Yamaha NS 5000 w/ NAD M33

I own the NS5000.  What a speaker, I threw away the shipping boxes. My friend who has forgotten more about audio and music than I ever knew came over to my place to hear the NS5000.  He said the NS5000 was only bested by 2 other systems that he had heard and those cost $600k. 

I have heard the NAD M22 V2 in my home. It is not the same as the M33. I did not like the NAD M22 V2. I have tried a PeachTree GAN1 that was modded by Ric Shultz at EVS. It was not powerful enough at 200 watts.

I then tried the CODA #16 (what my friend heard). I also upgraded to the Audience FrontRow speaker cable. In terms of total satisfaction, I would say it was a 95/100 for me and likely 99/100 for my buddy. He is more of a tube guy. I would like the warmth of the #16 dialed back a tiny bit for me to say it was perfect. When I demoed it, I used the Holo Serene preamp.

I moved the CODA #16 to my office to pair with the $1000 Magnepan LRS+. What a combo. The brighter LRS+ works perfectly on my ears with the #16. I have hooked up 2 preamps to the CODA #16 (it has a switch) and I am blown away how good this sounds (not as good as the NS5000). I am using the Holo Serene preamp and the Schitt Mjolnir v3 preamp from 2023. Unfortunately, I am not taking the #16 away from the LRS+.

On the NS5000 I am doing a shootout with a stereo Benchmark AHB2. This amp will be close to the sound of the NAD M33. As someone who has owned AHB2 monos I will say that the volume on the NS5000 would be better served by monos over the single stereo. Sound wise there is not much difference with stereo and mono AHB2.

The other amp in the shootout is the Sanders Magtech (which used to be on the LRS+). The Sanders is a much better match to the NS5000 over the AHB2. In fact, the AHB2 is going up for sale later tonight. There is a bit of hardness in the sound that I am now attributing to the AHB2 and nothing upstream. I now am using the Schitt Yggi+ Less is More DAC and the hardness is not too bad, but it is still there. The Sanders does not exhibit this issue. I am using the Benchmark LA4 preamp for the NS5000 (also long term)

The Sanders is likely a stop gap for me though I could see it being a long-term solution.  The amp that I think will work great on the NS5000 for my more neutral preferences is the new SimAudio 761 or 861 from the North Collection. There is a local dealer that carries both the NS5000 and the North Collection and I will demo this later in the year.

I have also heard the Yamaha 5000 series gear with the NS5000. I think the CODA is much better.  I am also looking at other CODA amps to see if I can get that 5% dissatisfaction eliminated.

The NS5000 is not too hard to drive so there are lots of amp choices. I am going for a perfect fit (like the #16 and LRS+) so I have a few more amps to try out.

I see you asked about power. My Sanders is 500 | 900 watts # 8 and 4 Class AB. The CODA #16 is 150 | 300 | 600 at 8 | 4 | 2 and has 100 watts in Class A. It also has a massive power supply. I think the CODA is the more powerful amp.

The 100-watt AHB2 was surprising powerful with the NS5000 but that extra power of the other 2 amps gives a bigger soundstage.

Yes, more power helps the NS5000 but is not essential and depends on the music you play.

@adamaxel I noticed on your photo that you have the tweeters on the outside. That is supposed to give a bigger sound stage and a bit less imaging. I have the tweeters on the inside and have not tried it the other way. 

Have you tried both ways?

Do not hear the NS5000 as being towards the clinical side of neutral. It is slightly warm. My Magnepan LRS+ is brighter. I am considering the SimAudio because it is brighter than my CODA #16 for the NS5000. 

@deep_333 Awesome. I was wanting the KEF Blade Meta 2 but went for the safer NS5000 (harder to knock down). I would have been happy with both, but I am surprised at how amazing the NS5000 turned out to be.

I am also a huge Schitt fanboy. I am currently listening to the Mjolnir v3 preamp with the CODA #16 amp and Magnepan LRS+. I am using the bright Benchmark DAC3B which maybe the secret sauce to make this work.

When I tried the Mjolnir v3 with the CODA #16 and the Schitt Yggi+ Less Is More. I stopped listening after 2 songs, it was not my type of sound.

The Mjolnir is a keeper at $1200. Just got to find the proper pairing. It also pairs nicely with the Schitt Aegir ($800). I used that for headphones.

I have heard the Luxman c900u and the m900u with Harbeth. I feel the Harbeth are a little warmer than the NS5000. I loved the sound, but I could not see myself listening long term to such a warm system.

The CODA #16 I owned is not as warm as the Luxman. I also use a super neutral preamp, the Benchmark LA4 or Holo Serene with the NS5000.

I think a lot of people would think you are a bit nuts pairing the Yamaha with Schitt gear. Not me, those Schitt guys know what they are doing. My lower cost Schitt Yggi+ Less Is More replaced my Lumin X1 (partially replaced since the Schitt needs a streamer).

Agree with the quality of amps used with the NS5000. The NAD is not in the best choice. I would take a Benchmark AHB2 mono over the NAD for about the same price, even though it was my worst performer on the NS5000.

With regards to the current or power of an amp I have to disagree on what is needed. I just finished a shootout with 3 amps,

- stereo Benchmark AHB2 (100 | 175 | 192 @ 8 | 4 | 2) (off memory)

- CODA #16 (150 | 300 | 600 @ 8 | 4 | 2)

- Sanders Magtech (500 | 900 @ 8 | 4)

All 3 of these amps drove the speakers to acceptable levels. The bass was incredibly articulate on the AHB2. The AHB2 is the weakest power wise of these 3 amps and the CODA is the strongest. One could argue the bass was the best with the AHB2. My friend, who dislikes the AHB2, even said this to me on the Stones Sympathy for the Devil track. My takeaway is that the NS5000 is not that difficult to drive even though it has that huge woofer.

The AHB2 sadly came out last in the overall test, I wanted it to win. The AHB2 had a slightly smaller soundstage and some fatigue in the top and mids with my gear. I am very sensitive to this, and others may not notice. I may be able to eliminate that with a warmer DAC, but the issue was not there with the other 2 amps.

Now if you want to stay in a "budget" price range the Sanders Magtech is an excellent choice for the NS5000. My used Sanders was $4k from Sanders with warranty and is excellent in many ways. Now if I had not heard the #16 on the NS5000 I could be very happy long term with the Sanders. The Sanders is miles ahead of NAD M22 V2 that I had in the house long ago. 

I also tried my modded Peachtree GAN1 (Class D 200 @ 8) and it was too weak to drive the NS5000 nicely. Though I will try this again as a stopgap tomorrow. I may sell the Sanders and AHB2 to raise cash for a more expensive amp. 

Given my taste for a neutral sounding amp fo the NS5000, that suggestion of the Boulder amp is interesting. The Diablo would be too warm for me. A SImAudio North Collection is what I think would work the best for my ears, but I have only heard the old lineup. My CODA #16 is an amazing amp, but I like it better on my Magnepan LRS+ speaker (spectacular pairing with Holo Serene preamp + LRS+). The LRS+ is nowhere comparable to the NS5000 but the #16 takes it to another level of goodness. The Sanders comes pretty close to the #16 on the NS5000.

I was deciding on whether to sell my AHB2 tonight, so I hooked it up to the Holo Serene preamp and the Benchmark DAC3B. I put it through the RAAL T1-1b amp interface box and listened with the RAAL CA-1a headphone.

That fatigue I had on the NS5000 system with the AHB2 is not evident on the phones. A very surprising result. I am keeping the AHB2 for the RAAL, since it sounds so good. I am even using a silver headphone cable from RAAL.

@steve59 In the past I have not been a fan of MAC. Now if I am not seeing a perfect match with the CODA #16, which is slightly warm. I think I would have the same issue with the MAC. That is why I tried to make the brighter Benchmark AHB2 work. I bought the Audience FrontRow speaker cable specifically for the AHB2 and it made a huge improvement. I really think the SimAudio will work for me. I am fine with the Sanders until I am ready to get a new amp.

BTW - in terms of neutrality, for my ears the KEF Blade is neutral. My NS5000 is a touch warmer.