Four months have passed since YH-5000SE joined my life. Here is my 2nd impression.
If your time allows, please see my
1st impression. I do not repeat the introduction of my background, aesthetics, and fit and comfort.
The system:
Soundgenic (storage&player)
UD-505 (DAC)(AKM4497)
at-bha100 (tube&ss hybrid amp)
Belden 1850 (power tap)
Music:
Classical music (symphony, concerto, piano, strings, flute)
Japanse pop and rock (e.g. Kessoku band from Bocchi the Rock)
If not mentioned, I have always used a 6.3mm single-ended stock cable because it is more universal than a 4.4mm balanced (stock) cable, hence more convenient to compare with different headphones and try other systems.
1. Burn-in effect
I wrote the performance was seemingly stable after 10+ hours in my previous post. I should correct the statement. It changed drastically after 100 hours. In general, the sound shifted from lean to bold, from revealing to forgiving. The treble was harsh in the first 10 hours, though, the harshness disappeared soon. After two months (= 100 hrs), the sound image turned bigger. E.g., a solo violin on the stage appeared as a small dot at first, but now it is a larger circle. More presence. Vocals came a bit closer to me. The dependency on the source chain was a bit relaxed. At first streaming by a smartphone with Bluetooth connection felt empty, but now it is so-so and enough to enjoy videos.
From the beginning, they had good resolution, separation, and sound imaging. Its very high performance in reproducing natural sound images has been stable since the open-box to now. My priority for audio gear is an orchestra in concert halls. At the sheet of a good concert hall I can listen to the united sound of many instruments on the stage as an organism, while if I focus on a specific player, it is also possible to pick it up and enjoy his/her unique skill in detail (which psychologists call cocktail party effect). YH-5000SE makes this experience at a high level. I have not found changes in frequency balance. Crisp highs, clear mids, and tight lows.
2. Pads and Cables
< A paragraph for cable option was added in 2023/June/05>
YH-5000SE, as an SE package, includes two sets of pads; leather and suede. The latter is Toray's proprietary Ultrasuede. Both of them have a very good touch. My impression of the two is similar to many others. Leather pads have clearer sound, tighter bass, and more precise positioning. Suede pads give a more relaxed atmosphere. The edge of the sound image is a bit vague. Consonants are heard well with leather pads while the echo of choral in a church is more enjoyable with the suede pads. If the leather pad is spicy Thai curry, the suede pad is CoCo Ichi's. My personal preference (ah, of course, everything here is my personal something) is leather for most of the music because I'd like to see precise positioning and a clear presence of each instrument in an orchestra. Suede pads may be good for choral, some female vocals, and BGM. In summer may be good as well.
YH-5000SE package includes two cables: a single-ended (3.5mm + 6.3mm adapter) and a balanced (4.4mm). After posting the 1st version of this review, using the 4.4mm out of at-bha100, I tried the latter cable for the first time (with sheepskin pads). The difference is quite impressive. Wider soundstage, higher resolution, and better separation. The bass is a bit punchier. The overall impression is more exciting and enjoyable. Joyful cantata of J.S Bach BWV147 with more joy, powerful end of Smetena's Vltava more powerful, brilliant flute of P.L Graf more brilliant. Some reviewers (including myself) mentioned the soundstage is not so big among the flagship headphones. However, probably, in most of the cases, 6.3mm stock cable was used. So it is good news that the balanced cable, which is already included in the "SE" package, is effective to improve the width. Well, though, I noticed that this difference is mainly that of the amp side. The amp, at-bha100 is the first fully-balanced tube/ss hybrid amp of audio-technica (discontinued, unfortunately). Its push-pull is very well designed. In conclusion, as I describe in the next section, YH-5000SE is sensitive to the chain. If the best connection option of your system is balanced out, it is certainly better to choose 4.4mm cable. It makes YH's unique character even better. When reading others' impressions, we should be careful about the cable option. When testing by yourself, if possible, it is highly recommended to try a balanced cable connection.
FYI: The difference between the two stock cables is only the termination of the amp end. Both of them are silver-coated OFC, 2m long. Some claim it is too short for in-room use, but for me, it is OK because I use a desktop system in a small room. Yamaha also offers XLR4pin balanced cable as an option. However, its price is more than $150 more expensive than 4.4mm even though the adapter is normal Neutrik's.
3. Dependency
YH is a sensitive tool. You need your favorite gear, an appropriate volume level, and a quiet room.
(1) Chain
I agree with others' comments. It changes a lot with coupled devices. I use at-bha100 hybrid amp as my main gear. The amp gives a slight tube effect and adjusts the balance of the scattered sounds. With YH-5000SE, vocals are recessed a bit. It is no problem for me because I enjoy instruments even when listening to pop and rock. The DAC, UD-505, is also a good headphone amp. I use it instead of AT in summer because the tube amp is too hot. Everything comes closer and more visible with a clearer edge. I also tried ADI-2 Pro. Then mids, especially vocals, came forward. I can watch the tongue of the vocalists. YH was sensitive to DSP features. XbassII of ifi gryphon was quite effective. The headphones simply give me what they received. I can enjoy the sounds of my favorite gear.
(2) Volume
Normally there is no "volume" section in a headphone review. But I think the performance of YH depends on the volume a lot. It may be true for other headphones, e.g., In the manual of HD800s, Sennheiser wrote it shows good performance in low or middle volume, not in a high volume. The same can be said for YH. I prefer relatively low volume (I seldom turn the nob over 9 o'clock), but when I tried larger volume, the treble becomes harsh early followed by a feeling of overall distortion. Since its arrival on audio shows last year, impressions were polarized and the problem of treble has been reported repeatedly. A user on Japanese Twitter says he needed lots of effort to control distortion while others say YH shows faithful sound reproduction effortlessly. I guess the difference in loudness is part of the reason for the diversified comments.
(3) Room
YH-5000SE is very open even among open-back headphones, such as HD800s, ClearMG, and TH909. Its almost ZERO insulation is similar to ATH-R70x. You can hear any sound outside, including noise from electric devices. Audition in a crowded audio show is the worst environment to judge its performance unless you use a very loud volume. (yet high volume is not suitable for YH in my opinion as mentioned above). For my lifestyle, it is OK because I enjoy music early in the morning before my family wakes up. For the same reason, mobile use is almost impossible even though its cable termination is suitable for a DAP (3.5mm + 6.3mm adapter, 4.4mm balanced).
4. Comparison
I have HD800s in my hands. As in
my previous post, I auditioned several other expensive headphones in e-earphone Akihabara and compared them hand-by-hand. The system was: PC(FLAC&DSD)-aune X18-Benchmark HPA4 (volume -47 to -50db. -30db only for Susvara). Around 10 minutes for each. Here is my note of the impressions of those headphones in comparison to YH. If you are familiar with one of them, e.g., D8000, just turn the words opposite, and then you get my impression of Yamaha against Final.
(1) One-by-one impressions
HD800s
- The headband is a bit harder, but fit and comfort are good enough.
- Wider sound stage in all directions. Far. Rear sheet of a concert hall.
- Less bass impact. More transparent highs. Similar resolution.
- Monocrome and drier. Less realistic.
- Overall impression of HD800s is the closest to YH among the tested headphones.
D8000
- Heavy. The headband does not fit well on my head.
- The sound stage is a bit smaller. Vocals closer.
- Similar or a bit higher level of reality and resolution
- Heavier sound, punchy bass. Pizzicato of contrabass is excellent.
- Some limit was felt in highs.
LCD5
- Good fit. Lighter than expected. Similar insulation (= almost zero).
- Slightly less resolution and reality
- More punchy bass than D8000
- Soundstage is deep. Positioning is far. A similar level of precision.
- Drier feeling, more reference side
Empyrean
- Very comfortable in a different way
- Narrower sound stage. Vocals in front of my face. My head in the piano.
- Resolution is sacrificed a bit
- No harshness even in the "s" sound.
- Smooth, wet, warm, and elegant. Especially bass
Elite
- Good fit and comfort
- Wetter than YH, drier than Empyrean
- Similar level of resolution. The echo in the hall is visible.
- A bit narrower sound stage. The vocal is closer.
- Similar impression in highs
Susvara
- Not a good fit on my head
- Surprisingly brilliant, transparent, and attractive highs. Crystal clear.
- May not be suitable for a long listening
- Much less bass. (Limitation of the amp?)
- Piano sounds a bit artificial.
I wrote "a bit" or "slightly" many times. The difference may be clear for a skilled audiophile, but as a beginner of Head-fi I should say all of the headphones were very good in most of the aspects. We are lucky to live when a variety of those excellent headphones are available (though not affordable). In e-earphone, I tested D8000pro as well, but it requires too loud volume to show its performance and it was not tolerable for me. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to audition for Utopia, Stealth/Expanse, or Stax. Someday I will make a chance.
(2) Rank
For your convenience of interpretation of my comment and bias, I arranged in order the headphones in different criteria based on my subjective judgment.
Number one
Punchy bass: LCD5
Brilliant treble: SUSVARA
Warm&smooth : Empyrean
Sound image: YH-5000SE
Resolution: D8000
Balance: ELITE
Sound stage
<Wide>HD800s, LCD5,
YH-5000SE, Susbara, D8000, Elite, Empyrean
<Narrow>
Resolution
<High>D8000,
YH-5000SE = Elite = HD800s, Susbara = LCD5, Empyrean
<low>
Frequency
<Treble-centric> Susbara, HD800s,
YH-5000SE, Elite, D8000, Empyrean, LCD5
<Bass-centric>
Humidity
<Dry>LCD5, HD800s,
YH-5000SE, Susbara, Elite, D8000, Empyrean
<Wet>
Temperature
<Warm>Empyrean, D8000, Elite,
YH-5000SE, LCD5, Susvara, HD800s
<Cool>
Reality
<Natural>YH-5000SE, D8000, Elite, HD800s, LCD5, Susvara, Empyrean
<Artifiical>
Touch
<Smooth>Empyrean, Elite, LCD5,
YH-5000SE=D8000, HD800s, Susvara
<Crisp>
Uniqueness
<Universal>LCD5,
YH-5000SE, Elite, D8000, HD800s, Empyrean, Susvara
<Individualistic>
If I had done this audition before purchasing YH-50000SE, I would have wondered between Elite and YH. Now, if someone gives me one of them, I will choose Empyrean because of its opposite character against YH and its almost magical charm.
5. Summary
The overall impression has not changed from the 1st impression. This is a good
machine that can work as both microscope and a panoramic lens. It demands a certain level of operation skill and patience of burn-in for the users. Among the headphones at a similar price, YH-5000se is good in some specific areas such as realistic sound image, resolution, and lightweight while not a top-performance in punchy bass, brightness, and width of the soundstage.
In a sense, the sound is very normal. No decoration. No exaggeration. Good music in, good music out.