JoeRiff Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Anybody have any experience with these? A somewhat local (less than an hour drive) guy is selling a pair of 1984 Corwall I's as well as a Yamaha M-70 power amp and C-70 control amp. The Cornwalls probably need to be re-finished, but no serious damage to the veneer. Although I have no practical use for the Cornwalls (I already have a set of Belles) I'm going to try and buy them anyways. (You guys are right, it can become an addiction) I figured I'll need another amp to drive them, so I may as well pick up the amp/pre as well if they're a good match. I've done an internet search on the M-70 and from what little I've found, it seems to get pretty good reviews. I looked in the forum search and didn't find much. Anyone have any opinions or what a fair price might be for the set? He also has a matching tuner and belt drive turntable which I may/may not want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Quality items that were made by Yamaha in there heydey! I would say circa early 80's. The M-70 puts out around 150-170W per channel of quality power. You can probably get user manual .pdf copies from Yamaha's website. I had the M-80 and C-80 and they were stellar performers and the M-80 ran Class A up until about 25-30W which was perfect for Klipsch speakers. If the price is right go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherwoodhifi Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 I love the combo of M-70 and Cornwall or Khorn and sound just good as my McIntosh MC6200. M-70 put out over 100 watt per channel which I don't need so I sold it last week for $300. I am still using the C-70 pre-amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmjrt Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 One of the nice things about the C-70 preamp is that you can control two amplifiers and can run the amps as monoblocks. I have and used for many years a C-70, T-70 and two M-50s. So if you ever decide that you want to try a speaker that needs lots of watts (most modern ones), this set-up could be added to (another M-70) easily and provide MANY wpc. The only problems that I ever had over the many years that I owned and used that set-up (over 20 years) was a few solder joints breaking down and needing to be reflowed...and I had a problem with some really heavy cables that I used pulling away the rca jacks on the M-50s. If I were still going to use it today, I would probably look at recapping. I probably should pull these out and sell them but I've got a sentimental attachment and they did sound good. BTW, the T-70 is a very nice tuner and I never had a single issue with it over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnyholiday Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 http://www2.yamaha.co.jp/manual/pdf/av/english/SepA/M-70.pdf .......nice amp $200 to $300 bones....... people like the M-80, an the MX's.....http://www2.yamaha.co.jp/manual/pdf/av/english/SepA/MX-600.pdf....... run under the radar in price an want, for some reason, runs cool, sounds nice, an of course has those bar meters,johny rotates a MX in with some Cornwalls once an awhile ,no problems ,the M-70' little common flaw is the power-on-button has a light in it that goes out in it's elderly age from time to time.........the MX-1000 is a beast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeRiff Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 Thanks for the input guys. From the info I found on-line, it certainly looked like a quality amp, probably much better than the Sony I'm running right now. From what I've found, it runs Class A up to 25 watts continuous and then auto switches to Class AB. I couldn't find a S/N ratio, I found one guy claiming .003% THD. It looks like they go anywhere from $170 - $300 used, which sounds like a pretty good deal. I counldn't find anything on the Yamaha site, but it looks like somebody just did. Thanks! The seller also has a matching T-70 tuner and belt-drive turntable that he bought as a set. I'm driving out there tomorrow afternoon to check out the whole set-up, it looks like he's about 45 min away. I might end up with Cornwalls and an entire system (which I don't really need), but this tax refund money won't burn itself. Plus it's all somewhat local, and you can't beat that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltie dave Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Joe, if you have the scratch, I'd plan on buying everything. Usually an owner that buys a TOTL system from back in the day treats it well, fixes ANYTHING that goes down, and has it still smoking today. This Yammie setup is highly sought after, and was built to a very high standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnyholiday Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 The guts of a MX-600 sorta the same build as a M-70 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeRiff Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 The seller hasn't given an asking price yet. What to you guys think a fair offer would be? I was thinking maybe $350 for the amp/pre amp and maybe $450 for all four pieces? I don't really listen to the radio much and I already have an OK turntable, but I don't see any reason to break up the matched set. I don't want to overpay, but I don't want the guy to think I'm trying to shaft him either. He also says he is selling a Nakamichi ZX-7 cassette deck (a VERY nice unit), DBX subharmonic synthesizer, ADC equalizer, Kenwood timer (not sure what that is), Techniques space dimension amplifier (echo, reverb, etc.), and a custom cabinet that he designed and a furnature maker built out of Oak ply wood on casters with smoked glass windows, hand carved wooden handles, CD and tape drawers as well as a full bottom shelf for albums. He said whatever doesn't sell locally will end up on Ebay. I don't think I have an interest for any of these, but if anyone here is interested in any of the above, just let me know. I'll take my digital camera with me and give you the low-down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeRiff Posted March 20, 2007 Author Share Posted March 20, 2007 I ended up purchasing the pre amp, power amp, and tuner for a little less than I was expecting. I got everything hooked up last night and the set-up absolutely SMOKES. Very clean and very strong. I gave it the juice it to see what it could do, and the Belles were at ear bleeding volume running at about 60 watts. The amp still had pleanty more to give, but I didn't want to push anything and I figured that was enough hearing damage for a while. Of course, it also sounds great at low to moderate volumes. It runs Class A power up to 25 watts continuous, 124 db s/n ratio, and .002% THD. Even if you don't know a lot about engineering like me, you can tell it was very well built and weighs 30 lbs. It also gives off very little heat. If anyone you know is looking for a hell of a vintage solid state set-up for a great price, the Yamaha M series should be seriously considered. The owner is also going to be putting his Nakamichi ZX-7 on ebay. I demo'd it, and I've never heard a cassette play so cleanly. If you're seroiusly interested in tape decks, it would be a good buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 I run my system with 1 m-80 and 1 M-85 and a carver m-80 all at around 250-260 wpc. Very sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipsched with Yamahas Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 Very pleased w/my vintage 80's Yamaha gear.......nice clean sound and BTW, 1984 would be CW II's I believe. I've possessed my Yamaha gear since day of purchase (circa early 1980's), and just now the preamp phono stage is acting up, which has been recently serviced; however, still have an audible AC hum for about 30 minutes, then goes away. Shop claims some oxidation buildup and some soldered connections needed repair. The power amp IMO is a powerhouse for any Heritage line, and has yet to be serviced. Congrats and enjoy the madness of natural sound. Yes, the specifications on those units are (were) state-of-the-art for that era. Glad to have another Yamaha/Klipsch owner representing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltie dave Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Told ya, Joe! Some of the gear was the bomb back in the day, and can still bring it steppin today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeRiff Posted March 21, 2007 Author Share Posted March 21, 2007 Very pleased w/my vintage 80's Yamaha gear.......nice clean sound and BTW, 1984 would be CW II's I believe. Nope, they were I's, and I didn't win them. [:'(] They ended while I was at work and my esnipe wasn't high enough. A guy from Texas who happened to be in the area ended up getting them. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=010&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=200086481473&rd=1&rd=1 Still glad I got the Yamaha set-up though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipsched with Yamahas Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Bummer about those CW's, and many people don't like the natural sound of Yamaha, including me initially, but the level of detail is so sharp and clean and they were hooked up to a set of Heresy's in the store, so that is what sold me! FYI, replacement parts (I hear) are becoming more difficult IF NOT impossible to locate, especially w/the power amp C series of that era. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baranyi1 Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 I am looking to purchase a yamaha c-70 preamp. If anyone knows of one please email me at rda5555@hotmail.com Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted June 27, 2009 Share Posted June 27, 2009 Still glad I got the Yamaha set-up though. Congrats on your new kit! Yamaha made great stuff back in the day and still make great stuff today. The guy who sold me one of my Yamaha power amps (Ki Choi, another forum member and a nice guy to meet) was happier with them than with the Krell amps he'd been using before. He sold the Yamaha amps to get a tube setup, but thought they were great SS units and I do too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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