Yamaha ns 5000

The NS500 is the an incredible speaker (likely my second fav now). I wanted to buy the NS5000 for my Livingroom but recently figured out that the KEF Blade 2 Meta will work in this space, so I am going with that instead. Keep in mind that the NS5000 is very powerful and you need some space for them.

I then thought about getting the NS3000 for my home office, it is a small room, 12 x 11 x 9. The NS3000 is not available in the USA, but I can get it from a Toronto, Canada dealer. I liked the NS5000 so much I am willing to buy the NS3000 unheard because it is supposed to be like the NS5000 without the low end.

My son accidently poked a hole in my 10 year old KEF LS50 that I had moved back into my office. So I thought I would give the LS50 Meta a try, since I always wanted to keep a LS50 around. I was planning on getting the NS3000 too.

However, after hearing the LS50 Meta I decided to not get the NS3000. LS50 Meta is amazing with the gear I have on it. The same gear I was going to use with either the NS5000 or NS3000 (gear with an overall neutral gear sonic signature).

Benchmark AHB2 mono | Benchmark LA4 preamp | Musetec 005 DAC | Audience FrontRow speaker cable.

I am not sure how your Esoteric would work with the Yamaha’s. I have warmer gear in the CODA 07x preamp and the KRELL Dou 175XD and I would not use that with the Yamahas. I plan to use the KRELL with the Blades (maybe an upgraded Krell). and I know it sounded great with my old LS50.

I will use the Musetec 005 DAC for both the office and Livingroom system. Getting a used second 005 this Saturday.

BTW - I was going to go back to the NS5000 as my choice over the Blade 2 Meta because of this poked driver issue. However, I found a company that makes speaker dust covers for the Blade 2, that I can use like the NS5000’s driver covers.

@auroravengeance Where did you here both the NS3000 and NS5000?

@jtgofish @smodtactical I think we are the 3 people on A'gon with the NS5000.

How long did it take for your speakers to settle in with the sound not changing. I think I am close to 100 hours now on mine.

I have a CODA #16 amp with it, and I have loved it but last night the sound was not as good. I am thinking it could be the drivers still being broken in.

@smodtactical That is the opposite issue I am having. I am thinking I want a bit less warmth than the CODA #16 with the NS5000. I love the #16 and the full range sound with the NS5000 is excellent. My issue is that I use the top end of the Benchmark AHB2 as my reference. Though, I do not think even mono AHB2 will sound as good overall as the #16. I may get a pair of AHB2’s for a home trial. Another amp is SimAudio that should work but at a higher cost.

I moved the #16 to my office today with the Magenpan LRS+ and that is a great combo. I think the LRS+ is a bit brighter than the NS5000 so it seems to be a perfect fit with the Class A #16. I think I will be using the LRS+ and #16 together going forward.

Your comments about fatigue with the PASS makes me wonder if your issue is a room acoustics problem. Why not measure your room acoustics and see if that is the cause of your fatigue.

Mitch Barnett from Digital Room Correction (DRC) Calibration - Accurate Sound can help you with your room acoustics. You do not have to use his software-based solution, you could choose physical room panels instead. However, getting a professional to help you sort the room out was the best move I made in my small office. He charges $700 for the measurements and the resulting convolution filters made for your speakers and room.

If you try this out for a month or so you can see if you still get the fatigue. If not, then it is not the gear. You can save a lot of money by fixing the room and not chasing gear. You can then fix the room with panels or Mitch’s filter or a combo of both. I use panels only in my office.

The amp you should try is the KRELL Duo 300XD. There is a local dealer selling a used one for $6250. I owned the 175XD at one time. The model number represents the number of possible watts in Class A. So, the 300XD is 300 watts and the 175XD is 175 watts.  It is the smoothest and least fatiguing amp I have ever heard (and owned). It is somewhat like the CODA #16, but smoother.

Now that I have moved my CODA #16 with the LRS+ I am debating whether I should get the KRELL Duo 300XD or a pair of Benchmark AHB2 mono. Two rather different sounding amps.

Congrats. Hope that solves the fatigue issue for you.

I actually got some inspiration from your NS5000 videos for my NS5000 placement. First thing I did was remove a wooden shelf out from in-between the speakers. Then toed-in a bit like you have, and then vola. Incredible improvement in the sound. I am sharing the room with my son's toys, so it took some time to figure out how to best arrange the room.

What I have now is just fantastic. 

My setup is 

- Benchmark LA4 preamp

- Benchmark DAC3B

- CODA #16 amp

- NS5000 speakers

- Playback Designs Streamer-IF (for the DAC3B and another future DAC)

- future DAC will be a Playback Designs Edelwise or Dream