[Strayngs]

i'm skeptical of these sorts of claims but perhaps the yh-5000se really is unique

your skeptical of me? …. I am the one who has the equipment to make this comparison LOL. And therefore, I am qualified to make such a statement. Who are you to say that I am lying LOL?

 

[jamesjames]

Sorry but the HD800 isnt in the same class as the Yammy….

Thanks for the correction.

 

[Strayngs]

Thanks for the correction.

Anytime….

 

[up late]

your skeptical of me? …. I am the one who has the equipment to make this comparison LOL. And therefore, I am qualified to make such a statement. Who are you to say that I am lying LOL?

*sigh* i didn't say nor imply that you are lying. my skepticism of such claims is based on my own experience in this hobby, which may differ from your own. these are subjective impressions after all.

 

[jamesjames]

Anytime….

I meant to ask, which class is the Yamaha in?

 

[up late]

the class of audiophile gear that makes a night and day difference by destroying the competition because of its god-like awesomeness

 

[jamesjames]

the class of audiophile gear that makes a night and day difference by destroying the competition because of its god-like awesomeness

Great, thanks.

 

[up late]

'Anytime....'

 

[fidgeraldo]

the class of audiophile gear that makes a night and day difference by destroying the competition because of its god-like awesomeness

Haha...is it really that good??? Hm, I'd better stop spending money on other Hi-Fi stuff and start saving for Yamaha...and I am serious, are you?

Cheers!

 

[Strayngs]

*sigh* i didn't say nor imply that you are lying. my skepticism of such claims is based on my own experience in this hobby, which may differ from your own. these are subjective impressions after all.

Honestly I reread my quote. That was supposed to be sarcasm and funny. It came across as serious lol. I'm sorry about that. That can be the problem with typing sentences instead of real life conversation lol.

 

[up late]

Honestly I reread my quote. That was supposed to be sarcasm and funny. It came across as serious lol. I'm sorry about that. That can be the problem with typing sentences instead of real life conversation lol.

that's what emojis are for

 

[up late]

Haha...is it really that good??? Hm, I'd better stop spending money on other Hi-Fi stuff and start saving for Yamaha...and I am serious, are you?

Cheers!

nope. maybe i should have used an emoji.

 

[fidgeraldo]

Nah... I believe it is!!!

Emoji...

Some folks can't afford Bentley, and some can. Is Bently that much better than the Honda Accord as the price would suggest?

LCD-5 is almost the price of Yamaha...I wasn't impressed at all a while ago when I tried it...but with Utopia, it's a whole different story to me...Still, LCD-5 has it's fans!

 

[jamesjames]

For what it's worth, I agree. My experience suggests these phones don't present a particularly difficult load to an amplifier - specified sensitivity 98dB/mW (at 1kHz); nominal impedance 34 ohms (at 1 kHz). Reasonable current and voltage should suffice to make them operate as they were designed to operate. The fact they are planar magnetic means also that source impedance is not so crucial as with many dynamic phones. I think any decent amp will give a good indication of the signature of these phones. My experience is a stable sound from day 1.

A few additional thoughts on this. As above, my view is these phones aren't hard to drive, and their basic character seems unaffected across a range of amps. My preferred amp is the Moon 430HA with all phones - but with the Yamaha I've also used the integrated amp in my Marantz SA10 (excellent), the Sennheiser HDV820 and the iFi iCAN in its various solid state and valve modes.

That said, the Yamaha does seem capable re transient detail, despite its (to my ear) unusual tuning, and does seem to repay investment in higher quality inputs. In the case of the Moon amp, for example, I find a benefit using its balanced output. I believe this is down to the more direct, cleaner signal delivered from the Moon's differential output stage. While Moon is unusual in providing its phono output with equivalent voltage, I've long thought it still doesn't quite achieve the quality of its balanced output.

The Marantz amp is fine - but lacks some refinement by comparison. The Sennheiser on its balanced output delivers great results - but warmer - too warm for my taste. Valve options that I've tried are even less to my taste.

My (limited) experience here suggests that power isn't the issue - beyond reasonable voltage and current. But improved signal quality at the source and amp stages does seem to pay off. I should add that the Yamaha seems to respond well to crossfeed - and with the Moon in particular can project a performance space appropriate to the recording. The HD800S is the best I've encountered re this aspect of imaging - but I'm inclined to think the Yamaha might not be far behind with the right recordings.

I'm still very much in two minds about these phones.

 

[disastermouse]

I JUST got to listen to these and… only the Dan Clark Audio electrostats competed for my attention.

I heard extra treble energy on the eses (sibilance), but it was minor at best and everything else this headphone delivers makes me feel like I’d get used to it. When I listened to the Utopia 2022 or LCD-5, I WANTED the extra energy, even in the upper mids. It means turning the volume down on less than stellar recordings where the producer put too much bit into the mix at that level, but many other recordings didn’t have the issue.

This was an intoxicating listen. It knocked Abyss, HiFiMan HE1000se, and Audeze out of the running for me.

It’s time to start saving pennies.