[SolarCetacean]

I forgot to add in my thoughts about synergy that I'm very curious about how the Yamaha will sound on my Ferrum Erco. That unit has a dynamic and punchy sound, and it makes everything connected to it punchier and more dynamic. This is a good thing for my electrostatics, particularly my Shangri-La Jr, because it "fills out" the fast yet light bass punch on the SGL Jr. There's a bigger initial transient and a slightly longer decay. The added dynamics also makes everything slightly more open-sounding and realistic, which the SGL didn't have much issue with in the first place, but it helps fill out the vocal recession that it has in usual Hifiman fashion. But the added dynamics can wreak havoc on headphones with peaky or sharp treble, because the added treble dynamics exacerbate the peakiness in the treble.

The Yamaha could use a bit of a boost in the initial transient in the bass in my opinion to make it sound faster and more impactful. But at the same time, it also seems peaky. It's difficult to know if a more dynamic and aggressive DAC will help or hinder it. My current guess is that the Yamaha would be better on smoother and mellower chains, but perhaps some combination of aggressive DAC but mellow amp could produce a happy medium.

On a tangent, a long time ago in this thread, I had wondered if people who like the Yamaha also like the Sony MDR-Z1R. Well, in my case, I like the Z1R, and I can see the similarities with the Yamaha in how they try to present sound with this forward depth in space and I like those aspects too. The Yamaha is more "out there" in terms of tuning though, like taking some of those spatial qualities to the max.

 

[jamesjames]

Very interesting comments, thanks. For what it's worth, I recognize many of the qualities you're describing. I was struck in particular by your observation that it's quite difficult to pin down exactly what the Yamaha sounds like. I agree it's highly variable. But this isn't in the sense of phones like the HD800S - a chameleon but transparent to the source. My sense is that the Yamaha isn't particularly transparent - which is part of the problem for me.

 

[TSAVJason]

Hmm, it looks like TSAV is a dealer for the YH-5K. @TSAVJason is a demo unit available at the TSAV store? I'll be in the LA area around Thanksgiving and I'm very curious to try out the Yamaha.

Sorry for my slow reply. We sure do! They are 1 of the 88 headphones on demo for you to audition. In a week we’ll also have the matching Yamaha Amp.

 

[TSAVJason]

I agree and seeing them much less expensive in Japan(about $3000) is a point too.
Afaik it doesn't have huge production numbers though.
My serial number is <200 while having bought in may.

They make 100 per month.

 

[TSAVJason]

I agree and seeing them much less expensive in Japan(about $3000) is a point too.
Afaik it doesn't have huge production numbers though.
My serial number is <200 while having bought in may.

The only part of that, that sucks is if something goes wrong. It must go back to the country of sale for warranty service. We’ve had one in need repair under warranty out of the inventory we’ve sold.

 

[TSAVJason]

Well, my general thoughts about the Yamaha apply equally to orchestral and other classical music. The low frequency weight can be impressive I think, but separation, precision and timbre less so. I find the tendency to present a 'wash' of sound to be relatively pronounced with orchestral music. It's not so evident to me with simpler, chamber music. But, as I've said, I find the Yamaha quite engaging in some cases - just not as convincing as other phones that I prefer.

I personally use the OG Utopia and the 5000SE. I’m not so sure I can agree with your “precision and timbre less so” comment but the 5000SE does tend to sound better to me on tubes or my Cavalli Liquid Gold OG version

 

[jrkong]

The only part of that, that sucks is if something goes wrong. It must go back to the country of sale for warranty service. We’ve had one in need repair under warranty out of the inventory we’ve sold.

Question about this, does that mean that you guys sell the YH-5000SE to internationally?

I'm assuming yes because of how you worded things, so in this scenario do your customers have to ship it back to you or would they go to the repair center in the country they purchased them?

Also, how would out of warranty repairs work? Would they also go back to the country of purchase even though they're out of warranty?

 

[TSAVJason]

Question about this, does that mean that you guys sell the YH-5000SE to internationally?

I'm assuming yes because of how you worded things, so in this scenario do your customers have to ship it back to you or would they go to the repair center in the country they purchased them?

Also, how would out of warranty repairs work? Would they also go back to the country of purchase even though they're out of warranty?

Our “sell” territories are limited to North America. Canada & Mexico have some restrictions as to brands. If there is no local access we call the manufacturer to determine if we should facilitate the sale.

I’m not 100% sure but I think each territory has its own warranty funds allocation by serial number. There are some manufacturers that don’t have that particular restriction

 

[jrkong]

I’m not 100% sure but I think each territory has its own warranty funds allocation by serial number. There are some manufacturers that don’t have that particular restriction

By serial number? Is that something you can elaborate on? It's just personal curiosity so if it's not something you're at liberty of talking about, don't worry about it, but how does serial number affect your warranty allocation?

 

[TSAVJason]

By serial number? Is that something you can elaborate on? It's just personal curiosity so if it's not something you're at liberty of talking about, don't worry about it, but how does serial number affect your warranty allocation?

Sure. All serials are assigned to a distributor or distribution center in each of the market territories. Serials sent to the US distribution for example, are warranted by the US distribution center.

 

[jamesjames]

I personally use the OG Utopia and the 5000SE. I’m not so sure I can agree with your “precision and timbre less so” comment but the 5000SE does tend to sound better to me on tubes or my Cavalli Liquid Gold OG version

I'd be surprised if everyone agreed with me. I don't think I can usefully add to my comments above re the Yamaha, Utopia or valves.

 

[TSAVJason]

I'd be surprised if everyone agreed with me. I don't think I can usefully add to my comments above re the Yamaha, Utopia or valves.

Anyone that’s listened to these things has a point of view and that’s always fair. Opinions on performance without having listened is possibly short sighted

 

[jrkong]

Anyone that’s listened to these things has a point of view and that’s always fair. Opinions on performance without having listened is possibly short sighted

They're definitely unique and not easy to describe. It's not the kind of headphone where I can say "HD650 on crack" or "follows the harman curve with stellar technical prowess" and call it a day. From a technical perspective I definitely think they're top notch especially compared to the other flagships I've had the chance to listen to but their presentation is so unique that there's a lot for someone to either love or hate them depending on where their preferences swing.

 

[HiFiDJ]

They're definitely unique and not easy to describe. It's not the kind of headphone where I can say "HD650 on crack" or "follows the harman curve with stellar technical prowess" and call it a day. From a technical perspective I definitely think they're top notch especially compared to the other flagships I've had the chance to listen to but their presentation is so unique that there's a lot for someone to either love or hate them depending on where their preferences swing.

I'm having a hard time myself coming up with any fatal flaw in its performance tbh, assuming you have a synergistic chain for them. Maybe if your preference lies in more relaxed, wetter, richer, and thicker things you may not like them. Of course they're not perfect, but there's not a single thing I can complain about.

For a more "in your head" explanation of why I like them so much and why they sound so addicting, is the sense of "energy" the yammy brings to the table. Because of its clarity-focused and full-range capabilities (for a HP), you can hear every fundamental and harmonic with ease. I can't say that about the other flagships I own, especially in the sub-bass (I can hear low frequency energy oscillate in between my ears). This "energy" I'm talking about is similar to the energy you get in live performances. The only thing it lacks is the sense of "power" but that's nearly impossible for a headphone (because of its limitations) to do convincingly.

 

[jrkong]

I'm having a hard time myself coming up with any fatal flaw in its performance tbh, assuming you have a synergistic chain for them. Maybe if your preference lies in more relaxed, wetter, richer, and thicker things you may not like them. Of course they're not perfect, but there's not a single thing I can complain about.

For a more "in your head" explanation of why I like them so much and why they sound so addicting, is the sense of "energy" the yammy brings to the table. Because of its clarity-focused and full-range capabilities (for a HP), you can hear every fundamental and harmonic with ease. I can't say that about the other flagships I own, especially in the sub-bass. This "energy" I'm talking about is similar to the energy you get in live performances. The only thing it lacks is the sense of "power" but that's nearly impossible for a headphone (because of its limitations) to do convincingly.

I'm not in that group but playing devil's advocate, being chain dependent could be a fatal flaw in itself for some people especially if they want a one and done solution.

I absolutely agree with the sense of energy though, compared to the Utopia 2022 for example when I was comparing the two the YH-5000SE had some extra speed, air and a sense of crispness and dynamic that the Utopia didn't have. This isn't to say that the Utopias were bad but in the field of presentation the Utopias felt like it was more tightnit whereas the YH-5000SE is really dynamic in it's sound cue presentation.

If anything the biggest achilles heel for the YH-5000SE, if you ask me is the mids/vocal presentation which could be offputting to people who don't enjoy how they are further back in the soundstage.