Yamaha YH5000SE orthodynamic headphones (HP-1 successor)

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by 9suns, Sep 19, 2022.

  1. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    As per the Kakaku.com, some online shops (Yodobashi, KojimaNet, E-audio Ippinkan, Fujiya Avic), seem to sell YH5k actually around 495K JPY: https://kakaku.com/item/K0001492599/

    upload_2023-2-20_17-1-12.png
     
  2. Raimei Templar

    Raimei Templar Friend

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    You can get a extra 10% off from Fujiya Avec if you make a account with them, atm they are going to be the cheapest ones. They tend to be my preferred retailer for headphones as they just give discounts rather than giving points the way the others do. As a side note they sometimes have great deals on used headphones too.

    They are backordered everywhere though, so there will be some wait involved. These are definitely the coolest looking headphones ever made, would be fun to see some impressions.

    Japanese guy recorded a comparison to susvara on youtube (its youtube so grain of salt). First half is the susvara the last is the Yamaha.

     
  3. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Good thing he owns two $6000 headphones so he can listen to elevator music in pristine fidelity. :cool:
     
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  4. wbass

    wbass Friend

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    So, about $3700? Or $3400 if you can get 10% off?

    Pretty tempting. But I have no clue how to order from Japanese sites, and would probably get hit with import duties to the UK.

    Question is: Wait for some impressions on the Yamaha? Or go with a local deal on Susvara now-ish?
     
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2023
  5. Raimei Templar

    Raimei Templar Friend

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    Don't be hatin on Plastic Love, its a classic that achieved meme status :).

    It is a fascinating example of the youtube algorithm somehow reviving a forgotten song from the abyss, fun read on wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_Love
     
  6. Tchoupitoulas

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    I sped read the head-fi thread recently. My understanding, limited as it is, is that Yamaha is releasing a special edition first - hence the SE suffix shown on the kakaku site - and that a cheaper, standard version is to follow (minus a cable and a pair of pads). This isn't confirmed, I don't think.
     
  7. sp33ls

    sp33ls Friend

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    I've read this elsewhere on the interwebs... and, maybe even mentioned in the Japanese interview with the Yamaha engineers. Seems likely.

    That being said, early impressions seem to be that it's a neutral tonality with great staging. In many ways, possibly an homage to the HD800S..?

    What's prevented me from pulling the trigger is comments stating that the bass doesn't have much slam/pressure behind it, and there's been a couple reports of distortion at high listening volumes. Not that I listen real loud, but still -- for that kind of money it's nice to have the option. ;)
    It'll be interesting to see how additional impressions compare/contrast to the above.

    Plus, I'm waiting for impressions of the Caldera Closed later this year.
     
  8. TamHo

    TamHo New

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    If I was Sennheiser owner I would sue Yamaha for stealing Hd800 design
     
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  9. 9suns

    9suns [insert unearned title here]

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    And Sennheiser should be sued for stealing Qualia 010 design (which resembles the Yamaha even more btw).
    Very senseless argument, the three share similarities but look different and can easily be distiguished.
     
  10. 9suns

    9suns [insert unearned title here]

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    While obviously nowhere near as accurate as hearing them in real life, to me the Yamahas sound more natural, less sibilant and with more body and depth in the vocals. The Susvaras are very plastic, thin and diffuse in comparison.
    The Susvara are underdriven by the Ibasso DAP tho, so that may be the main cause.

    Videos may seem like a meme, but IME some sonic traits translate well in videos. Obviously not as well as listening in person but they give a decent idea of things sound (think about seeing a mockup drawing vs the original painting, nowhere near as good but at least you know a bit more than before, where you only read about the painting instead of seeing it).
     
  11. dubharmonic

    dubharmonic Friend

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    A crime against Susvara. Makes me wonder how many people hear them in a situation like this and write them off.
     
  12. Lurker

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    Aregina (Korean site) just published a video about these:


    They measured on a gras 45ca-8:
    [​IMG]
    huge suckout at 2.5 kHz and not the smoothest treble but I like the bass contouring. The suede earpads reduce the 1.3 kHz peak by about 5 dB.
    [​IMG]
    The claims about high distortion were definitely true. Smol driver needs to push a lot.
    [​IMG]
    You should get a slight boost around 50-60Hz on high output impedance amps. Quite a few driver resonances between 1.5 and 4 kHz.

    Even weirder than the D8000.
     
  13. Raimei Templar

    Raimei Templar Friend

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    That review was excellent a lot of really interesting stuff going on with this headphone. For those who dont watch, they intentionally jacked up the 2nd order distortion to create a tube like sound while suppressing 3rd order distortion, I have never heard of any other headphone doing that. Treble and mids are dipped but air region still very present. Some extra energy around 60hz to give the bass some oomph without masking the recessed mids too much while having somewhat rolled subbass similar to a dynamic driver. Distortion in bass gets out of control at volumes greater than 90db, so not for those who want to listen super loud (but you shouldnt be listening louder than that anyway).

    This headphone gonna get shit on by a lot of people because its real weird, but I think it is great to see headphones like this. Put this on with the right track and it will probably be an amazing experience you cant get anywhere else. Gonna be a lot of peoples favorite headphone...if they can afford it. I think this is the direction flagships should go, rather than trying to hit the Harmon target, just do something super weird (but possibily better) so that you can offer a unique experience.
     
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  14. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    Had a similar situation with a different headphone a few months back, you'd think audio-nerd stores (I use the word "nerd" as a compliment, of course) would know better than to only offer demos of gear out of "desktop-replacement" DAPs. Heck, they're as great a stand in for full systems as "desktop-replacement" laptops!
     
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  15. 9suns

    9suns [insert unearned title here]

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    Completely agree with you. Glad to see a company with their own ideas, identity and unique implementation that actually requires R&D rather than another Harman Target, not listened to while in development, cookie cutter headphone with a high price tag. Here at least you can see where the money went.
     
  16. dubharmonic

    dubharmonic Friend

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    Great point! There are plenty of safely tuned options already. Give us something fun.
     
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  17. Collusion

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    Look what the cat dragged in...

    20230309_164938.jpg

    Before I say anything else, I've to disclose these are on an extended home demo from a local retailer. I was interested in hearing these because I absolutely love how they look and I've never tried Yamaha headphones before. I had absolutely no idea what kind of sound to expect. The only hint about the possible sonic traits is the MSRP, which is whopping 5700€ in Finland. Are we getting TOTL level performance as the price would suggest?

    The setup I will be using (unless otherwise stated) is:
    - Lossless music from Foobar2000 + streaming from Qobuz
    - PC / Matrix Element H USB bridge -> Rockna Wavedream Sign Bal -> Spl Phonitor e
    - Sennheiser HD800S' and Raal SR1a's for comparison

    Unfortunately the Yamaha's do not come with a 4-pin XLR cable, so I am currently unable to run them balanced into my SPL amplifier.

    My initial 'hands on' impressions are as follows:
    - Build quality seems first-class
    - Extremely lightweight and comfortable to use
    - I like how you can adjust the headband's extension 'on the fly'
    - I really like how the braided stock cable looks and feels

    These are my stream of consciousness type of impressions on how the YH-5000SE's actually sound:

    Sonically they are definitely on the warmer and darker side, this was very clear from the beginning. I don't know if it makes any sense, but there's some resemblance to how Yamaha's AS1000/2000 series integrated amplifiers sound. I know, this is probably crazy.

    Midrange is clearly richer and lusher than I am used to with my existing headphones. This is intensified by some elevation in the bass. Quantitatively the midrange and lower treble seem to be a bit recessed. Still, they manage to produce an adequate headspace, as the air region is not so recessed.

    I can tell already at this point these are a kind of product that will not appeal to everyone. I'm yet to made up my mind though.

    More to come...
     
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  18. Collusion

    Collusion Friend

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    A couple of words about synergy:

    The mellowness of the Rockna and the slight but noticeable 'velvetness' (think of a texture) of the SPL phonitor might not be the optimal combination for the Yamaha's. I might actually prefer something more 'neutral' or mid-forward with them. I had a quick listen from a Soekris dac2541, which at least on the grand scale of things is what I was thinking of. There was more energy and bite in the presence region. Soekris' inherent warmness is palpably audible via the Yamahas; maybe more so than with any other transducer I've coupled it with. It remains to be heard if this is actually too much...

    But anyhow, tomorrow I will be visiting a friend of mine and I will be taking the Yamaha's with me. We will be partnering them with a Chord Dave + MScaler stack, as well as a Marantz SA-10 SACD player with a very decent headphone out. Maybe there are new synergistic discoveries to be made in the realm of D/S conventers.
     
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  19. khbaur330162

    khbaur330162 Almost "Made"

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    I know exactly what you mean. My Yamaha YH-100 transplant portrays differences in upstream gear more so than much more expensive (even more resolving) gear, ime. It's like a microscope for cable and power tweaks, I swear. Satisfying to hear Yamaha was able to retain this trait with their newest release.
     
  20. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Or maybe distortion is simply too high. The super vast majority of headphone and speaker drivers will have higher D2 than D3. Only BA drivers, that last POS Sony flagship headphone, and the Dharma had higher D3 than D2 in the lows. Small driver limitations. Doesn't mean the headphone is bad, as I liked the D8000.

    Still I don't think I want to spend SBAF funds on this. Too bad because I was looking forward to it. It just looks like another overpriced Japanese audiophile piece. Been through too many of these since 2005, and not just Japanese.
     
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