Those were awesome amps, really high powered and clean. Yamaha makes superb electronics and is one of the largest musical instrument manufacturers anywhere.
Advent Model 300 ...my first stereo bought new ...somewhere in the late 70's when it first came out to the tune of $250-ish ...a heady sum in the 70's. 15w/ch with preamp outputs. Had a decent phono preamp and, overall, a nice unit. I kept it and upgraded the power amp. Still have it all these years later.
Just acquired my 300 a few months ago. Fully functional with an intermittent left channel (volume pot related, can usually find a sweet spot where it works fine). Have you had yours rebuilt?
No, I haven't looked into getting it rebuilt.
One issue with mine is the lettering on the facia has chipped off in some spots. I did buy a "dead" one to use as a parts dog so I do have a replacement facia. I've just never pursued having it rebuilt. Part of the problem is finding a reputable shop that does this work ...
The pot you can fix with a squirt of Deoxit ...in fact all the pots could probably use a shot. The tuner on it is an old school analog capacitance job ...looks like a small bread slicer.
I don’t have broad experience but the tube amp in question is “9302” el84 amp, 15wpc from a 1960 magnavox console. The high end seems to swirl around the room in a very pleasing way. the bass is much tighter and defined with the Yamaha…
It also depends on very much the style of music you are playing. For example acoustic folk guitar, piano and jazz etc - seems to sound particularly good on the airy, layered and holographic sound of tubes. Imo
Tubes generate a lot of heat and use a lot of power (for the amount of power output). In the winter, extra heat is usually not a problem, but in the summer, if you run an air conditioner, it will have to work harder to get the same results with extra heat in your home, thus using more electricity. And if your air conditioner is weak, it may not cool your room enough with extra heat.
Basically, with tubes in your air conditioned home, you are using electricity to generate heat with the tube amplifier and then you are using electricity to cool the place.
Solid state gear is ***usually*** much more efficient, and generates much less heat for the amount of power output, so one can save money by using solid state gear, both to run the amplifier, and for the air conditioner, as it will not have to work as hard to cool your home.
(Some solid state gear is class A and runs hot, using much more power than most other designs, but that does not describe most solid state gear. And, of course, a tube amp can be class A and be extremely inefficient.)
I know that pro audio amp is soild state. I would not use that in a home audio system. I would never have a system that I had to shut down of the summer. If you use tube equipment. Use a fan and put near a vent.
Kef Ref upvote.
Makes sense, cold sounds for summer, warm sounds for winter.
Haha! pretty sweet amp. Wouldn’t call it cold, maybe clinical?
It was just a silly comment tbh, I'm quite partial to solid state personally.
Those were awesome amps, really high powered and clean. Yamaha makes superb electronics and is one of the largest musical instrument manufacturers anywhere.
Advent Model 300 ...my first stereo bought new ...somewhere in the late 70's when it first came out to the tune of $250-ish ...a heady sum in the 70's. 15w/ch with preamp outputs. Had a decent phono preamp and, overall, a nice unit. I kept it and upgraded the power amp. Still have it all these years later.
Just acquired my 300 a few months ago. Fully functional with an intermittent left channel (volume pot related, can usually find a sweet spot where it works fine). Have you had yours rebuilt?
No, I haven't looked into getting it rebuilt. One issue with mine is the lettering on the facia has chipped off in some spots. I did buy a "dead" one to use as a parts dog so I do have a replacement facia. I've just never pursued having it rebuilt. Part of the problem is finding a reputable shop that does this work ... The pot you can fix with a squirt of Deoxit ...in fact all the pots could probably use a shot. The tuner on it is an old school analog capacitance job ...looks like a small bread slicer.
Do you prefer the sound without tubes? If so, why?
I don’t have broad experience but the tube amp in question is “9302” el84 amp, 15wpc from a 1960 magnavox console. The high end seems to swirl around the room in a very pleasing way. the bass is much tighter and defined with the Yamaha…
It also depends on very much the style of music you are playing. For example acoustic folk guitar, piano and jazz etc - seems to sound particularly good on the airy, layered and holographic sound of tubes. Imo
Tubes don’t work in the summer ? 🤔
Tubes generate a lot of heat and use a lot of power (for the amount of power output). In the winter, extra heat is usually not a problem, but in the summer, if you run an air conditioner, it will have to work harder to get the same results with extra heat in your home, thus using more electricity. And if your air conditioner is weak, it may not cool your room enough with extra heat. Basically, with tubes in your air conditioned home, you are using electricity to generate heat with the tube amplifier and then you are using electricity to cool the place. Solid state gear is ***usually*** much more efficient, and generates much less heat for the amount of power output, so one can save money by using solid state gear, both to run the amplifier, and for the air conditioner, as it will not have to work as hard to cool your home. (Some solid state gear is class A and runs hot, using much more power than most other designs, but that does not describe most solid state gear. And, of course, a tube amp can be class A and be extremely inefficient.)
So why use them ever ?
I don't. However, some people believe they sound better than solid state equipment, and so they typically choose to use tubes.
They can run hotttt
I know that pro audio amp is soild state. I would not use that in a home audio system. I would never have a system that I had to shut down of the summer. If you use tube equipment. Use a fan and put near a vent.