Yamaha NS-1000M.

[craigmclellan]

Guys,

These are the speakers I have lusted after for years, ever since I first heard them with the Musical Fidelity F Series separates. I loved them.

You would imagine then I'd be over the moon and jumping for joy that I won a pair for £550 last night on eBay. They are a bit beaten up, but apparently work perfectly and have the original grills. I'm comfortable with sanding down the veneer lightly and repainting (advice will be sought from here, obviously).

Strange thing is though, because for me, this is the holy grial, I am having 2nd thoughts. I think I'm worried that I may get them and after living with them, be disappointed. A bit like where James May from Top Gear drove the Lamborghini Countach which was his holy grail and when he got to finally drive one, it was rubbish and it spoilt the illusion.

Has anyone else ever had this sort of problem?! I even called my Dad last night to see if he has ever had this sort of issue, he did say "If you have any doubt, avoid it. But, if I were your age with this hobby I'd already be en route to collect them."

Can someone give me advice on what to look for as obviously, I will be testing them myself before parting with cash - I have to collect them anyway. The seller has not yet been in touch following my initial email to start arranging collection.

 

[Voice_Coil]

Guys,These are the speakers I have lusted after for years, ever since I first heard them with the Musical Fidelity F Series separates. I loved them.

You would imagine then I'd be over the moon and jumping for joy that I won a pair for £550 last night on eBay. They are a bit beaten up, but apparently work perfectly and have the original grills. I'm comfortable with sanding down the veneer lightly and repainting (advice will be sought from here, obviously).

Strange thing is though, because for me, this is the holy grial, I am having 2nd thoughts. I think I'm worried that I may get them and after living with them, be disappointed. A bit like where James May from Top Gear drove the Lamborghini Countach which was his holy grail and when he got to finally drive one, it was rubbish and it spoilt the illusion.

Has anyone else ever had this sort of problem?! I even called my Dad last night to see if he has ever had this sort of issue, he did say "If you have any doubt, avoid it. But, if I were your age with this hobby I'd already be en route to collect them."

Can someone give me advice on what to look for as obviously, I will be testing them myself before parting with cash - I have to collect them anyway. The seller has not yet been in touch following my initial email to start arranging collection.

the only thing i know about the yams is, they take a while to settle from cold, at least thats how my mates are , try to spend as long listening to them as possible , they might sound bright, shrill or even hard at first, his sometimes do, but they always settle down into something magical, just a shame they are so damn huge or i too would own a pair.

 

[craigmclellan]

They are enormous. We had a relative taken ill after a big heart attack and stroke, so my Mrs said "Don't waste your time" since, if they look ridiculous I will redecorate and reposition everything in our lounge.

Thankfully, I have just heard from the seller which has put a lot more confidence in me and it's now turning into excitement that I will soon OWN the speakers I've always used as a reference point in my mind!

 

[Valvebloke]

I've got a pair of the 1000s and I like them. Their response measures pretty flat, but modern ears aren't used to that (we've got used to 'just listening to that bass !!') so you may think they're bass light. Putting them close to a wall or, even better, into a corner can make a very substantial difference to that. If you want to get an accurate impression of them try also to raise them up off the floor (a foot or so should do). And whatever you do, check that all the drivers work. The dome midrange and tweeter can both be electrically fragile. Fortunately these are fitted with individual level controls so you can turn them up and down and you should hear marked changes in the sound when you do that. Be a little careful though - one of mine had a magnet polepiece move which trapped the voicecoil on the midrange driver at one point. It still made a sound, so the volume control had an effect, but it was 10dB quieter than it should be. This was blindingly (deafeningly ?) obvious when I stood the two speakers alongside one another and flipped the music from one to the other. It's a good test if you can rig it up. They should sound identical of course.

VB

 

[craigmclellan]

Useful advice.

The reason the 1000Ms attract me is because of their bass. I know they won't put up with me setting the volume to 12 o'clock (especially with my N80 powering them!) but that isn't what I want. I do also understand that any poor recordings will really be shown up by these. Thankfully, I have listened to NS1000s for a long time so I think I will know if anything is wrong. Is it worth doing the mod I have seen advertised on eBay which is essentially a protection circuit for the tweeter?

Only downside will be the 4 hour hike to get to Littlehampton where the guy lives, but if they work well, it'll be worth the effort in my opinion.

 

[Beobloke]

"Enormous"??? Pah! I can lend you a pair of Leak 3090s if you like - after a week with these you'll realise that the Yamahas are actually just tiddly standmounters! ;-)

As to checking them out, all you really need to do is make sure that ALL the drivers work and that they make no nasty noises. A duff bass driver is less of an issue but if one of the midranges or tweeters has died then you'll have a long and likely expensive search for a replacement. Also, don't asume this just means taking along your favourite Basement Jaxx CD and cranking it up - some soft vocal or piano-based material will pinpoint any midrange issues.

As long as the basic ingredients are sound they you can choose to tidy them up and use them as they are, or fettle them a bit at a later date.

And as to the 'holy grail' thing - the important thing is that you now own a pair. It doesn't matter if in a year or two down the line you decide that perhaps they're really not for you and decide to sell them as, firstly, you'll most certainly get your money back and maybe even make a profit if you tidy them up. Secondly, at least you'll have achieved one of your audio goals. Far better than always wondering "what if...".

 

[craigmclellan]

Dad said to me "you know full well if you don't get them in a months time you'll be crying about it."

I am going to bite the bullet and try them out, they have their grills which is a good thing as well.

Basement Jaxx? I'll be testing them with Dire Straits and then Ludovico Einaudi!!

 

[diceman]

The ns1000 has been on my list of must try's for around 5 years now along with some ruark crusader ii's after hearing both in other peoples systems.

I was lucky enough to come across a pair through a work contact a couple of weeks ago and within 15 mins was in the car to go and buy them! Initial impressions were "these are damn good at resolving detail but not musical and I can't live with them long term." After living with them for a couple of days I noticed I was listening to much more music than normal, a few teaks of the mid/tweet level adjusters and they were getting much better balanced on different types of music -really rather good. Swapping from solid state to some valves helped again bring an improvement to musicality and now with a highly modded leak stereo 20 they are sounding sublime with jazz, female vocal and even dance and rock.

I have owned and still own some damn fine speakers but the ns1000 I would suggest is in the top 3 and the finest box speaker I have owned or heard to my ears.

Some indicate that they don't image?? Maybe they don't in the same way that a panel speaker throws a wall of sound at you but they are location and depth wise very precise with image placement.

They are cracking, so much so that I am considering a second pair for my main system, go get them and enioy.

As long as the drivers are working fine and u don't blow them up they will be an experience if nothing else and you will get your money back.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[craigmclellan]

Certainly shall. Any Wammers fancy going with me for the trade?

Littlehampton/West Sussex is where I will be heading.

 

[mnky]

If he has a tuner tune in between two stations to get some white noise (watch the volume) or test record .... listen close up to each driver and compare with the other channels respective driver .... this may show up any issues

 

[craigmclellan]

Interesting - I'll take my STR-VA555ES with me.

 

[enbee23]

From experience, the critical thing with these speakers is finding the right amp. If you have a good match, the NS1000 will sound fantastic. Enjoy :^

 

[craigmclellan]

Respect: Sound City, btw!

I have read that is the case. I know I definitely have enough current in my amp which is the Sony TA-N80ES (it's enormous) but obviously, synergy is an entirely different thing altogether. The VA555ES will be enough to at least test it when we are in the guys house. He says he used to use them with a Harman Kardon pre & power amplifier, haven't asked which models, though.

 

[RobHolt]

I wouldn't worry about them shattering long held illusions. They are excellent designs with great ingredients, with MC drivers as good or better than the best today.

You might find sealed box bass designed for wall alignment a little strange at first. Different character to ported cabinets designed for free space.

If you refurb them, get in touch with Mark (YNWOAN) who's done a stunning restoration job on his.

 

[craigmclellan]

I'll have to do a bit of stalking and look him up.

In terms of refurbing, it would just be the cabinets and possible the wiring if it were corroded (if they work fine, I'll buy them) - I'm not a speaker builder or expert so I think I'll trust Yamaha's (then) engineers to have made good speakers.

I've seen a set on here before which were recovered which made for a shiny red finish. They looked fantastic!

 

[SMEagol]

Kenrick Sound do some snazzy paint finishes on theirs. Google them, and you'll see that 1000's are tiddlers in their world! Few you tube videos too.

 

[craigmclellan]

I've seen those

I don't know if I could afford to do that sort of finish, but it is something to aspire to! The Rosewood type finish looks beautiful.

 

[enbee23]

I'll have to do a bit of stalking and look him up.In terms of refurbing, it would just be the cabinets and possible the wiring if it were corroded (if they work fine, I'll buy them) - I'm not a speaker builder or expert so I think I'll trust Yamaha's (then) engineers to have made good speakers.

I've seen a set on here before which were recovered which made for a shiny red finish. They looked fantastic!

I had the red ones for a while, with a couple of wammers before me and three or four after me. They had been tarted up in Japan before being brought over here and the cabs have since been veneered in oak. They then passed into the orbit of Mark/YNWOAN and were broken up, with the component parts living on in new incarnations!

 

[craigmclellan]

Have dropped him a PM.

Going to pick these up on Monday morning