and and repair of the Pre-out/Main-In switch, the unit operates flawlessly, buttery smooth. The controls are a joy to operate. The FM tuner pulls in my usual stations. The meters provide useful info. It all looks cool and brings back good memories.
The power amp is specified by Yamaha at 70 Watts per channel, 0.05% THD. I did have to adjust the bias on both channels, which had both drifted low by an equivalent amount. After warm up, both snapped to spec with a slight turn, and stabilized with no fuss. Neither has drifted in the few weeks I have had this.
I tested the amp using the Main in RCA jack.
At 5 Watts, it performs great, with noise and distortion as good as many contemporary amps.
Here is the left channel swept into 8 and 4 Ohm loads:
This exceeds spec into both 4 and 8 Ohms!
Driving both channels reduces peak power by about 5 Watts, it still has margin to Yamaha's published numbers. It got hot during power testing, but not unduly so. The frequency response of the amp is flat to from 5Hz to 10kHz, down 0.5dB at 20kHz.What a great piece of vintage gear. I'm a fan of Yamaha, and stem to stern this doesn't disappoint. Aside from great looks, it has really good performance, with the possible exception of the volume control. And no hint of lean, clinical sound.
All in one very wide and heavy package. I seldom see one of these big beasts tested, I hope you find this interesting.
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