Yamaha RX-596 Receiver Review

[Xulonn]

Of course I would, though, as I am a bit nonlinear when it comes to Yamaha hifi products.

And a couple of old Sherwood components in there with their classic - and unusual - ivory and gold color scheme...

 

[mhardy6647]

I really like the Sherwood vacuum tube tuners -- they're (still) inexpensive and they sound good.

 

[Doodski]

And a couple of classic old Sherwood components in there with their classic - and unusual - ivory and gold color scheme...

View attachment 42273

Is that bottom integrated amplifier a vintage Illinois Audio Labs?

 

[mhardy6647]

SherWoulds by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

 

[jsrtheta]

I hesitate to say this (though, hell, everybody here may already know), but Goodwill's online auction site (shopgoodwill.com) often contains some real surprises. I saw a $15,000 Krell super-something on the site, Emotiva stuff pops up fairly often, and various decent power amps (there's a Son of Ampzilla there now if anyone cares) are an almost daily occurrence. Of course, it's mostly "AS IS", so be forewarned.

B&W is a frequent guest. And if you want to now what happens to all that Bose gear, look no further. They must have a separate warehouse for Bose alone, so much of it gets dumped on them. (Wave Radios too? Oh yeah.) Rotel and NAD show up a lot and, of course, Yamahas like the one tested here. Oh, and kudos Amir for avoiding the "CD DIRECT AMP" and opting for "PURE DIRECT".

Pro tip: Always check the shipping costs. For some reason, Goodwills in the Pacific Northwest, who must be hand delivering the stuff, often charge more to ship than the product itself listed for when new. In the rest of the country, though, shipping is reasonable.

 

[Doodski]

SherWoulds by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

Very nice pair. Any idea what the value of those two pieces are? They are artifacts by now I had a pair that looked from memory like these and on the back I think they where labelled as Illinois Audio Laboratory or something like that. I traded them in Vancouver in the mid 1990's for a pair of large aluminum Altec Lansing Horns and 801B compression drivers. Even that blemish on the right side of the integrated amp rings bells in my memory. I would be amazed if they are one and the same. As a side note I find the vintage and better audio gear to not be as available on the used market as it was some time ago. There was a time when people where buying and selling and circulating lots of interesting pieces but now they must be snapped up by collectors or in the garbage.

 

[Tks]

Okay a few things I learned in this thread.

I'm with bossman on this one, but worse, when he says he doesn't know what you get from the square wave measurement. The worst part is even after @pma and @BYRTT explained some of it in detail. I STILL have no idea what any of that means. So, feelsbadman.

Second, @restorer-john is like the lost library of Alexandria, his repository of recorded material on paper is more staggering as time goes on about nice vintage gear.

Third, this thread got some real nice eye candy going on :]

 

[folzag]

Love this thread. Came out of hibernation just to say: moar vintage gear pleez.

 

[pma]

Thank you for testing my unit Amir, and for the extra work in cleaning it up. I have another one and it sounds very good to me. I was hoping that you would test it with CD Direct, which bypasses the input analog multiplexer, and they claim 112DB S/N. The Pure Direct keeps it in the loop.

There is a small issue with AX/RX 396-596 line in CD direct mode. Of course, S/N gets improved, but internal clipping occurs at lower input level, close to 2Vrms input voltage. This is because of the difference in analog path gain and due to volume control pot circuit position.

 

[restorer-john]

There is a small issue with AX/RX 396-596 line in CD direct mode. Of course, S/N gets improved, but internal clipping occurs at lower input level, close to 2Vrms input voltage. This is because of the difference in analog path gain and due to volume control pot circuit position.

The CD direct bypasses the input selector and feeds, via the volume pot direct into the high gain power amp. I am not aware of any issues with overload.

The Pure direct is different, it sits behind a 10dB gain stage but takes the loudness, bass, treble and balance and buffers to a pre-out.

The AX-570 series put more gain up front and it couldn't be bypassed- perhaps that is what you thinking of?

 

[pma]

The CD direct bypasses the input selector and feeds, via the volume pot direct into the high gain power amp. I am not aware of any issues with overload.

The Pure direct is different, it sits behind a 10dB gain stage but takes the loudness, bass, treble and balance and buffers to a pre-out.

The AX-570 series put more gain up front and it couldn't be bypassed- perhaps that is what you thinking of?

Hi John, this is what I meant (see 10dB CD direct path)

I found the issues 17 years ago when I bought this amp. Unable to pass the test with 2V from CD player because of clipping at CD input and CD direct selected.

 

[restorer-john]

Hi John, this is what I meant (see 10dB CD direct path)

That's insane, strapping 10dB up front on a 2V rated input before everything. Bypass the entire stage and it'd be fine.

You'd be better off to use the tuner input, at least it's (close) to unity gain. Yamaha went through a stage of buffering every input in the late 80s/early 90s. Nice for buffered tape outs/ processor loops etc, but in real terms, it stuck some stuff in line we didn't need.

But I had missed that 10dB- always assumed it was 0dB like all the others. I've got an AX-570 here and it certainly doesn't have any issues with >2V as the first gain stage is downstream from the attenuator pot.

 

[pma]

That's insane, strapping 10dB up front on a 2V rated input before everything. Bypass the entire stage and it'd be fine.

Thanks for the advice, John, but I have moved this amp away about 15 years ago. Maybe it still sits in my son's flat?

Frankly, I do not have any commercially produced power amplifier here, at my place. Only my own designs and (diy) production. Time after time I get some poweramp for testing, the last one was Parasound Halo A21.

 

[adc]

Very nice! I have an RX-495 which looks to be in the same family, with fewer frills, that I bought for not much more than that at a pawn shop 10 years ago or so. A little scratched up, but I can't bring myself to part with it; it's so simple and reliable. Very sad, the state of consumer audio gear nowadays.

 

[Berwhale]

Hmmm, time to get my Yamaha DSP-AX775SE out of it's box in the garage. I also have a similar SACD capable Samsung DVD player to the one in @mhardy6647's picture above (Samsung DVD-HD945).

*edit* I remembered that it's the non-'UK Tuned' version, without the SE on the model number. I sourced the unit from Germany as Yamaha equipment was much cheaper there (I think maybe it's where Yamaha landed their kit in Europe?).

Regarding 'UK Tuned', I never understood exactly what Yamaha did to tune their amps to our sensitive British ears, it has a whiff of snake oil to me.

 

[anmpr1]

The motorized input selector however is the Achilles heel of these Yamahas. They must be carefully pulled down and properly cleaned. Contact cleaner is not a long term fix. Trust me.

I have an AX-592 integrated amplifier from this era. The motorized selector is flaky, and must be adjusted by hand. The motorized volume control, however, still works as intended. I think I paid about $500.00 for it when it was new.

 

[anmpr1]

I really worry about damaging this amp. It is not restored so I don't want to stress test it.

A ten dollar amplifier? If it were mine I'd say go ahead and run the test. I suspect it will pass whatever you throw at it. But it's not mine, so I understand.

 

[audio_tony]

This generation of Yamaha produced some good stuff.

The DSP-E800 preamp is another gem, and works well in stereo, with the benefit of DACs and input switching etc.

It's possible to pick them up for around £50 on ebay UK now too.

 

[NTomokawa]

Of course I would, though, as I am a bit nonlinear when it comes to Yamaha hifi products.

Beautiful collection! You ought to be on AudioKarma!

 

[ta240]

Is this old enough that the electrolytic capacitors would be at the end of their lifespan? It would be interesting to have them replaced and then see if the performance improves.