YAMAHA DSP-A1000 Audiophile Amplifier VINTAGE

The DSP-A1000, which Yamaha calls a Digital Sound Field Processing Amplifier, requires only the addition of signal sources and loudspeakers to serve as the core of a versatile audio/video (A/V) system. It combines refined digital signal-processing circuits, a preamplifier providing switching and control facilities for both audio and video sources, Dolby Pro Logic surround-sound decoding, and no fewer than seven channels of audio amplification. The DSP-A 1000’s Dolby Pro Logic system uses digital circuitry, with an automatic input-level balance control that maintains optimal surround-sound settings without user attention. It also has an “Enhanced” Dolby Pro Logic mode said to create a sound field typical of a standard (35-millimeter) movie theater. When this mode is used with the amplifier’s Movie Theater DSP program, according to Yamaha, it re-creates the broader sound field typical of a 70-millimeter theater. Another special feature is a “directional enhancement” circuit that can be used with the Concert Video and TV Theater DSP modes to give the listener a sense of being in the midst of the audible action without making it sound detached from the screen. Despite its considerable versatility, the DSP-A1000 is surprisingly simple to install, set up, and use. In normal operation, the front panel has only two visible knobs (volume and the input selector), a power pushbutton, a tape-monitor button (labeled tape 2), and a small LCD window. The input sources are identified as auxiliary, VCR 1, VCR 2, TV, LD (laser videodisc), DAT/Tape 1, tuner, CD, and phono. Opening the hinged door that extends across the bottom of the panel reveals three small knobs (bass, treble, balance) and a REC OUT rotary switch that enables the user to record audio or video programs from any source independently of the one being heard or seen. I no longer have the remote control.