In our experience, the perfect listening room doesn’t exist, but Yamaha’s effort is one of the best we’ve come across in years. It was developed with a scientific approach and then fine-tuned by ear.
This newly developed demo space is located in the confines of the company’s impressively large piano manufacturing facility near the central Japanese city of Kakegawa.
This is also the factory that builds most of the brand’s high-end 5000 Series products, including the award-winning YH-5000SE headphones. We are here to take a look around the manufacturing facility and are surprised to find that the 5000 Series products are pretty much handmade.
There are no extensive production lines for either the pre/power combination or the rather brutal-looking speakers, instead there are carefully organised workstations where artisans assemble the various products with utmost care and attention.
Susumu Kumazawa, a senior manager in Yamaha’s consumer audio department, is our host for the listening session and tells us about the technical intricacies of the room’s design. Called the ‘True Sound Room’, it is nicely sized at 2.8 x 5 x 8m (hwd).
These dimensions are larger than many domestic listening spaces in the UK, but still reasonable given the bulk, power and price levels of the high-end 5000 Series components – the C-5000 preamp (£8599 / $9999 / AU$12,999), M-5000 stereo power amplifier (£8599 / $9999 / AU$12,999) and NS-5000 speakers with stands (£18,699 / $14,999 / AU$19,999).
It isn’t common for bespoke listening rooms to have non-parallel walls in a bid to avoid the generation of standing waves. Yamaha hasn’t chosen to do that. Rather, it has stayed with a conventionally rectangular shape, as that is more representative of what customers have.
The resultant well-defined standing waves are then controlled through a combination of reflection and absorption. The company’s engineers paid particular attention to the areas of first reflection from the various walls and ceilings to control the room’s behaviour. The final adjustments to the exact positioning of the various acoustics treatments were done by ear.
They were also careful not to use too much damping in the room, as that can smother the life in the music. The room’s RT60 time is quoted as around 0.5 seconds, which is generally considered a good balance for home audio. RT60 is defined as the time it takes the sound to decay by 60 db from its original level.
The room's walls are covered with Yamaha-developed acoustic panels that are claimed to reflect and absorb the sound across a broad band of frequencies, while the ceiling uses around 30 absorbing panels that compensate for the fact that the floor is wooden and reflective.
The engineers experimented with adding something absorbing on the floor, like a rug, but it took away stereo image height and an element of liveliness that they wanted to preserve. That floor isn’t conventional either, with isolation provided by a layered rubber and plywood construction. Yamaha certainly hasn’t done things by halves here.
The company is demonstrating its range-topping system to us, with the GT-5000 record player (£8800 / $7999 / AU$12,999) partnered with the now-discontinued MC-1 moving-coil cartridge acting as the source. The rest of the system is the aforementioned C-5000/M-5000 amplifier combo driving a pair of NS-5000 speakers sat on their hefty frame stands, placed well out into the room.
Our expectations are high, and it is fair to say that they were met. It is hard to make definitive judgments, of course. We are not familiar with any part of the system or the room, so it would be wrong to try and do so. Still, as we listen to Lizz Wright’s Grace LP it is hard not to be impressed by the articulation and transparency of the system.
Clarity through the midrange seems exceptional, as does the system’s ability to paint an expansive soundstage. There is a lovely sense of depth, and the imaging is stable and convincingly layered.
Jacqueline Du Pre and Daniel Barenboim’s Haydn Cello Concerto in C highlights the system’s even tonal balance and its ability to reveal intricate low-level instrumental textures. The controlled, well-extended lows have a fine sense of solidity combined with a pleasant richness.
Dynamics are wide-ranging, punchy and fluid. There is plenty of composure when the volume level rises, and most of the time the set-up seems to be coasting at the generous levels we are listening at.
It’s not all flawless, though. We find ourselves wondering if the presentation could be a little richer and sweeter from the midrange upwards and whether it might prove a little unforgiving with less cultured recordings. Only longer listening in a more familiar environment can confirm either way.
Our listening session finishes with an old favourite in the form of Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. Once again, there is no denying the system’s resolution or its ability to produce a cohesive and well-integrated sound; it is all so crisp, clean and effortless.
The complete 5000 Series package delivers an entertaining presentation that proves Yamaha’s engineering skill, even at this elevated price level. Of course, the excellent listening room plays a hugely positive part in this. We can’t wait to hear the various components in our test room to form a more solid understanding of their abilities.
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