I bought the Empy because it was described as having the sound signature of the floor standing speaker I am getting next. After a month with the Empy's I tend to agree that the Empy sounds like this speaker. I am using a Benchmark HPA4 and DAC3B with the Empy. That combo sounded so good that I decided to get 2 Benchmark AHB2 amps to run in mono to get the similar sound as the Empy with the floor standers. The AHB2 has the same THX circuit as the HPA4 headphone amp.
The speaker is the relatively new Yamaha NS 5000. It is a tour de force of technology and is the only box speaker in the world where all 3 drivers, including a 12 inch woofer are made from the same material. The coherent sound you get from this speaker is one of the best in the world. I went on a audio demo tour last eyar in Los Angeles and I heard tons of speakers.
This new driver material is supposedly better than Beryllium. Yamaha was the first speaker maker to use Beryillium in the 1970's, in the tweeter and mid-range of the NS 1000. It is only now that many other high end speakers use Beryllium. Yamaha recently released a 2 driver monitor based on the same driver material called the NS 3000 for $6K. You will see a review of that maybe this up coming week on some audio site or magazine. The NS 5000 is $15K and a little large for my room but I am now considering sharing my kids play room (our living room) with the big bookshelf NS 5000. I also think a speaker in-between the NS 3000 and NS 5000, maybe NS 4000 will also be released soon. The Empy and my current KEF LS50's will hold me out until I know what exact Yamaha model to get.
