This amp has so much power it will blow out the walls yet at the same time the musicality of it is truly astonishing. -- Dumpster Sizes

None so far

You hardly can go wrong with this beast. The Yamaha M-series amps perform outstanding on several type of speakers. Since a few months I drive my rather rare Yamaha NS-100 (don't confuse w/ NS10) with the M-80. Really amazing wunderful! Ns-100's need a lot of current amd rhus Yammi gives it plenty! Nothing more to say. Buy one if you can get one. Oh... recommendation: Use a nice pre-amp! That really helps! In use a Yamaha C-80.

The speaker bindings are huge but only meant for wire ends. I really prefer banana's

I bought my first M80 while I was in the Navy deployed to the Western Pacific in 1985. I still have today in 2019 and use it almost daily. I also purchased the C80 control amplifier and the T80 tuner for a matched set. They all work perfectly after 34 years. I clean them once a year. Coupled with dual Yamaha powered subwoofers, this system blows away anything I have heard that is made today. I recently bought a second M80 amplifier from Ebay and am looking for a third since I plan to use all three amps along with the subwoofers for my home theater surround system. The reason? These M80 effortlessly handles anything thrown at it from quietm crystak clear passages to sudden explosively loud sounds with absolutely minimal .0001 total harmonic distortion. In other words, they reproduce sound that is a perfect production of the original material.

The only drawbacks to the M80 amplifiers are their weight (very heavy) and the heat they put out, which is substantial in a small space. If used at anywhere near full power output they can also trip breakers if there is too much on the circuit. I have already tried and I cannot use both of my M80 amps on the same circuit at continuous high power output.

Bought my first M-80 in 85 when I was in the Army in Germany. It was worth the money I spent on it and it was enjoyed by me for many years, sadly my basement flooded with water and the amp was submerged, a total loss. I was so happy with it I bought another one off Ebay and also had it restored by Skip at legendary amps. They really do a great job and I now have a work of art that works perfectly. Skip replaces the cheap plastic speaker binding posts with new ones that accept spades or bananas or bare wire. This amp has so much power it will blow out the walls yet at the same time the musicality of it is truly astonishing. Tight well controlled Bass and highs will blow your mind. If you want a world class amp at a very reasonable price buy one off Ebay and have it restored. Mine cost over 500 to buy and another 1100 to have it recapped and gone through.

The Yamaha M-80 is easily one one the best sounding amps I've evered used. I've owned a LOT of amps over the years, and listened to many more. The M-80 is a reference quality unit, and easily competes with the high end units, such as Krell, Threshold, etc. In fact, I was using a Nakamichi PA-7 connected to Legacy Signature III's before getting this amp. I thought the Nak was about as good as it gets, but this M-80 is not only every bit as godd sounding as the PA-7, it sounds even better in a number of respects. The bass fm the M-80 is deep and tight, very well controlled. The midrange is as clear as any amp I've ever hearrd, very life like. In this regard, it betters the PA-7 (and that is no knock on the PA-7, its a tribute to the M-80). The HF treble is clear. crisp, but not at all harsh. At 250 WPC, it can easily push almost any speaker load you throw at it.

Given the age of an map like this, thought it best to buy one that had been restorred. Vintage amps need to be gone through, and old dodgy caps, etc, need to be replaced, voltages adjusted, etc. to get trouble free performance. I got mine from Skip Lacey at http://www.legendaryamps.com/faq.html

Skip goes thrrough the amp and makes it like new. Very happy with the results. In fact, I'm also getting a M-85, and a MX-800 to complete the HT setup. The yamaha amps are to be connected to a Oppo BD-83SE and a Krell Showcase preamp.

Hi there,
Just wanted to take a few moments to drop a little personal experience on this post,in regards to Yamaha equipment from days gone by.Specifically the Yamaha M-80. I have owned Yamaha equipment since the early-mid 80's,and let me tell you -by far the absolute best investment in home audio equipment I have ever made. By far,the best quality,not to mention the most reliable,best sounding and longest lasting equipment that I have known of anyone to have owned..! As a hobby,I build some very stout home speakers that should really be put into the pro audio class- greatly do to the fact of the high decibile output that is achieved by breaking them in with a " M-Series " Yamaha Amp. Most often the M-80 I have in my shop. Never had any issues what so ever!..This AMP will most likely outlast me..! Every 12 months,remove the cover,fire-up the air compressor,blow out the dust,put the cover back on,that's the maintainence! I have neighbors as far as 3 city blocks away that have personally come over to my shop to comment on the cement shaking bass that can be felt on THERE foundations when I have let my M-80 do what it was designed to do--and that is deliver crushing bass-uncolored clear mids-and ultra crisp highs! Makes a guy feel damn good inside knowing that his 25+ year old M-80 AMP is at the heart of the compliments! I could go on and on.
I have seen some negative feedback on the web and communicated with some on the Yamaha M-80. My conclusion overall, is that there really is ALOT of folks out there that are upset that they spent WAY TOO MUCH GREEN on power amps that can't come close to performing up to the ability of the Yamaha M-80. Also,many have yet to EXPERIENCE one side by side with their choice of what they feel HAS TO BE a great amp, because they paid an obscene amount of money for it ,so it must be the best ,right?
I have friends that remember me purchasing my first M-80 in 1984-85.Back then ,they thought I was crazy for spending $700.00 at a local audio store for this amp--now,they stop by ,can't believe I still have the same amp,HEAR it, and offer me $$$$$$ to buy it...! I would put an M-80 up against ANYTHING new or old. The M-80 AMP is truly deserving of being called a "Legend." Well, just wanted to share MY experience with the Yamaha M-80 Power Amplifier.This would be considered a positive post,would like to see more like this posted out there--however I realize that there are ALOT of "M-80 haters" out there, most likely for the reasons I posted in this review.------Yamaha_fiend45-------