Geoff sound's like he's fullasaki. At least better than what he's usually full'a!! 💩
Unbelievable
Yamaha really made this statement:
Glossy black piano finish provides improved signal-to-noise performance
https://europe.yamaha.com/en/products/audio_visual/speaker_systems/ns-5000/index.html
I thought I would seek opportunity to hear these speakers, but now I do not think so
170 responses Add your response
cd318, "Those Sony's look like dream loudspeakers. One version of the SOTA."They really are. Smaller model (SS-AR2, if I remember correctly) is great, too. Both are relatively small and unimposing and, at the same time, hard to find to audition or buy. There was a used pair of a smaller model on audiogon not so long ago and that is about it. I was very tempted, but had no place to put them. |
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"Given what audiophiles do believe, is this really a surprising statement?"I would like not to, and in general do not, believe in such claims. But I do run into a problem. There is a product that sounds fine, any product but you could use these Yamaha speakers as an example. Someone designed and produced it way better than I could ever dream of. That person claims something this "outrageous" and I want to dismiss it. Well, if that person is just making things up, snake-oiling it, why on Earth does her/his product sound good then? She/he may know a thing or two about designing/making it that I do not. So I give up beating the truth out of it. I give some benefit of the doubt to the designer/manufacturer and just use the product as intended. In the end, why would I even care if it is the paint or not? |
Some comments can easily compete for award in utmost nonsense: " All six external surfaces of the enclosure have a glossy black piano finish created using the same dedicated paint, primer, and polishing processes used for Yamaha’s renowned grand pianos. The uniform and hard membrane further increases the overall rigidity of the enclosure, and at the same time it suppresses fine vibrations, contributing to the bright sound and significantly enhanced signal-to-noise performance." |
Audio Machina (no relation to your humble scribe) builds speaker cabinets from solid billets of aluminum and Rockport is no slouch at speaker cabinet building, applying shipbuilding engineering principles to speaker cabinetry. The Rockport Hyperion tips the scales at 500 lbs per side. That’s a lot of inertia, gentle readers. Speaking of Robert Harley, the best stereo system he ever heard is..... https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/the-best-stereo-system-ive-ever-heard-1/ |
Those who can swallow this kind of nonsense from Yamaha marketing people can go and buy
Machina Dynamica's Teleportation Tweak, it ranks the same :) http://www.machinadynamica.com/machina60.htm |
On a totally unrelated subject, nitrocellulose finishes on guitars are sought after as opposed to poly finishes, and are preferred by some artists for the idea that they let the wood "breathe". So some finishes can have certain characteristics attributed to them, but for a speaker where the cabinet is supposed to be sonically transparent, I think they're reaching a bit with their claims. |
bikerbw, Yes, tone and decay are one reason what makes old guitars and violins so sought after. You sometimes see guitars used which have had most of their lacquer scratched off. In a loudspeaker, the cabinet also contributes to tone and decay - despite the best efforts of most designers to stop it (ok possibly barring exotic designs such as the $165,000 Arrakis reviewed by Robert Harley or the KEF Blade). It would be interesting for tuning purposes if you could somehow separate the drive unit sound from the cabinet sound. In a poorly designed cabinet the walls can even effectively become transparent at certain frequencies due to resonance. So you might actually hear more of the box sound than the drivers sound! Definitely not good. On the other hand a few designers have decided that since you can’t beat it, you might as well join it. So they have attempted to actually incorporate the cabinet sound with the drive unit sound. I think Bosendorfer tried this previously and UK designer Russell Kauffman does currently. http://www.russellk.co.uk/index.php# |
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I thought this sounded preposterous at first. But since Yamaha makes very good musical instruments, I tend to respect them. Just speculation, but if these speaker cabinets are fabricated with wood, the paint finish might be some sort of epoxy or high strength material, that stiffens or damps the wood. Being a DIY woodworker, I have experienced that some of my painted projects seem to take on a better structural situation after painting. Just a thought! |
C37 lacquer audiophile anti vibration paint for speaker cabinets, speaker diaphragms, capacitors, wire, printed circuit boards, etc. Works like a champ! 🥊 POW! http://www.ennemoser.com/eundf.html |
I was skeptical about these speakers. I also ignore the marketing hype from the manufacture. Let's face it the majority of Yamaha's market is not audiophiles. That being said I heard these at my friends house with Parasound Amp and preamp. These speakers sound unbelievable!!!! I own Wilson, Dynaudio Elac and B&W 805N . This is not a comparison. If you are interested in these I would recommend finding a dealer that would allow you to take these home for a listen. The price tag seems high because they are Yamaha. Once again In my opinion and about three other of my friends these speakers sound fantastic. |
On the surface, this appears to be a gross claim. However a surprising number of individual aspects of the design of an audio component have an impact upon how that design sounds. Materials used in the construction of a speaker cabinet can and do have an audible impact. The finish of the cabinet can and does have an audible impact. In fact, it was documented that different wood species and surface finishes did in fact have an affect the sonic qualities of the LS3/5a. While something may have lost in translation, don't knock till you tried it so to speak. |
