Yamaha NS 5000
Just saw this post by the guy that will remotely do my DSP convolution files. This is for Direc 2 but highlights the mans knowledge. https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/dirac-live-2-digital-room-correction-software-walkthrough-r884/ |
Congrats. In the event that your speakers maybe a little too big for the room, I think you are covered in that case by DSP. If you use digital streaming and digital files for playback via ROON or JRiver, you can use convolution files to adjust the response curve to the room. There is a guy up in Canada that I will be working with (remotely) to get the NS 5000 to fit into my room. My room is only 12x11xx9 (plus some extra space). I asked him whether his DSP expertise can make the NS5000 fit into my room via the photos I sent him and he said no problem. I found out about the convolution based approach to DSP from reading the great discussion on Computer Audiophile web site. The founder of the site has a nice review of what I will also do. https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/bits-and-bytes/a-new-listening-room-part-two-acoustics-speakers-dsp-r863/ One great thing about using this approach to DSP is that you can use any preamp. I was looking at preamps like the Lyngdorf 3400 (integrated), Linn Selekt, Anthem, and another dedicated DSP device int he $1000 range (forgot the name). Reading posts here and on Computer Audio files leads me to believe the convolution file based approach could be the best if applied properly. BTW - the warranty on the NS5000 in the USA is now 2 years. I was told 10 years in Canada from the same dealer you likely went to in Canada. However, it looks like the Yamaha accountants got involved and lowered it everywhere. |
The custom covers maybe a good idea since you have a toddler. I should also look into something like that. Those grills are a huge part of my decision since they look solid and my toddler will have some difficulty getting into the drivers. The black gloss of the speaker is rather gorgeous. I am not usually a fan of the glossy black finish. The reason I decided on the NS5000 was the tone of the speakers. I think the tone (sounding like real acoustic instruments) was likely due to the same driver material on the 3 NS5000 drivers. The sound was so coherent and lifelike to me. I also liked the Persona's 5f's and 3f's coherence but it was not better than the NS5000 for me. The Persona is really following in the 40 year old footsteps of the Yamaha NS1000 with the dual BE drivers. The Persona sounded more coherent than the Magico A3. Now all 3 speakers are wonderful. If someone gave me anyone 1 of them I would be a happy camper, but since I am spending my money that coherence/tone thing seemed to be the best on the NS5000. I did not get to really tell if the sound was diminished at low volume. I tried but the room was so bad that I just said the heck with it and just listened at a mid volume level. What electronics were attached to the speakers? My demo had the latest top end Yamaha separates. The sweet top end of the NS5000 also contributed to my decision for the NS5000. Since I will be using it in my office for long periods of time. I thought the NS5000 would be great for very long listening sessions. Now this top end was not dull or tubey to me so that was also important. For my downstairs I want to get either a KEF Blade2 or Persona 9H since I find both amazing and exciting speakers to listening too. Those listening session will be much shorter. That 50x50 demo room definitely did not help the speaker. For your own room you should look into room treatments. Yamaha has built some room treatments that they use in shows, they are placed behind the speaker. I think there is a link I posted somewhere in this thread. It is incredible how much of a difference my acoustic treatments made in my room. I am also looking forward to hearing what the DSP magician from Canada can do for my system. I would not be buying the NS5000 if not for my room treatments and the potential of the convolution files to tame the bass nodes. |
@steve59 Have not got it yet. Howver, I will be using the following: Luxman m900u amp Mola Mola Makua DAC/Preamp/Streamer (almost 100% sure) BTW - Shellely’s Stereo will be holding a listening party for the NS 5000. Most likely in there better rooms. I may head down for another listen. https://www.stereophile.com/content/yamaha-event-near-los-angeles @smodtactical Has posted some videos on YouTube of the NS5000 he got delivery on yesterday. He is a very happy camper. Hopefully he can chime in after he stops listening. |
I am with you on the buy something. Actually I was going to buy the NS5000 at the public NS5000 event at the local dealer. I wanted to hear it in the bigger demo room just in case. Well this thing called Covaid-19 hit and the event got cancelled. So I am twiddling by thumbs until I can drive down and buy them. BTW - The reason I have not bought anything until now is because I only want to spend $5K to buy my next system, speakers + amps + DAC. That initial $5K is the amount I invested in the stock market to spend foolishly on audio gear. So today $5K = $40K system. LOL (first time I used this) The Luxman amps are out and I will get the T+A PV3100 HV integrated instead. I have no physical space to put the separates due to extra crap I am putting into the office space for a new work project. Luxman amps for the downstairs in a few years. |
This an audio site and not a finance site so my last comment on money is that volatility in the stock market is not necessary a bad thing. You can make money with stock prices going up and down. That $5K investment started about 5 or 6 years ago so this is not money falling from the sky. It’s been a grind. My virtual system photos will get updated once the gear is in place. |
It looks like the NS 5000 finally hit Canada but not the USA yet. Anybody who went to the recent audio show in Toronto and heard these speakers want to chime in one their impressions. The most recent reviews I have read have been rather conflicting. This reviewer does not understand the accolades thrown towards the speaker: https://www.soundstageaustralia.com/index.php/reviews/114-yamaha-ns-5000-loudspeakers While the followup in the same site contradicts that review. https://www.soundstageaustralia.com/index.php/reviews/110-follow-up-yamaha-ns-5000-loudspeakers-edit... I am about to place an order for the Magico A3 speaker but I always wanted to hear the Yamaha NS 5000. Now that it may come to the USA and I could easily get it from Canada (I have non-audiophile family in Toronto) this speaker has re-emerged as a candidate to consider. So any feedback would be appreciated. |
@smodtactical; So your dealer was mistaken when he said you would not like the sound of the Yamaha NS 5000 if you liked the Paradigm Persona 9H. My dad heard the Persona 3F and then the Yamaha NS 5000 and preferred the Yamaha a little bit more (Yamaha is 50% more expensive speaker). He went to the same dealer as you. Looking forward to reading your impressions. I would be interested in what you thought of the the imaging, the separation and laying of instruments. Only review that was not so positive view on the NS 5000 was the Soundstage.com Australia reviewer who said the sound seemed tied to the speakers baffle. However, he was contradicted next month by his colleague who basically said the speaker was amazing. My dad told me that the NS 5000 would be too big for my upstairs office. What do you think at low to mid volume levels? I have a bigger room downstairs which I am thinking either the Yamaha or Persona 9H. Leaning more towards the 9H for the downstairs since it is bigger and heavier and harder for a toddler to mess around with. https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/7605 |
What a coincidence, USA! USA! USA! https://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio_visual/speaker_systems/ns-5000/index.html |
@smodtactical I am on your web site and we chatted there too. I went there yesterday to see your new posts. My dad only listened for about 30 minutes. He is now a movie home theater guy at heart. Not so much into music as he was in his younger days. His hearing must also be not as sharp as in the past. That is why I was looking forward to hearing this my self and also your opinions. Based on my dad’s feedback, I have a feeling I will like the NS 5000 more than the 3F, doubt I would say the same for the 9H. I did some research and it turns out my local Paradigm Persona dealer, Shelley Stereo, is going to carry the NS 5000 (at least from Yamaha’s web site). I have contacted the dealer there and hope to hear a confirmation. I demoed the Persona 5F with him. I liked it a lot. So now I will have the same opportunity as you to hear both the Yamaha and Persona in the same system, though they only had the Persona 5F and not the 9H. In an ideal world I would love the NS 5000 and be able to put it in my small office. Then for the downstairs I could put the 9H. Whatever the case I am happy now that I can demo all the speakers I am considering, 1) TAD ME1 2) Vivid Kaya 45 3) Yamaha NS 5000 4) Persona (3F or 9H depending on room) BTW - a lot of argument on this site about detailed vs musical sound. Seems you and I like both. BTW2 - http://www.kennedy-hifi.com/myblog/new-yamaha-ns-5000-speakers-surpassing-legend/ |
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/yamaha-announces-new-5000-series/ The NS 5000 are coming to Southern Cal dealer in Nov 2019. In stock at Music Direct https://www.musicdirect.com/speakers/Yamaha-NS-5000-3-Way-Bookshelf-Speakers |
I went and demoed the Yamaha NS 5000 with the 5000 series Yamaha preamp and amp (so $35K of Yamaha gear + Linn streamer + wire). It was a huge disappointment to see the room the Yamaha was setup in. It was a conference room a little bigger than my 12x11x9 home office. I think the demo room was 16’L x 14W’ x 9H’. The NS 5000 was about 2 feet in front of the short wall. In-between the speakers was a short large cabinet where the gear was placed (not a good acoustic setup). There was a large OLED TV hung in-between the speakers. The room also contained various Magnapan speakers (I counted 3). It also had some Steinway Lyngdorf speaker lying around along with some separate speaker drivers. There was a huge fake wood conference desk in the middle of the room and 6 office chairs. There was a glass wall behind me and a full wall side sliding glass wall to enter this conference room. So basically as acoustically bad as it could get. Nevertheless, I said let’s make lemonade out of this and I thought my room is small so there will some benefit to demoing here. My current speaker search is for my 12x11x9 (https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/7605 ) office. The finalists are the following, in no particular order (the first 3 listed have been demoed at a store and are audiophile awesome): TAD ME1 Paradigm Persona 3F Vivid Kaya 45 Yamaha NS 5000 Vimberg Amea (I may consider this one with ceramic drivers not diamond) The Yamaha sounded not so special in some audiophile sense, it did not have great imaging (though rather good) and it did not have that excitement factor that I get from music. However, I could sense that all the pieces were there it was just the room that was the wet blanket on the musical enjoyment. So I decided to focus on the tone of the sound instead of things like soundstage, imaging, seperation or layering. These aspects were all there but not to the awesome degree I heard on the first 3 speakers on my list. So I played some piano, Bob Marley (I like his voice), and my current favorite female singer Karen O (Lux Prima disk). The tone coming from this music was the best I have ever heard. I though that the Paradigm Persona was better than the Magico A3 because I felt the top and mid-range sounded more coherent with the Persona. Well I think the Yamaha sounds even more coherent than the Persona, maybe because all 3 drivers are made from a material that is supposed to compete with the BE material of the Persona. I can see why people have said that the Yamaha sounds like real instruments. I demoed for about 2.5 hours and listened at both low and mostly loud levels. I did not have a problem with my ears or head while demoing (which was shocking since I am sensitive to bad setups). However, as I was driving home I realized I was playing the music too loud and felt the fatigue (it was that room). I was wondering why I did not have a headache while listening. I figured out it was not too much bass that gave me a headache, it was a bad top end. They Yamaha was awesome in the top end. One or 2 reviews have said a little recessed but I did not get that impression. I listened to some Neil Peart on drums and the cymbals sounded good as did When the Levee Breaks by Zeppelin. There is nothing more to really describe about the demo sound wise other than to say that the Yamaha did the best at reproducing instruments that I have ever heard. I would love to hear a musician comment on the sound of these. So I have a choice to make. Get the following: Luxman c900 preamp Luxman m900u amp and 1 of TAD ME1 || Paradigm Persona 3F || Vivid Kaya 45 OR Lyngdorf 3400 integrated with ROOM PERFECT DSP Luxman m900u amp and Yamaha NS 5000 I still have some time to decide since I am waiting on a stock investment to blow up before I go shopping, https://stocktwits.com/symbol/ISR Until then I will let the gears in my head spin to figure out the way I go. At the moment I am leaning towards the Yamaha. BTW - The store carries Anthem STR (with ARC) || Lyngdorf (with ROOM PERFECT) || Linn (with SPACE OPTIMIZATION). The guy working there said he liked the Lyngdorf and Linn better and told me why from a design perspective they would sound better (his opinion I am not stating this as a fact). I like the microphone based DSP approach because I am lazy. |
This was not a big bx store, I do not think they sell the 5000 series at these big stores. Shelley’ s in Los Angeles area, where I went, is a super high end store. http://www.shelleysstereo.com/ The other stores in the USA that have them are also high end stores. There is of course the online sellers. www.musicdirect.com https://www.abt.com/product/140313/Yamaha-NS-5000-Black-Bookshelf-Speakers-With-Stands-NS5000PNST.html?utm_source=connexity&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=NS-5000PNST# The reason the Yamaha was placed in this room was they had the other rooms occupied with their existing gear. They did not buy the Yamaha system and are displaying this as a favor to Yamaha. In fact, I brought up the NS 5000 11 months ago to them when I audition the Paradigm Persona. They were not too interested nor that familiar in the NS 5000. I can understand their view since Yamaha does not have the rarefied audio reputation today as other brands. I think Techinics is in the same boat today, I believe Luxman had that perception a decade prior. Saying all of that I think a purchase of the NS 5000 speaker will happen for me. I went back and read some reviews and they also stated the beautiful sound or tone aspect of the NS5000’s, that I clearly heard. They also complimented the speaker for things like imaging, size of soundstage, and placement of sound (instruments, singers). Things I thought were their but were obscured by the room. I was thinking of even buying the Yamaha M-5000 and C-5000 amp and pre because the connectivity and output options to the speaker(s) is better than the Luxman gear I have in mind. However, the Luxman gear seemed to sound better when I auditioned but again the room comes into play. I am pretty sure I will stick with the Luxman’s. I was reading that insertion of the foam plug into the back of the speaker will move the low frequency to 49 Hz from 26 Hz. That may be OK for me to try sans DSP and use only the Tone controls of the preamp, it is worth a try. Otherwise, the Lyngdorf 2170 or 3400 will be used. If I get the NS 5000 I will also keep my KEF LS50’s in the same room and have them hooked up. http://www.livingsound.com.au/2017/01/yamaha-ns-5000/ |
@jetter I have a bigger room downstairs, it is 21'L x 12'W (+5 on entrance) x 25'H. I cannot put anything there for a few years because my toddler is the boss of that room at the moment. Once he gets about 18 months older I was thinking of putting a KEF Blade2 in that room, though the NS 5000 would likely be better suited for that space. So if the NS 5000 is too big for my office then the downstairs is a safety net. The NS 5000 is likely harder to knock down than the KEF Blade2. This is an important point since my 3.5 year old son is unusually big and strong for his age. He already wears clothes sized for 6 and 7 year old kids. That is one reason I want to wait a bit for the downstairs system purchase, until he gets a bit more mentally mature. There are a few things that I have going for me that should make the NS 5000 work in my office. 1) My enthusiasm to try something new and cutting edge in the office 2) DSP (ROOM PERFECT) on the Lyngdorf 3) The foam bung to reduce low frequency output to 49Hz on the speaker 4) I listen at low to mid volume level 5) My room is acoustically treated and currently sounds great with KEF LS50's 6) I could always order from Music Direct and do a 2 month home demo. Anyways, these are first world problems and I am not going to sweat it. I am going to believe the reviews on the imaging, soundstage, etc. I forgot to mention that the NS 5000 owners manual recommends a little toe in. The demo had the speakers facing straight out. I am enjoying the process of buying the next speaker. It has been a long time since I had the space and almost the money to buy something cool. |
@jtgofish Thanks for the time to find the photo. You actually mentioned that to me more than a year ago in a private conversation. I currently have some acoustic panels behind my current speakers that maybe are doing the same thing. I think mine are for absorption, whatever the case, they made massive improvements in my existing speakers. I had a sound tech remotely look at my room and suggest treatment options. I just told him to do what is needed and give me the bill, so I am not sure what technically is happening, diffusion or absorption. |
You might think this one is about the Yamaha NS-5000 loudspeaker shown, but it’s not. Instead, it’s what’s behind the speaker -- an acoustic panel from Yamaha named ACP-2 that works with a pair of loudspeakers to help strategically tame their output into the room. Priced from ¥45,000 to ¥60,000, depending on the finish (the dark wood one shown is ¥60,000), the ACP-2 measures 23.11”W x 47.24”H x 1.18”D and weighs 12.5 pounds. It’s said to work from 80Hz to 4000Hz, but I am not sure how much sound it absorbs and how much it reflects. What I do know is that Yamaha not only had these panels behind the speakers, they had them in many other places in the room, such as along the walls and in the corners. They were also showing and using a slightly smaller, lighter panel that looks similar called TCH, which is priced at ¥36,000 and works from 125Hz to 4000Hz. These panels seem like interesting acoustic treatments, but, unfortunately, I was told that they’re only available in Japan.https://www.soundstageglobal.com/index.php/shows-events/tokyo-international-audio-show-2019-tokyo-japan/899-tias-2019-speakers |
@smodtactical The room I heard the NS 5000 was the worst room imaginable for a demo. I was rather upset that I had driven a far distance to only hear them in a makeshift glass walled boardroom. Just a pathetic demo room. However, I was able to focus on those speaker drivers and also heard the "very pure clear yet somehow extremely musically intoxicating sound". I was not able to figure out if the speakers disappeared and the other things you mentioned but I had a feeling in my own room or any other room those attributes would show up. I heard the NS 5000 with the new Yamaha separates. The room being so bad I cannot really comment on those electronics either. |
There are a couple of places that allow a home demo of these speakers for 2 months. That is you buy them and if they don not work in your space they will take them back. I have posted some places that sell them in the posts above. An additional point with the Yamaha is that if anything goes wrong in the first year of ownership they will send you a new pair. The warranty on the speakers is 10 years. |
@incorrigable Congrats. I also finally bought the NS5000 and every time play music on it is a revelation. Those 3 drivers are something special. The fact that you bought it from Shelley's says a lot since they have it demoed in the worst possible room. |
