Vintage audio?

Since there are some vintage people here I'm hoping that one of them might be familiar with older stereo equipment.
 
I was in the Goodwill store yesterday and came across a Yamaha CA-810 amp for $10.  Is anyone familiar with this unit?  It has lots of knobs, switches, and meters, and looks really cool.  I have no idea if it works or not or even if I'd be able to integrate it into my 1985-era stereo...but it looks really cool.  Thanks!
 
Brad

I think that I have Yamaha equipment.
 
Hold on while I go downstairs.....

If it has tubes and it works (or can be made to work), it is a steal.

Here's my equipment.  Everything is Yamaha except for the Technics linear turntable.  It was the only thing that would fit the space.
 

 
So that's where my Quickbooks 2000 is!  I don't open the cabinet much anymore.
 
Here's what I thought was the amp:
 

 
So what's the difference between a receiver and an amp?
 
Yamaha is very good equipment if that's what you're asking.  

Gregg, based on what I found online it's a solid state unit from the mid '70s and was apparently one of the best of its time.
 
Mar, an amp does just that: amplifies.  A receiver is basically an amp with a radio attached; it receives the radio signals so hence the name.
 
Brad

Thanks, Brad.
 
I guess I'd use it more if it were on the same floor as the computer.
 
My stuff is from the 80's.

Does your receiver have 2 speaker output circuits?  You could put a second set near your computer and listen to the radio or CDs...
 
My stuff is from the '80s, too.  Technics receiver and turntable, Sanyo dual cassette deck, and Pioneer speakers (the Technics CD player came later).  I didn't have a lot of money when I bought it around 1985-86 and it's probably toward the low end of the scale as far as stereo systems go, but it's served me well over the years.
 
Brad

If it works, $10 is a great price.  They sell online for around $150.00.

The CA810 is a small step down from the earlier -excellent- CA800 and a step up from the later CA820 (Yamaha kept cutting more and more corners...).  For $10 you need to snap that puppy up.

In the 1970s Yamaha was an excellent brand.  I was stationed in Japan in 1973 and, like most American military personnel, bought all sorts of Japanese electronic gear (and camera gear and Noritake china and Mikimoto pearls and . . . .).  Many people bought Yamaha amps.
 
Amps of that era were stereo (left and right channels) but usually had a switch to allow monophonic operation (because older records were mono and otherwise you'd get sound out of only one channel).  Many could power multiple sets of speakers, though (the one I bought can power an "A" set, a "B" set and both sets) with a switch to chose which ones are operative.  It should also have base and treble controls, possibly a "loudness" control (boosts the base), analog power meters and, of course, the volume control (mine has a coarse and fine volume adjustment).  There should also be a swtich to chose among the inputs--turntable, tape deck, "auxilliary" and so on.  On the back, there may be plugs to allow an external equilizer to be inserted between the pre-amp and power amplifier (unless what you are talking about is a stand-alone power amp--serious audiophiles often had separate pre-amps and power amps but most folks had a combined unit which is what I'm talking about.
 
Most such amps are 100 watts or more.  The speakers of the day required lots of power.  
 
There should be no reason such an amp would not work with modern equipment as long as you don't require more than 2 channels--that is, if you are happy with stereo rather than 5.1 sound.  I still have my amp from 1973 and play my 2 year old flat panel TV through it (and the attached Bose 901 speakers of the same vintage).

You should post this question on this base my friend!! (They would know for sure )
 
You have a beauty there!
 
Good luck!

I still have a Sansusi system with Bose 301's that I bought at the Navy Exchange in Subic Bay in 1978! Have never replaced the needle on the turntable.

I never thought I'd see the day when solid state gear would be considered vintage! To me, vintage means tubes. But now, people say that the new op amp stuff just can't hold a candle to that discrete transistor gear from the '70s. Which of course can't hold a candle to the old tube gear of the '50s, and if you think that push-pull tube amp is great, you should hear the old single end Westinghouse amps from the '30s... btw, have you ever hear those old Edison cylinders? You'd swear that there was a person inside that big horn!
 

 
Is my Philco set considered out of date?
 
The Lone Ranger, Orphan Annie and Amos and Andy still come in loud and clear, but Fibber Magee and Molly are a little staticy.
 

I run a Yamaha 7.1 channel surround receiver it sounds good to me.

MikeS.


I run a Yamaha 7.1 channel surround receiver it sounds good to me.

 
It ought to be especially thrilling now with the 1080p video.