A Little 2-Channel Change...
 

...with a Goodwill score!

Out with the new, in with the old...

My 2-channel system was primarily new tech, comprised of:

1. Parasound P5 pre-amp
2. Two (2) Emotiva UPA-1 amplifiers
3. Belkin Pro-Theater power center/surge protector
4. Yulong Sabre D18 digital to analog converter
5. SimAudio Moon MiND 180 streamer
6. Streamer app on an iPad
7. Vienna Acoustic Mozart speakers
8. Arcam T61 tuner

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On Friday the 13th, my new lucky day , I wandered into the local Goodwill just to have a look. It's been over a year since I was last in and didn't really have anything in mind but I was there just on a whim.

I immediately spotted a silver faced receiver in the back and when I got closer I saw that it was a Yamaha CR-1020 receiver! It was in good condition based on its appearances but, as we all know, the real story is told when you first plug it in. The case, face and back panel were all in excellent shape so I decided it was worth losing $35 to take it home and go from there. Besides, I have a soft spot (in my head) for old Yamaha gear.

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I did a little testing during the past week and all I ended up with that was even marginal was the loudness control and the audio muting controls were scratchy plus the left SP Out meter bulb is not working. Cleaned the controls but left the bulb alone as 1) I will do an LED upgrade to it later, and, 2) I was impatient to get it working.

I boxed up the other system components I wasn't going to use preparing to send them along to new owners and put the Yamaha into service.

Luckily I have a pair or two of extra speaker cables laying around (just in case, mind you) and with a change from spades to those tiny little banana plugs that fit into the spring clips on the back of this era unit, I was almost good to go.

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There's no provision for a 75 ohm coaxial antenna connection on the back of the Yamaha but I did have a dipole so that went into service vs. the powered antenna I was using earlier. I may swap out the dipole for the powered antenna if I can find an adapter for a 75 ohm coax to 200 ohm spade connector. The dipole is extremely sensitive to movement in the room based on its orientation and proved to be a bit less than optimum. Too bad Radio Shack closed up here recently.

I reused the DAC and the streamer, along with a Panamax power center and surge protector I had held in reserve. I also left the Mozart speakers in place.

Anyway, enough rambling...but there was one other thing to deal with...the Yamaha was TOO BIG for my rack! Oh well, extra toy chests come in handy for all kinds of things.

Here's the temporary setup which will eventually change with a better stand/storage solution (short 2 level bookshelf maybe?) and maybe the powered antenna.

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All that goodness for only $35. As the car auction guys on TV would say - "Well bought". I like the retro looks.

Wow, beautiful receiver Michael, what a steal! That's quite a system change, how's the sound?

Thanks, guys.

Tony...it is quite the change in sound and appearance. The sound is warm and clear. Less detail than what I experience with the downstairs system but very very nice. I'm still tweaking on the loudness, high end, mids and bass settings & filters but given what it is, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

My Yamaha "soft spot" started with this stack:

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I learned how to do rudimentary repairs by digging into that stack with some basic tools, a meter, a soldering iron and a stack of service manuals a few years ago. Some of that stack went on to new owners and some of it I use to this day.

This was quite the change and it gave me an opportunity to work on another Yamaha unit and save it from eventual recycling.

Michael,
Wow, what a sweet deal! That Yamaha is a beautiful receiver. I'm a long time fan of Yamaha and never pass up the opportunity to stare at their shiny face. I had a similar model many years ago and still regret parting with it. Looking forward to your progress reports. :thumbsup:

Michael...Congrats on the nice find! :thumbsup:
Yamaha made some very respectable and good sounding gear. I can understand your attraction.
Their CT-7000 tuner from 1975 is still considered to be one of the best performing/musical every made.

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Terry...Seriously, I just lucked out but when I saw the 1020 sitting on the shelf I was pretty sure it was coming home with me unless it was totally trashed.

David...Thank you! I've enjoyed owning, repairing and using Yamaha gear for some time and the only thing I wish this Yamaha had was the model designation CR-3020. :D

THAT is incredible.

There is a 75 ohm connection, it is just old school direct connect to the coax! Wonderful receiver. Grab a CR2040 for the best of the lot in my opinion. solid gear, and the best receivers IMHO
Enjoy,
Jim

Micheal,
I totally understand, my Vintage rig sports a Yamaha C70 preamp driving tube Conn 6L6 PP monoblocks.
Enjoy,
Jim

Thanks, guys. I have been enjoying this unit from time to time when I want an old skool flashback. :)

I always loved Yamaha equipment. Sold tons of it! The Yamaha rep was a close friend of mine. His brother was a roommate when I lived in Albany for a few years.

This system...keeps changing in configuration and venue.

I gave up the spare bedroom to the boss for her purposes, which wasn't hard at all and had to move the system. I found I was not using the system there and decided to move it out to the garage / shop area because I needed a system out there after the Yamaha CA-2010 had let it's magic smoke out and refused to turn on again.

The CT-610 tuner went to a good home, I fixed the CA-2010 and sold that as well. But here is what it looked like before this recent round of changes:

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I scored a Salvation Army $5.99 special, a Onkyo dual well auto/reverse, play and record cassette deck. Then I realized why I had kept all those party mix tapes I had in the two tray boxes!

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Some time later I remembered having a Denon DVD 5910 boxed up and in storage in the spare room so I unboxed it and added it to the system. I really like these old Denon DVD/SACD/CD players.

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After the CA-2010 gave it up, I decided to unbox the CR-1020 and put it to work in the garage. It's too wide to fit into the little flexy I made so it went on the top shelf and a few things got moved around. I also found I had squirreled away a Yulong Sabre D18 DAC and decided it should be added to the system.

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And so the system played away in that configuration for a while until I remembered two more things that had been put away for future use..and old Gateway laptop and the Yulong asynchronous USB adapter. The Yulong DAC has no USB in but the adapter is made specifically as a USB connection upgrade for the DAC and supports up to 24 bit / 192 kHz PCM files.

I updated the music on the old Gateway from my FLAC file repository, incorporated the USB adapter, got out a nice WW optical cable I had in my cable stash (thanks, Ivan!) and found WW USB A to B cable (thanks again, Ivan! :D) and hooked it all up.

Wow...I think I found the right combination of old skool and new skool technology that creates a nice synergy.

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So while I have other systems to listen to; this one makes my time in the garage and shop that much more enjoyable. And it sounds good!

Mike:

A very clean looking Yamaha.

BTW. I have 2 pairs of Vienna Acoustics Mozart Grand speakers.

I enjoyed my Vienna Acoustics speakers a LOT!

Lovely new developments Michael congrad's!

Pretty darn nice for a garage system.

Thanks, Tony.

I was reading your siggy and the list of your Workshop system components. You ain't doin' too bad for tunes in your shop, either!

Mike, you know you got it bad when your garage system is better than 90% of the public's music players. :D

Randy...you got that right!!! :D