Yamaha - can they make hi-fi?

admin_exported

New member
Aug 10, 2019
2,556
4
0
Visit site
I was browsing the Superfi website and see that they sell Yamaha kit - the top of the range CD / Amp (AS 2000) is pretty pricey (£1200 Amp / £900 CDP). Question is - are they any good? Specs sound interesting although the 70's retro look is a love or hate affair. I can imagine I'll get a few snobby replies to this as Yamaha does not have quite the appeal of Naim, Cyrus or the like but sound is what matters (although it woudl have to be much better to persaude me to buy that in preference to the others too!!!)
 

matengawhat

Well-known member
Aug 17, 2007
695
15
18,895
Visit site
yamaha used to make some great hi fi kit going back a few years and then i think they started to focus on the home cinema market and now have just started looking at the medium to hi end hi fi market again - one word for the new yamaha kit is solid - they are very well built

i would def demo them if that the price point i was considering
 

matthewpiano

Well-known member
Yamaha make great hi-fi and its as capable as anything by the likes of Naim, Arcam et al. In terms of build quality its probably actually several echelons higher. Their new quiet mechanism is incredibly well engineered. It tends to be a very natural, neutral sound. Go and audition some - I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised.
 

ear

New member
Aug 24, 2008
118
0
0
Visit site
Some time ago i brought home a ax-497.very well built and very powerful.But my speakers then where S30 cambridge audio.Volume at 1/3 maximum was simply awfull, but then again much responsability on the speakers for that,so I took it back. but I think I should have given it a go with some other speakers.Sometimes I regret not having done so.
 

chebby

Well-known member
Jun 2, 2008
1,253
26
19,220
Visit site
Yamaha make virtually any musical instrument you can shake a stick at. (They also make the stick!) I am no musician but I have seen enough of their products being played by top names to assume they know their stuff.

They had (and have) huge experience in making studio recording equipment.

Given all this and their legendary 1970s - 1990s run of 'Natural Sound' hifi products (look up NS1000M and CT-7000 as examples) I would say there is probably nothing any other company could teach them. There are some 1970s Yamaha items I would cheerfully use today and I still could because of their enviable record for reliability and longevity.

(A friend still has a Yamaha receiver bought 31 years ago and it still works and it still sounds great.)

On a more contemporary note; during a recent phone call to a certain LS3/5A manufacturer, the Yamaha A-S700 (about £350) was specifically recommended as an ideal partnering amplifier.
 
T

the record spot

Guest
Must admit, if I was in the market for an amp and my budget was either £500, £1000 or £1500, I'd be including the current range of Yamaha's AS series amps - each one looks to have very strong merits at each price point.
 

Andrew Everard

New member
May 30, 2007
1,878
2
0
Visit site
chebby:Yamaha make virtually any musical instrument you can shake a stick at. (They also make the stick!) I am no musician but I have seen enough of their products being played by top names to assume they know their stuff.

As I said in this blog piece behind the scenes at Yamaha last Autumn, Yamaha "claims to be the only single company able completely to equip a symphony orchestra, and as official supplier to the Vienna Philharmonic, that includes some old-style instruments not used by any other orchestra"
 

matthewpiano

Well-known member
Their concert grand pianos are absolutely wonderful instruments. I once played one of their 9 foot hand built grands and it had a wonderfullly responsive action and one of the most beautiful tones of any piano I've ever played.

There are too many wonderful piano makers (Steinway, Bluthner, Bosendorfer, Bechstein, Schimmel, Fazioli) to say that Yamaha are THE best in the field, but they are most certainly responsible for some incredibly beautiful instruments.
 

Andrew Everard

New member
May 30, 2007
1,878
2
0
Visit site
matthewpiano:but they are most certainly responsible for some incredibly beautiful instruments.

Some very red pianos, too. And yes, the company does customise both the cosmetics and the action of its hand-built pianos for prominent clients.

I've been lucky enough to have two tours of the grand piano factory in Hamamatsu, Japan, and recently the brass factory, too - and my wife, who lived in Hamamatsu for most of her life, and even used to work for an industrial automation division of Yamaha Motors before she moved to the UK, was amazed at the craftsmanship involved. As she said at the time "I never knew all this was happening in and around my home city."
 

John Duncan

Well-known member
matthewpiano:Their concert grand pianos are absolutely wonderful instruments. I once played one of their 9 foot hand built grands and it had a wonderfullly responsive action and one of the most beautiful tones of any piano I've ever played.

There are too many wonderful piano makers (Steinway, Bluthner, Bosendorfer, Bechstein, Schimmel, Fazioli) to say that Yamaha are THE best in the field, but they are most certainly responsible for some incredibly beautiful instruments.

Oooo I have a Bluthner, and I can't even play
emotion-2.gif
 
T

the record spot

Guest
Andrew Everard:I've been lucky enough to have two tours of the grand piano factory in Hamamatsu, Japan, and recently the brass factory, too - and my wife, who lived in Hamamatsu for most of her life, and even used to work for an industrial automation division of Yamaha Motors before she moved to the UK, was amazed at the craftsmanship involved.

Andrew, next time your wife can't make one of these trips.... *cough / hint*

(I'm not proud, I'd settle for Linn or Tannoy...Ayrshire or halfway along the M8 respectively!)
 

matthewpiano

Well-known member
JohnDuncan:matthewpiano:Their concert grand pianos are absolutely wonderful instruments. I once played one of their 9 foot hand built grands and it had a wonderfullly responsive action and one of the most beautiful tones of any piano I've ever played.

There are too many wonderful piano makers (Steinway, Bluthner, Bosendorfer, Bechstein, Schimmel, Fazioli) to say that Yamaha are THE best in the field, but they are most certainly responsible for some incredibly beautiful instruments.

Oooo I have a Bluthner, and I can't even play
emotion-2.gif


A good Bluthner in fine fettle is wonderful. On their grands they patented a system called Aliquot Scaling which adds an extra string for each note in the higher registers, giving them a very full, projected sound. Surprisingly few about in the right condition but a real treat when you find one.
 

John Duncan

Well-known member
Andrew Everard:Be careful - he's got a Bluthner, and he doesn't know how to use it...
emotion-4.gif


Now what does this button do....?

It's fabulous - upright, 19th century according to the serial number, warm, rich sound (think Arcam rather than Cyrus
emotion-2.gif
)
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I own the Yamaha A-S1000, and it is the best amp ive ever owned.

Very unique looking, wooden side panels was a risky design concept, you either love or loathe it. Solid, sturdy and large chassis (built like a tank). Great sense of scale in musical reproduction, so much power in reserve, no matter how loud the music must go :)

Very impressed by Yamaha, I used to doubt whether they could rival matching stereo amps with fewer products released than other brands, but its quality not quantity that wins in the end.
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts