Very quiet Pre amp, one of Yamaha's last high quality 2 channel pre amps made Lots of inputs even though LD, VCR, Tapes.......... still same input sensitivity impedance, 150 mv/47k ohms Internal high quality parts Yamaha Pure direct mode

where can you buy as good a 2 channel pre amp today for a reasonable price

I bought mine way back when they were the new hot item. I originally bought another older but still current model new that was cheaper and was not good enough to use with my high gain Carver amp. There was too much noise and hum. The CX-2 absolutely quiet and sounded great. Also I have a Velodyne subwoofer that goes flat in my room to 11hz. Might not be so if I had a lesser preamp than this one.

What I hate most about the CX-2 is that the tone controls are of the shelving type. They "color" the sound in the sound because it's not a simple curve. Bass, Treble, and Loudness are all shelving and I hate that. They seem to be an S curve that has it's steepest part of the curve somewhere between 100 to 300 hz. It colors the sound badly and is especially offensive when boosting bass. In that case it makes my speakers sound like something more like a portable plastic boom box.

I've been wanting to modify those tone control circuits but never got around to it mainly because I keep it in Pure Direct mode. In that mode, the tone controls, balance, loundness are all bypassed. My solution was realized when I wanted to mix my computer with my other audio sources so I to put my little Behringer mixer on a tape loop so now I can listen to any audio source along with anything my computer does. I prefer using my main audio system instead of computer speakers. The main reason I did that was for audio editing. I needed the best audio for that and computer speaker were out of the question and why not use the best I had? So I did, and still do.

Anyway I found I could use that mixer for the tone controls whenever I need them. I haven't used that mixer as tone control for serious listening but for casual listening I haven't noticed any more noise or any other quality difference. It's a good little mixer. Almost forgot this is about the CX-2...

Another issue I had with CX-2 is the normal remote sucks as a volume control. With my system it goes in quite large jumps and most of the time it's too high or low so I programmed the remote's alternate volume controls for smaller jumps from another remote that operated Yamaha units. Much better now. I use one for overall level then use the other for fine adjustment. This was a problem because my Carver amp is so sensitive. I doubt anyone with normal 50W to 200W amps would have a problem with this.

Overall great pure sound, excellent in the way it just acts like a pure conduit for your sound but happens to also add switching control for lots of sources and 4 tape loops (the more the merrier when they're that good). Like others have said, when in Pure Direct mode, it sounds like it's just a piece of cable. Not even a cheap one, more like one as good as an Audioquest interconnect.

I've never run video through it so can't comment on that. Probably irrelevant anyway since it's outdated and can only has RCA and S-Video connectors, no HDMI. I've seen the circuits that handle the video and its simple and pure enough that it might be able to handle some kind of hybrid or quasi HD that uses old style connectors.

Great preamp in many ways. The best is that it's very quiet, no noise or hum. If you have a noisy source you will find out when you put it through this! No compromise with electronic component quality. I looked inside mine and was happy that all capacitor were high grade. The volume control is one of the best ever made. I've been using my CX-2 for about 20 years and this volume control still has absolutely no scratchy noises in it's entire travel. It's great for using with very high power amps and serious subwoofers except for the
remote volume issue I mentioned earlier.

If you're into vinyl and you have a conventional magnetic cartridge in your turntable you'll most likely be very happy with the phono preamp in the CX-2. Otherwise, maybe not because there are no adjustments or options. The CX-2's phono preamp is built for only the normal and most popular types of magnetic cartidges. I have good conventional magnetic cartridges and I've always been happy with it. It's easy to convince folks that my
vinyl recordings are from CD when I edit the worst clicks and pops out of them.

I plan on upgrading from my CX-2 eventually to an AV server system eventually but I'm in no hurry, I've been happy with this for so long when I do upgrade I'll repurpose the CX-2 for secondary audio like maybe for my bedroom or whatever. This is a keeper though. I'll keep using it for something.

Other Components in my System:
Carver TFM-45 amp
Klipsch KG-3 speakers
Yamaha CDC-585 CD Player (Yeah, it's cheap but it works and sounds good)
Nakamichi Cassette Deck 2 (Hmm... wonder if that still works?)
Behringer Eurorack MX 602A mixer (on a tape loop)
Audioquest interconnects and speaker cables
various turntables, I change on a whim
my PC connected to the mixer, as well as all portable devices, through the mixer.

Just bought a CX-2 on Ebay and switched it for my Adcom 565 Pre. I got very lucky on this purchase the CX is dead quiet and as precice an amplifier as one could hope for. What goes in, comes out, only louder. The response and excellent channel seperation creates a very life like sound stage. I did not expect better sound than the 565 and was simply looking for a good learning remote for my system. The CX-2 out performs the 565 for alll line level inputs and very nearly matches the 565 phono section. If you can find one buy it.

quiet, built quality,feel of quality. switch between inputs is damped no sudden volume spikes as result,

none. although does not have mono/stereo switch or channel reverse. But have never needed it.

Amazing preamp.quiet. look and feel & sound of quality. remote control is big plus. mates perfectly with my Acurus A250. Matches my new used Yama tx-950. also remote controlable,wish tx-950 was built as well as cx2. Yammi engineer said buy it instead of cx-1..He was right I love it.

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no other preamp. my system Cx-2, Acurus A-250, New forme used tx-950 yami tuner, Yamaha px-3 linear TT. Grace F9e Cartridge.Infinity Reference Standard II tower speakers, Marantz 63se CD.Advent 201 XLO interconnects & speaker cables. CR-1020 receiver retired.AR receiver retired, Scott 340b tube receiver retired scott tube 222c amp scott 330? tuner Scott 340 receiver All retired. ADS 810, Ar3a Ar2ax. Klh 6 university 2ways speakersAll retired. Love the Infinitys

Very neutral sound. Personally I like features like the rec-out selector and the switched A/C-outlets

A bit too high output level for my setup makes it almost impossible to adjust the volume by remote.

This is the perfect preamp for those who need lots of in/outputs. The overall sound quality and solid build makes it a clear winner. Setup: Marantz MA500 monoblocks Canton Ergo RC-K speakers Technics SL-PS7 CD-player Silver Sonic T-14 speaker cables Homebrew interconnects (Gotham GAC-1 + Multicomp studio grade plugs)

great sound

the pre amp frezes up must unplug and plug in

the cx-2 is the best preamp i owned very clean sound i use it with 2 carver a-500x amps at 800w a channel with infinity sm 155s (blown several times)

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none

Really extended low freq response, very good imaging,very quiet, good low level detail,decent M/C phono stage

not very forgiving, neutral interconnects a must, not lush or romantic, very high output can overdrive a pwr amp, watch your levels, bypass switch not necessary with this unit, you won't here a difference, money should have been spent on a second pair of L+R outputs

Real solid value, built like a brick outhouse, great parts quality, lots of output voltage if running longer cables, functional remote control, and a decent M/C phono stage to boot!This piece has been discontinued so if you want one you need to move fast, you may still get a bargain price if you look around.

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NAD114, ADCOM565, ADCOM555, MARANTZC7,

Very tight and controlled low end. Very large sound stage. Clean. Pure direct switch.

The high end can be a little bit

Before I was not interested in Yamaha audio. The first owner asked me to sell it to someone but I got interested on it and I bought it to him. I tested the preamp and I can't believed what I heard. My sound stage became much deeper and wider. But the most important change was the lowend. I never expected that an preamp can make the lowend so tight and powerfull. The Highend was more present than before, and I think in the wrong setup it can be a bit agressive. But if your speakers and poweramp are very neutral, it's not a problem. I love the pure direct switch, which bypass the tone controls etc. I prefer this mode.

It's a very clean, musical Preamp with a controlled tight Lowend.

My setup:

B&W Matrix 3 serie 2 Loudspeakers
Onkyo m588 Poweramp
Sony 559 ES Cd player
Kenwood dm5090 Minidisc
Monster interlinks van den Hull Loudspeaker wiring

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Yamaha CX-1, van Medevoort CA-222

perfect preamplifier

none

good working, very good design

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philips,sony

YAMAHA CX-2 is just the right pre-amplifier for those who need a very quiet, clean and neutral pre-amplifier. Comes with its learning-capable remote controller, this pre-amplifier is very convenient. I'm very satisfied with this pre-amplifier performance. Besides that, CX-2 is worth for every penny I invested. Recommended for pre-amplifier under US$2000+ price range.