General Asylum: REVIEW: Yamaha CA1010 Integrated Amplifier (SS) by Tuneman

Model:	CA1010
Category:	Integrated Amplifier (SS)
Suggested Retail Price:	$670
Description:	90 watt integrated amp made from 77-79
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available

Review by Tuneman on September 12, 2001 at 13:28:07
IP Address: 64.12.105.26

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for the CA1010

I can never have too many amps, a statement that I have heard from many people in my day. With that in mind I picked up a CA1010 intergrated amp for 80 dollars. I am not a big fan of Yamaha but this amp has made me change my mind. More than a few people that I talked to about this amp had good things to say about it so I thought I would put it to the test. Since I am going to be using this amp in my computer area, I proceeded to hook up my CR8's and sony cd player to the CA1010. I popped in my "Yes I am" cd from Melissa Etheridge and put on listened to "I'm the only one". The Guitars had more presence than when I was using the AudioSource AMP1 and the CR8's on this song. I repeated this excersise with the Pioneer DV503 as the source and the sound quality was further improved. The Budget Sony CD player is a bit harsh at times and the CA1010 revealed this. Now moving on to The Dixie Chicks "Fly" cd, I pushed the volume up to 12 O'clock and let the Song "GoodBye Earl" rip. The darkness that was present in the CR8's that I had heard before was somewhat lifted a bit, giving a well balanced sound, with no sense of strain. The class A opperation seemed to make little difference in the sound quality, but did heat the amp up quite a bit, but further listening may be needed. Overall, I was impressed with the CA1010 as it is a great amp with a lot of potential.

Product Weakness: I could not use banana plugs
Product Strengths: Built like a tank, 2 phono inputs, class A operation

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	CA1010
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	none
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Sony CE275, Pioneer DV503
Speakers:	Boston CR8
Cables/Interconnects:	Monster xp, Radio shack
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	rock & country,
Room Size (LxWxH):	9 x 7 x 20
Room Comments/Treatments:	none
Time Period/Length of Audition:	1 week
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	I could not use banana plugs
Product Strengths:	Built like a tank, 2 phono inputs, class A operation