Like I said, a dream. I would never recommend taking a step back performance-wise just to tell a story and make the marketing department happy, but I’d fight like hell if I were on the Yamaha team to implement a discrete volume control if there were no downsides other than cost. The colors and finishes shown may vary from those on the actual products. The most common approaches to minimizing the total amount of error (pivoted ’arms are still in error, just less total percentage error) is to angle or “offset” the tonearm (either at the headshell, or with a curved or “S”-shaped arm) and/ or increase the tonearm’s length so that the arc traced across the record is wider. From the concert stage to the home, Yamaha has drawn on its vast musical history to create an instrument capable of faithfully reproducing every nuance and emotion in the performance. Yamaha heralds it as the world’s strongest fiber. In pursuit of the intangible musical quality that breathes life into high-fidelity audio, the world’s largest sound company presents the C-5000 pre-amplifier. Finally, the piano-black finish of the NS-5000 (and the rest of the components in the Series, for that matter) puts most of the industry to shame. The M-5000 at its best reminded me (explicitly) of drinking from a high mountain stream in the Alps when I was a kid. Physically using these components was one of the most satisfying experiences of this type I’ve had, and it’s an indication that Yamaha took the core principle of emotional connection seriously. Yamaha announced it as its “biggest statement in the hi-fi market since it coined the term ‘hi-fi’ 65 years ago.”. In pursuit of the intangible musical quality that breathes life into high-fidelity audio, the world's largest sound company presents the C-5000 pre-amplifier. If you tell me discrete circuits matter everywhere else, then you break my nodding momentum by telling me to look the other way here. Nothing else. There are many ways to oppose the skating forces introduced by offset tonearms. Our minds can isolate factors that may be highly interrelated in the real world. I enjoyed listening to the combined talents of Roger Whittaker, Nana Mouskouri, The Irish Rovers, Zamfir, and Chuck Mangione with my family as a youth (Allan winces). It’s not a disturbance in the force (my kids are into Star Wars right now). In the best of circumstances, a pivoted tonearm is correctly in tangent with the groove at either one or two “points” on an LP (sort of pathetic when you think about it). Preamplifiers should be seen, not heard. The turntable is smooth, large in scale, but sweet rather than digital-precise. The C-5000’s mc head amp and phono EQ amp are fully discrete and fully balanced. At 100 micro-volts input on the mc head amp for 1V output, I calculate 80dB of gain! As a listener, you are aware of a kind of unfiltered experience that I would simply term familiar. You get plenty. Yamaha left the high-performance electronics marketplace in the 1990s with the market winds blowing in the direction of home theater. You will not mistake the Yamahas for a sealed speaker like a Magico, or even loudspeakers like a Rockport Technologies Atria II or the Stenheim Alumine Three I just reviewed, which better integrate their bass-reflex loading into the whole sonic picture. You can feel this effort. Stronger than carbon fiber. Every engineer on the planet Earth would argue it’s a good thing to reduce tracking error if it could be done in perfect isolation. Springs, magnets, twisting of cables, counterweights on strings. The C-5000 is the holy grail of stereo preamplification. Like the M-5000, the custom heavy-duty brass feet function either as fully supported spikes or with a scratch guard base for use on delicate surfaces. M-5000 Power Amplifier/ C-5000 Preamplifier Technical Details If you are a fan of the 1970s’ audio aesthetic, get ready to have your salivary glands checked for overactivity. You can hear this. The Yamaha system doesn’t distract from the essential truth of real instruments in real spaces (wait, isn’t that what The Absolute Sound is all about?). As a result, I came to believe that all those technical choices were in the service of a common purpose. I’m a simple guy with a philosophy degree. I have a dream for audio. Natural Sound Stereo Digital Pre-amplifier (1987-92) (1 review) Description. Stronger than carbon fiber. Imagine my enthusiasm then when I was approached to review a full system from a company that is the largest manufacturer of musical instruments on this planet, a review of highly ambitious products from a company whose corporate logo appears under the hands of Lady Gaga, Elton John, John Mayall, and many, many more, an opportunity to explore the “high-end” efforts of a more than 130-year-old Japanese firm with a market cap of approximately $8¼ billion dollars (not including its motorsports division), a brand that was already in my house, appearing every time my son pulls out his trumpet, a brand name that would be familiar to nearly every man and woman on the street. Back in the 1970’s, Yamaha was a formidable . All rights reserved. The power gap is a variable that leads directly to distortion, influencing things like channel separation and focus. Susumu Kumazawa and the whole engineering team took seriously the balance between the measured and the experienced. The training demonstrated a special maturity and honesty behind the 5000 Series project. Special detail on the preamplifier? The uncolored nature of the NS-5000’s midrange and tweeter are highlights of dynamic speaker design, and uniquely available from Yamaha. Further, the ground loop is minimized when other components are connected. The earliest impressions I had for the system were that the more natural the recording and the more acoustic the instruments, the better the system performed. The five middle vent slats on both components represent the music staff, and there’s an intentional musical “rhythm” to the spacing of the front controls on the C-5000. Technical head-scratcher on the preamplifier? So, let’s get right to it and address these choices. Yamaha Black Preamplifier - C-5000BL In pursuit of the intangible musical quality that breathes life into high-fidelity audio, the world's largest sound company presents the C-5000 preamplifier. I’d go to audio war with it any time. No ’table is perfect—they’re all rather beautifully imperfect. The story behind the story, however, is that Yamaha’s design approach really gives the full system a soul. The Absolute Sound is the world’s preeminent source of expert reviews, features, and commentary on high-performance audio and music. You won’t question that choice, either. I grooved. Both components also include clever solid brass feet where a spiked foot rests on bottom “guard” or footer that is held captive, so that when you lift the components the protective footer stays connected (I’m forever losing these types of things, so thank you Yamaha). It was the idea of a direct connection between the stage and the listener. proclamation. Beyond nice appliances. They made the decisions to use belt drive and a pure straight tonearm with engineering intent and (as far as I can judge) integrity. You can hear it and you can physically feel it. Ditch the rubber thing. The M is a fully symmetrical, parallel MOSFET, Class AB amplifier that runs very cool. I’ve got exclamation marks all over my notes, but ultimately I just had to put my pen down and enjoy. At every turn (it’s a turntable…), it made difficult choices that were not market friendly. The NS-5000? Just use the balanced as suggested, at least in context of the full system. The Absolute Sound’s Buyer’s Guide to Loudspeakers 2018. Mundorf parts are sprinkled in. But I live in the world of perception leading reality when it comes to buyers’ wallets, and I’m telling Yamaha that even if it’s an even race sonically and technically (which may or may not be the case), it isn’t an even race in the story told. YAMAHA - C-5000 Preamplifier Preamp. The 5000 Series is a nineteen-engineer/eight-year-in-the-making, full cannonball dive off the high platform. The NS-5000s look special. The NS-5000 is a loudspeaker of similar type (three-way “bookshelf”) and dimensions, although the NS-1000M was a sealed design and the NS-5000 is ported. You must work to get it right, as always. Measure! Give it space. I’m a Soul Man: Listening and Use One might easily get lost in all the interesting technical details/developments that seem to tell the 5000 Series story. And you could do a lot worse than give your hard-earned money to a company that supports music and musicians as much as any on our planet. It powered through my 0.15mV Denon DL-S1 (though I used the excellent Ortofon Cadenza Black for most of the review) like it was a moving magnet. The C-5000 features fully balanced and discrete circuit transmission across all stages of the signal path at Tone Defeat. Larry Coryell and John McLaughlin’s fast-paced duet “Rene’s Theme” from. The company has brought to the table all of the advantages one could hope for from a big, diverse corporation. What’s that? Provisions for cartridge load adjustments are found on the front panel, where I like them. This expertise was poured into the 5000 series along with eight years of research and development to create the highest expression of “True … It had a 23-year run through various iterations and sold over 200,000 units (not a misprint). One-hundred percent Zylon for the 1¼” tweeter, the 3¼” dome midrange, and the 12″ woofer. Perhaps more importantly, Zylon sets a benchmark in its balance of excellent stiffness and damping. The Yamaha M-5000 power amplifier and C-5000 preamplifier are stunning, and they only get more so the closer you come to and the more you use them. It had special software used in the analyzing and simulating of trumpets, flutes, clarinets, French horns, etc., etc. The same measure then treat approach was used for the internal bracing of the laminated white birch cabinet. From her. This meant having two perfectly symmetrical boards that are folded onto one another to minimize ground loops when other components are connected, as well as to keep signal paths short and dimensionally identical. Yamaha. The fundamental issue is that we are applying a constant force to a variable problem. Though the C-5000 is over forty pounds and the M-5000 is nearly sixty, the controls have a refined, almost delicate precision that shows real attention to detail. Dimensions: 17 1/8″ x 5 5/8″ x 17¾” Price: $9999, M-5000 Amplifier Inputs: 1x RCA, 1x XLR, 1x trigger Outputs: 1x trigger Rated output power: 100W + 100W (8 ohm, 20Hz–20kHz, 0.07% THD, two-channel driven), 200W + 200W (4 ohm, 20Hz–20kHz, 0.07% THD, two-channel driven), 400W (8 ohm, 20Hz–20kHz, 0.07% THD, monaural driven) Power bandwidth: 10Hz–50kHz (8 ohm, 0.1% THD, 45 W) Damping factor: 300 or higher (8 ohm, 1kHz) Frequency response: +0 dB/ -3dB (5Hz–100kHz), +0dB/ -0.3dB (20Hz–20kHz) Weight: 59.3 lbs. From the concert stage to the home, Yamaha has drawn on its vast musical history to create an instrument capable of faithfully reproducing every nuance and emotion in the performance. But the system does have a kind of soul. Fine, we’ll put a straight, no-offset tonearm on it as the only option. For most of the review I used the Ortofon Cadenza Black, which was a perfect partner. Now $9,999.95. Belts: Get with the Flow Yamaha started the GT-5000 project with the assumption that it, like the GT-2000, would be a direct-drive turntable. Yamaha’s engineering team chose a turntable—the “Gigantic” (G) and “Tremendous” (T) GT-5000—as its source for its modern, technical solution to the True Sound challenge. In pursuit of the intangible musical quality that breathes life into high-fidelity audio, the world’s largest sound company presents the C-5000 pre-amplifier. In every other way, the NS-5000 is a clean slate. The 5000 Series is a nineteen-engineer/eight-year-in-the-making, full cannonball dive off the high platform. In pursuit of the intangible musical quality that breathes life into high-fidelity audio, the world's largest sound company presents the C-5000 pre-amplifier. From the concert stage to the home, Yamaha has drawn on its vast musical history to create an instrument capable of faithfully reproducing every nuance and emotion in the performance. The system was less laid back—it met me halfway, where I like it. Be the first to review this product. The NS-5000s bottom octave (I had usable energy well into the mid/upper-20Hz region) is certainly port-supplied. The 16-pound, two-piece platter is also lovely. It demonstrated value. I’ll make a completely irresponsible guess and say that the giant particle-board plinth isn’t ideal in emulating the sound of “no plinth at all.” As soon as I replaced the rubber mat with the felt, a level of confusion or mush disappeared. 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