Vintage Yahama Receivers: Buying Tips and Cleaning Guide
Why Buy Vintage Receivers?
Vintage receivers have come back in style with a vengeance. Like the growing rediscovery of vinyl records, vintage receivers are attracting a loyal and growing following. And, those interested in vintage receivers can select from a wide number of brands, including Yamaha.
One reason why vintage Yamaha receivers have become popular again is that many believe that the sound quality and the tuners were significantly better on these machines over modern home theater receivers. Many modern receivers also don’t come with phono inputs, which the older models did. Plus, generally vintage receivers can be bought from garage sales, eBay or other second-hand sellers for much less than modern receivers.
Vintage Yamaha receivers can also be paired with modern equipment to make for some unusual equipment setups. If modern speakers fit in the inputs, they can be plugged in so that music lovers can listen to their favorite vinyl records.
Vintage Receiver Buying Guide
Before buying a vintage receiver, try to figure out what you plan on doing with it. Vintage Yamaha receivers are wonderful for playing vinyl records. The sound on Yamaha receivers is considered one of the best out there.
But, if you want more power, you should probably look into another brand like JVC, including the JVC JR-S501. Above all, however, you want to find a vintage receiver that is in good condition. If it doesn’t work when you’re testing it, you’re going to have to get it fixed. And, that may be a problem if you do not have a vintage receiver repair shop in your area.
Vintage Yamaha Receiver Cleaning Guide
One issue that may arise from buying a vintage receiver is that they may need a thorough cleaning and may need to have certain things replaced. The first thing that you want to do is open it up. Look for loose wires, fuses that don’t work or anything that looks out of place, i.e. places where something may have leaked. Next, grab a vacuum cleaner, and use the extension hoses to just suck up any dirt.
Use a warm cloth with some type of contact cleaner to wipe off any accrued dust or dirt. You need to then give the machine time to dry out. Clean out the RCA jacks with pure alcohol to remove any built-up crud that may have accumulated. Don’t turn it on as you may cause it to short-circuit. You may just want to leave it alone for several days.
Once everything is dry, try turning on individual sections of it. Don’t turn everything on at once. You’re trying to see if everything is working properly. If you smell anything funny or see smoke, turn it off. If something like this is going on, you may need to get your vintage receiver professionally repaired.
If everything does seem to be going OK, however, go ahead and completely power it up. Plug in some cheap speakers (older ones that you don’t mind losing if they blow). Let the receiver run for a while, and then you can go ahead and add whatever speakers or equipment that you were planning to attach to the receiver.
