I feel like the midrange dip might just be common to Yamaha's traditional ortho headphone tuning. I have a vintage pair of HP-2 orthos and they have a fairly severe dip between 2-4khz, but the Yamaha CR-1020 receiver I use them with has a presence control that revolves around 3khz so it's incredibly easy to boost vocal presence without affecting much else. Their gear really seems to do well with their own receivers/amps, at least from my vintage Yamaha experience.

Great review as always. In response to your question for the audience I think the target market for the YH-5000 is on the Summit-Fi level so pairing with low value source equipment is not how the product is intended to be used. This same concept goes for a lot of the competition in its same price class. Susvara, Utopia, LCD5 etc. all scale and are exceptional with high end source gear. Those in the hobby who think that a Susvara can be paired with an Apple Dongle to sound optimal are out of their minds. To each their own but respectfully if you talk to any of the manufacturers of higher end headphones they’ll all agree that source pairing with similarly priced gear is not only recommended but necessary for proper performance.

@Skeeb23

9 ай бұрын

Thank you for that. Agreed for sure on low value source equipment. Still...my iHA-6 and even the Liquid Platinum are no slouches for amps. One day I'll get myself something even more premium though (let's hope Bri isn't watching my comments, ha)

love the open - Star Wars kind of look

Wonderful review Ryan , the headphones look absolutely stunning but it is sad that they disappoint at least at that 5K price tag.

@Skeeb23

9 ай бұрын

Appreciate the support and comment! Yeah these disappointed me for sure, but I know others have not had the same experience.

@giorgosapo4508

9 ай бұрын

@@Skeeb23 Yeah like you said the only way to make them sound great is on very expensive gear which is sad because other headphones with the same price tag sounds excellent even on 2-3K gear.

Your channel is awesome. Unfortunately I cannot afford any of these high end headphones right now. My Moondrop Blessing 2 still serve me very well. I just love learning about thing I can't afford lol

ZMF Caldera is king. I've owned and heard every TOTL headphone. Nothing else comes close to such an organic sound.

@TheVeganVicar

6 ай бұрын

Not even the HE-1?

I completely agree. If you have to buy very expansive gear to enjoy it but can buy a different headphone that sounds good on all gear, it is not a good choice. I enjoy my Arya Organic using the EF 400 and am completely satisfied. Scales it with better/ more expansive gear? Yes, for sure. I can upgrade in the future if I want to.

@Skeeb23

9 ай бұрын

Yes the Organic definitely comes to mind in this specific case. Great headphone on many different sources!

@jrkong

8 ай бұрын

This is such an interesting and ironic comment since historically, summit-fi has lived and died by synergy. Back when the HD800 and the LCD-2s were the only above $1000 headphones they both had their quirks which needed gear synergy to "fix" HD800 with their treble peak. Hell the Anaxilus mod which inspired the dampening in the HD800S required opening up the headphones to stuff additional material in them and the HD800 were easily the most expensive headphones at the time outside of e-stats. Heck the same synergy exists with the HD800S and tubes but they've been around for so long that I don't doubt that a lot of more "modern" gear uses the HD800S as a reference during their R&D phase that that synergy is accounted for and baked into the design of the amp. I guess what I'm trying to say is, this issue where summit-fi "required" synergy to be at it's best has always existed but the price of summit-fi has went up. But if we were to scale things up from the past until now, gear synergy and the cost associated to it has always been around in the hobby.

I hope someday you get to try them on a synergistic system, i think they're amazing. For me, i don't think it's a downside that a lot of the totl hps are picky with source gear, though i can understand the sentiment. There are more forgiving hps for that like zmf. But at the same time you sacrifice a lot of performance and resolving capability (i haven't heard the caldera though). This is the reason why i don't use my zmf anymore, they aren't competitive in terms of performance. But some people don't prioritize that and there's nothing wrong with that either. It's definitely relative for a lot of these things. I do appreciate you mentioning the source gear you've used though.

@asplmn

9 ай бұрын

However, the ZMFs tend to scale incredibly well. Hearing the Verite Open on a TOTL amplifier was a mind-blowing experience -- one that transcended any of the other summit-fi experiences I've had, including the Caldera and LCD-5. _What??? A dynamic driver surpassing planars??!_ *Keyword: experience.* Here's the thing, I'm not chasing the last 1% of detail, resolution, soundstage, etc. I don't need that, as I'm not a producer or audio engineer. I use music as a form of escape and relaxation. I prioritize immersion, and all of the parameters that comprise an immersive experience. Idk why, but formula for the flagship ZMF dynamics have actually ended up being the _most_ competitive in terms of performance for my ears; not from a pure technical perspective, but for smiles per dollar. Plus, they look gorgeous and will last me forever. And, as a result, I could care less if the LCD-6 or Susvara Mk.2 releases with even further technical improvements. After countless gear, I'm truly at "end-game" with ZMFs. But, I understand everyone's tastes and use cases are different. Enjoy the music! : )

@djhmax09

9 ай бұрын

@@asplmn yeah, I don't agree with that based on what I've tried with zmf. But like I already said, not many people prioritize that and that's totally fine

Thanks for the detailed review. It’s great that you give us your take on a variety of music. If you still have them, would you be able to measure the inner diameter of the pads?

@Skeeb23

9 ай бұрын

I'll do that later today and report back.

@Skeeb23

9 ай бұрын

Alright so the cup at the deepest point it's about 1.5 inches of depth. Shallowest point is about 3/4 inch. The pads have a very very thin mesh lining on them as well so ears would never touch the inner of the cup. The pads are about 2.5 inch long by 2 inch wide. 3/4 inch thickest and 1/2 inch thinnest point.

@zeram01

9 ай бұрын

@@Skeeb23 thanks so much for the info, as manufacturers hardly ever put dimensions on their websites. Looks like my Dumbo almost 3 inch in length ears wouldn’t fit in these. I’ll probably have to stick with a shape like found in the DCA Expanse.

I've heard a few TOTL headphones. Utopia and Susvara being the most expensive. imo neither of them are worth their asking price. Throw this Yamaha into the mix as well as many others in that $5K+ range. The shaky build and ridiculous power needed to drive the Susvara makes it a HP to avoid for most... and the Utopia is so amp picky with murdering Treble peaks you might never realize its potential. Both are a hard pass at their asking price for me. The ONLY brand I feel gives you your money's worth is ZMF. Spent $4K on a Stabilized Caldera and I've got no complaints

@Skeeb23

9 ай бұрын

Preach!!

@arthurhaywood2184

9 ай бұрын

I concur. I listened to the YH5000SE and the Caldera on the exact same day. I came home with the Caldera. IMHO, if the Yamaha was maybe $2k to $2.5k, I could give it a recommendation. I need to do another round of listening with it but at this point, I don’t think they’re worth the asking price.

@asplmn

9 ай бұрын

Same. I've hit endgame with my ZMF collection. I'm at the point where I no longer have FOMO with new headphone releases. Interestingly, I actually prefer the Verite Open and Atrium flagships over the Caldera -- but I prioritize natural timbre and dynamics over resolution and micro-detail. I love the ZMF has something for just about everyone.

@palefaced1

8 ай бұрын

Totally agree. Caldera is king. Worth every penny. And a work of art. Own 4 sets.

@djhmax09

6 ай бұрын

​@@asplmn I don't think zmf have natural timbre. It's pleasing and richer than real life, that's why many people like it.

Would these work for electronic drums?

So I won't be buying it for my DAP?

Bit late seeing this, but the idea of pairing TOTL headphones, or transducers in general, with entry or mid-fi level source gear is somewhat baffling to me. Why would you buy a $4k, $5k, $6k+ headphone if you are going to run it off of sub-$1k DACs and amps? That's like taking the Ferrari you bought and getting it serviced at the local Wal-Mart Tire Center. Or buying an 8k TV just so you can watch old VHS tapes. Those headphones aren't meant to be paired with lower end gear. And the same is true in reverse. One shouldn't be buying $5k+ DACs and amps to drive DT880s or HE400SEs. I'm not sure why it should be controversial to say that if you are going to buy TOTL transducers, that the rest of your chain should be equally as TOTL and kept in balance. That's a known, and generally accepted, cost of stepping into the higher-end of any hobby. But for whatever reason there's a not insignificant number of people in the audio community who think that that just isn't, or maybe shouldn't, be the case. It's baffling.

♥

Your lucky to own a pair

@Skeeb23

7 ай бұрын

I don't own them if you're referring to the Yamaha?

i wasn’t impressed with this headphone especially at their asking price. Just buy the OG HD800 for a similar sound for a lot less money.

I think I keep my HD-600 and 800s

re James Blake - you mean *Big* Hammer?

@Skeeb23

9 ай бұрын

Ha! Yeah I was thinking it dropped THE Hammer. You are correct!

shock horror, when you play really loud bass / music, headphones & speakers start to distort

So they just want you to get the right Yamaha amplifier. It costs even less than the headphone.

Aside from its price,it also great as decoration in a pc desk.😅.i hope china gonna make some replica on these

Wite my all respect Sir, Yamaha YH-5000 is the best in the market for now. It was out of stock for long time in most markets , Sir you have try it with high Amp-Dac. More you spend ..... More you enjoy .

@Skeeb23

9 ай бұрын

I take no disrespect, though I'd argue that my gear is plenty quality enough. It comes down to synergy like I said in the video. I can only report on what I hear after all. I'll check them out again at another CanJam on a high end amp and see what happens. To me, more money doesn't always equal better in this hobby. Sometimes more money is just...different.

@Tacet137

6 ай бұрын

in the market of deaf people perhaps

@malihajji2870

6 ай бұрын

Very good, next time tell me which market you deal with ,and you are a regular customer, so I might get more discounts on my future purchases.

Would not touch this 5k headband even if money was stacked to the ceiling. Manufacturers are taking consumers for a ride

Once the reviewer starts talking about "does it slam" then you know you are wasting time with a novice.... And KZread is filled with these people who do not understand what they are doing, yet, they just keep making useless "review" videos.

I play saxophone and you can buy a professional quality yamaha saxophone, brand new, for way less than this headphone. Make it make sense.

@ChristianCartne

16 күн бұрын

Can you play mr saxobeat ?😮