# Yamaha old school car amps (YPA ver)



## durwood

Anyone familiar with them? I had a friend running one back in the day and it's kind of what really got me motivated for good car audio gear. I missed out on one on ebay a week or so ago at a cheap price and now someone wants double for the same amp. I doubt I would ever use it, it's more for sentimental value. I rarely see them pop up and there isn't much info out there. Is it worth it?


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## Bluto Blutarsky

I bought one from Speaker Works in 1986 or so. it had a sub crossover built in and I think it was 50 watts a side. Worked good for a while.Too bad they were so nasty to me at Speaker Works cause I never went back. I think it was 250.00


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## durwood

So they are from the super early era of car audio. That is kind of what I was wondering. I don't think I would ever actually use the amp, it would just kind of sit on the shelf as part of my nostalgic collection of things.

here is the link

http://cgi.ebay.com/Yamaha-YPA-600-...ryZ39732QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

Please no one buy them out from under me. :blush: I'm still debating on what a fair asking price is to offer him or if it's even worth it for something that will sit on my shelf.


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## Bluto Blutarsky

Thats the one


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## NRA4ever

I have a 320 true mono Yamaha. Its 50 a side


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## PPI_GUY

Lots of YPA-1000's were sold locally in my town. We had three shops and the biggest sold Yamaha. Those amps were really made well and while being under powered by todays standards, provided lots of clean power. Some people would use a YPA 1000 on their comps and a Orion 2150SX for subs. A few of my friends treated their yamaha's like crap and they kept on working. Very solid amps.


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## Angrywhopper

I would love to see some pics. I never knew Yamaha made car amps. It seems that all the high end brands only do home audio nowadays  I guess I can still enjoy Denon in my home..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## sqshoestring

I didn't like them they were short on bass, much like sanyo and even SS D series amps. That means they worked fine on highs and many mids but not for full range or subs. I had one and dumped it, had sanyo too, the sansui by ppi I kept lol. Also have some old blaupunkt that are like that with weak bass, however they are 60/80wpc and work great on IB subs. I think they have a SS filter in them maybe they are STK IC amps. But when you force them to make bass under a LP they suddenly work great for IB. 2x50 was not enough to run subs, but the blaupunkt acted more like a 2x75 amp on subs when forced, and needed some EQ to work full range like the others. On the other hand a linear power or old RF punch/etc was the opposite and bass flowed out of them with no EQ....and back then most people didn't have EQs or had limited ones. It was very common to use 2x60 or more on subs in the late 80s/early90s when I saw these amps, common for people to run 8s/10s IB back then and that was all you needed for those...in daily use cars.


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## imjustjason




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## sqshoestring

I might still have a yamaha 3-way crossover I'd have to look.


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## azvrt

I just bought a YPA-720 this week and I must say I am very impressed. It has a very non-fatiguing sound to it, maybe not exciting enough for some people, but very nice to my easily fatigued ears. Also, I find the 5 volt gains quite unique for that era, and they come in handy with modern head units. Have already started looking for more of these


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## imjustjason

2 on ebay right now for nearly nothing.

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

YAMAHA YPA-700 35 Watt x4 70Wx2 Car Amplifier Japan Untested | eBay


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## azvrt

I know, too bad I live in Europe. Shipping sucks.

Got mine for 20 euros + 6.75 euros shipping 
DC offset on the channels was only between 2 and 7 mvdc which is VERY good for such an old amplifier. They must have known what they were doing, at Yamaha.

There's another one for sale in my country, trying to get it for cheap as well.
Also I know a YPA-1000 for sale over here...
Wonder whether that one also has 5 volt gains ?
I might be putting Yamaha on my mids soon, I like it 
It will have to fight for the right to drive my front mids with a Soundstream Renoir, which is probably a better amplifier overall-sound quality, but I like the laidback sound of the Yamaha a lot, the vocals are very nice indeed.


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## stills

ypa-700's


ones in my work truck now. 3ch
6.5 coax and a single ten

i plan to either get a single dvc ten or two four ohm eights (old school of course) and run both amps one day.

hmmm a matchin crossover would be nice...


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## azvrt

Just picked up another 720, I like them a lot.
As a matter of fact I am thinking of using them for the mids in my front 3-way.
I find the bass extension function makes them sound even better, without making them too bass-y,


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## imjustjason

stills said:


> hmmm a matchin crossover would be nice...


hmmm...

Yamaha YEC-400 Electronic Crossover. Unit | eBay


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## azvrt

imjustjason said:


> hmmm...
> 
> Yamaha YEC-400 Electronic Crossover. Unit | eBay


Cool ! New ! Cheap !!


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## azvrt

Can anyone confirm the 00's don't have bass extension, while the 20's do ?
I mean 700 does not, 720 does ?
The bass extension switch is VERY nice on these amps, without it the amp is not half af nice. They made it perfect, covering a wide area, making the amp sound fuller, richer and warm, while not making it too bass-y.


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## imjustjason

Another crossover...

Vintage YAMAHA YEC-400 Electronic Crossover Network Old School Japan | eBay


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## azvrt

Any idea how much pre-out voltage it can handle ?
For instance the Alpine ERE-G180 / G190 can handle 4 volts, but older units often can handle less.


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