[TSAVJason]

Pretty helpful review. Do owners or those who auditioned it agree about the kinda honkey or megaphone-like sound of the mids this reviewer talks about?

Not sure I’d call it honkey but it can get a little mid aggressive depending on the amp & music genre. But they are pretty good on complex contemporary jazz. Snarky Puppy, Mark Lattieri or even older R&B EWF, Tower of Power. I do use them as I do my OG Utopia it’s more music dependent. I also think the Yamaha really excels on tube amps more than solid state they both sound great on my OG Liquid Gold

 

[HiFiDJ]

Pretty helpful review. Do owners or those who auditioned it agree about the kinda honkey or megaphone-like sound of the mids this reviewer talks about?

Fwiw, not my experience at all but I have a very different chain from him. I'd agree with it having a slight upper-mid focus, but not to the point I'd describe it as honky or too forward. Imo it's a strong case for poor synergy. But I get it, he doesn't have all the gear in the world.

For instance, I don't get any bass roll-off, despite what he said and despite what a graph indicates. I've used tracks like mountains by Hans Zimmer, limit to your love by James Blake, doin it right by daft punk, and the dark Knight soundtrack. All of those have evident low frequency energy at some points, and I hear it all with the yh5k. D8kp, for example, can't produce some of those well, and at some point it gives up on a track like mountains.

That being said, I didn't get that sub-bass extension using the yh5k's stock cable. The stock cable is fine and serviceable but imo it really holds back the yh5k. So, it really depends on what you feed it.

 

[HiFiDJ]

I do use them as I do my OG Utopia it’s more music dependent

And very recording dependent, if I may add, moreso than utopia imo. I enjoy the utopia more on genres like classic rock where it's nice to hear a bit of extended decay. I wouldn't call the yh5k a great all-rounder but when you feed it quality recordings it really makes them shine.

 

[jamesjames]

Pretty helpful review. Do owners or those who auditioned it agree about the kinda honkey or megaphone-like sound of the mids this reviewer talks about?

I agree the Yamaha has a distinctly 'nasal' presentation (see my earlier impressions). I agree also that's quite possibly due to the tuning of the mid frequencies. But I don't find the low-end rolled-off to any relevant extent - it's strong and perhaps the best part of the presentation in my view. Also, for those (like me) who prefer diffuse or free field tuning (eg, HD800S), it's very, very polite - there's absolutely no bite in the mid or higher frequencies - so I don't really understand the suggestion that it might be too peaky for some - unless this relates to the idea that portions of the mid-band are apparently pushed forward of a very polite (recessed) background. There's good high frequency extension I think, but no real presence - in other words I would guess some big (and possibly intermittent) dips around the mid-frequency presence band and roll-off at the top. I should add that I've been listening only to classical music.

EDIT: Also, for what it's worth, I would agree it's difficult to imagine large numbers of buyers choosing the Yamaha over other phones out there. I would guess many who value the typical qualities of good dynamic phones (or e-stats) would find it doesn't compete on detail, precision, timbre or imaging. And, I would guess many with an interest in planars would find the Elite and Susvara (and some less expensive others) preferable in these respects too.

 

[SolarCetacean]

Pretty helpful review. Do owners or those who auditioned it agree about the kinda honkey or megaphone-like sound of the mids this reviewer talks about?

I can agree that the mids are honky/nasally, but I disagree that the vocals are pushed forward. If anything, vocals sounded like they were further away, like they're being shouted through a megaphone from 50 feet away.

 

[jrkong]

Pad rolling time! The Dekoni DT and AKG pad lips are just the right size that cutting holes or slits in them weren't necessary.

I got the velour, sheepskin, fenestrated sheepskin and choice suade pads. I got the Brainwavz pads as well (sheepskin and pleather). Impressions coming soon as the Dekonis and the extra rings just arrived.

So far I can only really say pleather adds bass and crunches everything together. Not great and gives the Yammys a closed back feel.

 

[jrkong]

Ok, definitely not ready to give final definitive but Yamaha might be onto something interesting with the jersey material on the inner lining of the earpads. After testing a the pads a bunch here are some additional findings in no order:

• I'm almost certain that the jersey material and the softer earpads are what give the YH-5000SE it's sense of air and it's vertical soundstage
  • From what I can tell, the jersey material and the soft foam is what gives them the wacky mids or at least it definitely accentuates the problem. The material affects the decay and resonance of the sound. It is a slight difference that is subtle but noticeable. The "diffuse" nature of the YH-5000SE is almost definitely from the jersey material giving the sound more room to spread out before being bounced back toward the ear.
• The other pads all feel more focused compared to the stock pads. Gone is the slight echo-y nature the stock pads but what you get in return is tighter decay throughout the entire spectrum (most noticable in the mids and bass) which affects the sub-bass in subtle and different ways between different pad types
  • The mids inparticular feel more in focus and more exacting. Generally this results in the vocals feeling more intimate
  • sub-bass rumble is impacted in various ways but generally it feels like I'm losing a little bit (further testing to confirm this is definitely needed)
  • treble decay gets faster
  • I want to say things sound faster because of the faster decay

With these pads I've got so many options and knobs to play around with and if I were to throw the HD800S in the picture to litmus test things it'll take forever for me to get something down.

Compared to the stock pads, depending on your preference pad swapping gives a feeling that I can only describe as, the YH-5000SE feel like they are starved for air. This is corroborated by listening to the sound I get when I listen to the YH-5000SE au naturale with no pads at all (a very silly but fun thing that fellow owners can try). Also, if anyone has pads from a pair of old Beyers or smaller Hifimans you can try what different pads would do for the Yammys for yourself. The clampling force from the headband is enough to keep the pads in place against your ears. It's not a permanent solution by any means but it will give you an idea of how the sound changes.

 

[HiFiDJ]

The material affects the decay and resonance of the sound

The two are basically subsets of reflections. The key here is how well they manage it (and pressure as well).

 

[vkenz]

I have no idea how he come to that conclusion.

 

[Ishcabible]

https://den-fi.com/yamaha-yh-5000se-a-half-century-in-the-making/ I've finished my review after owning mine since March. Fair warning: it's not short.

 

[voja]

https://den-fi.com/yamaha-yh-5000se-a-half-century-in-the-making/ I've finished my review after owning mine since March. Fair warning: it's not short.

Outstanding article! So much depth, so well-worded, such level of care for the smallest details. Thank you!!!

As for YAMAHA's naming scheme, it could've been related to the price, driver type, and similar aspects. But it's hard to tell. You would need to read through some of the precious vintage material about YAMAHA's ortho's to maybe figure it out. Thankfully, we have the Orthodynamic Roundup thread which is full of knowledgeable members who know of these rare resources.

Once again, thank you for sharing your article. There are so many in-depth articles about the YH-5000SE, it's quite fascinating to see everybody take their time to properly cover these headphones.

 

[Ishcabible]

Outstanding article! So much depth, so well-worded, such level of care for the smallest details. Thank you!!!

As for YAMAHA's naming scheme, it could've been related to the price, driver type, and similar aspects. But it's hard to tell. You would need to read through some of the precious vintage material about YAMAHA's ortho's to maybe figure it out. Thankfully, we have the Orthodynamic Roundup thread which is full of knowledgeable members who know of these rare resources.

Once again, thank you for sharing your article. There are so many in-depth articles about the YH-5000SE, it's quite fascinating to see everybody take their time to properly cover these headphones.

Thank you!

I was referring mostly to the differences between HP1/YH1, HP2/YH2, and HP3/YH3. I know the HP series came first, along with the HP1000, then Yamaha made the YH100 as a “cut down” version of the HP1000/YH1000. My best guess is that the anisotropic HP1 came as an experiment to use the anisotropic magnets used in the HP1000 to see how viable it would be to use in a sub-flagship headphone that would later become the YH100, but that’s all just a guess.

 

[HiFiDJ]

https://den-fi.com/yamaha-yh-5000se-a-half-century-in-the-making/ I've finished my review after owning mine since March. Fair warning: it's not short.

Out of curiosity, did you try others cables aside from the stock one?

 

[Ishcabible]

Out of curiosity, did you try others cables from the stock one?

Just a mil-spec SPC cable I made that only made the treble issues I had more noticeable. I’m not quite sure what kind of cable would work best because the YH5k’s eccentricities don’t pair well with the character of other cables I’ve liked. I can see maybe Duelund tinned copper speaker cable helping tone, but the things that don’t work for me in the YH5k are greater in magnitude than the positive massaging I’ve been able to do with cable rolling.

 

[jamesjames]

https://den-fi.com/yamaha-yh-5000se-a-half-century-in-the-making/ I've finished my review after owning mine since March. Fair warning: it's not short.

Many thanks for a thought-provoking review. Your observation towards the end - that the process of grappling with the Yamaha presentation was actually a useful process - really struck a chord with me - I found it required unusually close consideration of my own expectations and preferences. Like you, it seems, I can't find much to like about the Yamaha - but I remain impressed by the apparent determination of Yamaha to try a different approach. And I believe I really can hear some of these idiosyncratic elements jostling in the mix - with dire results to my ear - but striking, nonetheless. As someone who doesn't generally care for planars, I feel the attempt to escape the usual signature is particularly interesting - even though the result is disappointing (to me at least).