NS-5000

NS-5000's tweeter, midrange, and woofer all feature diaphragms made of 100%* ZYLON® — a synthetic fiber created in Japan rated as the world’s strongest** and boasting optimum elasticity — and vapor-coated with Yamaha's proprietary monel alloy. The soft-dome diaphragm suppresses peaks and dips in the frequency response caused by the inherent resonance of the diaphragm, while taking advantage of ZYLON®'s high acoustic velocity comparable to that of beryllium. The result is a remarkably flat frequency response, with unified tone color and acoustic velocity over the entire frequency range, providing comfortable listening experience and meticulously accurate, superb sound reproduction of the highest degree.

* Using 100% for the base material.

** Comparative data concerning all existing organic fibers (source: Toyobo Co., Ltd., May 2015)

Mounted on the back of the tweeter and midrange speaker units are newly developed R.S. Chambers (patent pending) that suppress unnecessary tube resonance generated behind the diaphragm. Two specially shaped tubes installed in accordance with our proprietary acoustic analysis cancel tube resonance. These R.S. Chambers achieve higher-resolution audio reproduction by eliminating the need for a large quantity of sound-absorbing material inside the enclosure that tends to smooth the frequency response of each speaker unit and might degrade minute nuances of the sound.

As a result of meticulous research on a variety of enclosure designs during the development of the NS-5000, we chose a bookshelf design as a successor to the continuing legacy of the NS-1000M (released in 1974), the pinnacle of Yamaha monitor speakers. This bass-reflex enclosure with an internal volume of 65 liters — the smallest possible size for a 30 cm (12”) 3-way configuration — is solidly assembled with the 3-way mitered joint construction technique and other traditional crafting methods. Reinforcing crosspieces inside the enclosure, based on FEM analysis, suppress “box ringing” caused by delayed vibration from the six surfaces of the enclosure. In addition, a twisted flare port prevents port noise (wind noise produced at each end of a bass reflex port) inherent in the bass reflex design, and improves resolution in the low frequency range while also enhancing signal-to-noise performance.

In selecting a material for the enclosure of the NS-5000, we carried out comprehensive studies of mechanical strength and acoustic properties of various materials, as well as the quality of domestic wood processed by painstakingly removing every knot and hole from the lumber and ensuring the durability necessary to withstand long use; we settled on laminated plywood made of white birch from the island of Hokkaido. The front baffle is 29.5 mm (1-1/8”) thick and the other five sides of the enclosure 20 mm (3/4”) (in all cases, omitting paint primer layer and paint thickness), ensuring ideal rigidity of the entire enclosure.

The cuboid enclosure unifies internal standing waves at a specified frequency, which are cancelled by a newly developed resonance tube (patent pending). This technology eliminates the previous need for the huge amount of sound-absorbing material inside the enclosure. The result is the virtual elimination of standing waves with amazing efficiency and pin-point accuracy—to energetically revive the essential presence of music, formerly lost by sound absorption.

All six external surfaces of the enclosure have a glossy black piano finish created using the same dedicated paint, primer, and polishing processes used for Yamaha’s renowned grand pianos. The uniform and hard membrane further increases the overall rigidity of the enclosure, and at the same time it suppresses fine vibrations, contributing to the bright sound and significantly enhanced signal-to-noise performance.

All drivers in the NS-5000 are connected in positive phase with single wiring to deliver a natural, pleasing listening experience. Components of its frequency-dividing network are mounted on a double-sided printed circuit board with extra-thick copper traces of 140 μ in thickness; a shorter signal path on the circuit board minimises the loss of sound data during transmission. Moreover, in order to minimise signal loss, we used for the network handpicked parts of only the highest quality, such as the MCap SUPREME EVO audio capacitor, which is made by Mundorf of Germany and renowned as the pinnacle of audio-use capacitor, Mundorf’s MResist SUPREME attenuator, and a woofer coil that weighs as much as 1.6 kg (3.52 lbs).