YamahaB-2usedYamaha B-2 Vfet Amplifier - Fully RestoredFully restored Yamaha B-2 Vfet amplifier offered for sale. More photos coming shortly. Please see my other sold listings for reference. Yamaha B-2 is one of the most musical amplifiers ever build a...3500.00

Yamaha B-2 Vfet Amplifier - Fully Restored

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Condition
8/10
Payment methods
Ships fromEl Dorado Hills, CA, 95762
Ships toUnited States
Package dimensions24.0" × 22.0" × 12.0" (62.0 lbs.)
Shipping carriersUPS or FedEx
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Fully restored Yamaha B-2 Vfet amplifier offered for sale. More photos coming shortly. Please see my other sold listings for reference.

Yamaha B-2 is one of the most musical amplifiers ever build and even after 40+ year of service, the Yamaha Vfet sound still sets a standard that very few, old and new amplifiers can match.

Under typical circumstances, I would say that this restoration has brought the unit back to prime / like new working condition. In this case however, the restoration has brought this B-2 up to a better than new working condition (see more details in the restoration description section).

Yamaha built a world class amplifier with fantastic sound, but not without some weak areas such as difficult to use speaker posts, undersized power cord and most of all, a front selector assembly that after years of use becomes prone to failure.

The restoration addressed these weak areas of the amplifier and brought the level of reliability to match the fantastic level of sound performance, effectively converting the original great amplifier into a world class amplifier that should satisfy the musical apatite of even the most astute audiophiles.

Net, Net: This is a chance to own a piece of audio history and one of the most unique amplifiers ever built, without the concerns of repair and need for maintenance for years to come.

Finding these statement pieces is generally difficult. Finding one that is fully restored properly, is nearly impossible. The restoration is difficult and not many people work on them. The restorations I have seen from others, did not meet my requirements. This was my realization when I started building my Vfet collection and that is why I am now specialized in restoring my own Vfet units. The "Vfet sound" can be quite addictive and I now have a large collection of Vfet units. I rarely take on the restoration of other people’s units, but occasionally I might sale some of the duplicates in my collection, as it is the case with this beautiful B-2.

Overall condition: The paint on the rear plate has some signs of aging and some scratches and there is a nick barely visible on the front left edge of the faceplate. Otherwise the unit is in really good cosmetic condition and in perfect working condition. Please judge cosmetics based on the included photos and please ask for additional photos if needed.


As far as the restoration, this is not a typical recap and Deoxit cleaning of the pots and switches.

Restoration summary below:

· Unit fully disassembled and cleaned throughout

· All components removed to bare chassis

· Chassis was re-plated to remove any oxidation spots

· All PCBs old glue and old flux cleaned

· All ill-fated transistors replaced

· All components with tarnished legs replaced

· All electrolytic capacitors replaced with function appropriate replacements (i.e. audio caps for audio boards, long life, high temp rated caps for the PSU, etc..)

· VU-meter lamps replaced with new incandescent lamps. LEDs are an option at no additional cost. I find the LEDs to lack the warmth of the incandescent lamps even thought I can get them to be very close to the hue of the original bulbs. Note that if you require LEDs, reverting to incandescent in the future requires undoing a mode I would be implementing. Not difficult for solder gun slingers, but not a drop in swap.

· ALL PSU components replaced. The lifeline of the ultra rare Vfet transistors in this unit, is a rock solid PSU. This is why I replaced everything in the PSU with much better components than the original components (e.g. electrolytic caps rated @ 105deg replaced the old and tired caps rated at 85deg.; Metal film 1% @50ppm replaced the old carbon film 10% resistors, etc).

· Replaced the critical wire harness to address undersized gauge wires and weak wire to board connections

· Removed the factory power cord and installed a power plug to expend the power cord choices (the mains ground is not attached to the chassis, to retain the original Yamaha design).

· Replaced the original, difficult to use Yamaha speaker posts with very high quality, modern speaker posts

· Replaced the rear RCAs and the chassis ground binding post

· Replaced the original plastic feet with billet aluminum feet

· Unit bench tested and fully adjusted to factory specifications

· Unit tested (all functions) for over 2-weeks in my personal listening space

Front Selector Assembly:
I redesigned and replaced the entire front selector assembly (internally) with a modern solution that allows all existing controls to remain functional, but also adds a direct by-pass of all pots and switches.
The new selector board remediates any shortcomings of the original selector assembly and satisfies the fans of the original Yamaha B-2 functionality as well as that the most demanding audiophiles, which generally want nothing in the audio path. This is a DC amplifier and when using INPUT #1, there are no potentiometer or capacitors in the signal path, from the rear input all the way to your speakers.

Note: I keep a "low-mileage" fully original B-2 as my frame of reference and any mods or added components of my restorations are are chosen with great consideration to reliability and / or sonic improvements, but not with one at the expense of the other.
All in all, few hundred components replaced. Any potential points of failure are now mitigated, and this B-2 is now bullet proof and has a new lease in life, without the need of maintenance for many years to come.

Specifications

Power output: 100 watts per channel into 8Ω (stereo) (Power output after restoration: ~140 watts/channel)

Frequency response: 10Hz to 100kHz

Total harmonic distortion: 0.08% (THD+N after restoration 0.005% - 20Hz to 20kHz)

Damping factor: 70

Input sensitivity: 0.775V

Signal to noise ratio: 115dB

Semiconductors: 12 x FET, 95 x transistors, 2 x IC, 66 x diodes

Dimensions: 436 x 370 x 151mm

Weight: 26kg

Only the B-2 is included. No additional cables and documentation is included in the sale.

Buyer pays for shipping and PayPal fee. 

Local pickup is available and encouraged. An audition / demo is available for your convenience if you come to pick-up in person.

You can view a similar Yamaha B-2 restoration here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbhA9G0JwKaxB_3Nyv0plCQ

Note that if you need more than one of these units to use for bi-amping or other reasons, one more would be available.

Please do not hesitate to ask any questions before bidding!

Best,

Peter

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