New Yamaha HL-L7A looks awesome!

[CapMan]

Why does it have cup holders?

 

[DavidMcRoy]

Why does it have cup holders?

Now "that" makes sense...it must be for the North America car market!

 

[MAB]

Why does it have cup holders?

Perhaps it's a nuclear power plant vibe, with cooling towers:

In black(ish)

 

[Ilkless]

I hope these headphones could be measured one day. Lets skip the amp

Already have been shared further up thread. This plus really mediocre distortion has killed any interest for me.

 

[voodooless]

Not a single spec on the product page, impressive

 

[PBSequence]

I love the headphones look-wise, and the amp is kind of cool too, even if a bit assymetric. They also feel really great and premium (which should be expected at that price point).

Had the chance to try out this setup at High-End Munich in May, with high expectations from my side. Yamaha has made some great products, and even their vintage orthodynamic headphones are quite interesting (even if obviously outdated). Great listening experience, and they even had one of the headphone engineers there to answer questions...

Sadly, they just plain and simple don't sound good. They kind of sound a bit more spatial than many other headphones (similar to an HD 800(S), just less wide in my impression), but the tonality is absolutely wonky as the measurements show. EQ could save them, so I feel like if they were priced similar or lower to the HD 800S (which also has some tonality issues where EQ really helps), they might be worth considering, but I absolutely can't see the value right now when it comes to sound quality.

 

[TheBatsEar]

Not cheap. Not even reasonable. But I want one, just the same.

Question is, will you actually buy one? Will it cost one coin or many coins?

I for one am reduced to survive on nothing but food and cheap booze for the rest of the year, because i bought so much stuff.
I'm doing my part in fighting the German recession.

Are any of the DSP features good? Asking since they apparently have them on other products(?).

They have a tiny number of loud fans.
Me.
I'm their sound fields fan. So much so, i bought a Yamaha DSP-E1000 and a DSP1 recently.

This is from Wikipedia:

The Yamaha DSP-1 is a processor of early home theater surround sound equipment, produced in 1985. The DSP-1 (referred to by Yamaha as a Digital Soundfield Processor) allowed owners to synthesize up to 6-channels of surround sound from 2 channel stereo sound via a complex digital signal processor (DSP). Much like today's home theater receivers the DSP-1 offered sixteen "sound fields" created through the DSP including a jazz club, a cathedral, a concert hall, and a stadium. However, unlike today's integrated amps and receivers, these soundfield modes were highly editable, allowing the owner to customize the effect to his or her own personal taste. The DSP-1 also included an analog Dolby Surround decoder as well as other effects such as real-time echo and pitch change.

Most of the DSP-1's controls are on the unit's remote control. The reason, as mentioned in the manual, being that it was felt that adjustments should be done at the listening position. This can make it difficult for collectors to find a complete functioning unit, although there is at least one provider of aftermarket remote controls with duplicate programming for the DSP-1 if needed. In Dolby Surround mode, only 4 channels are active, with just the front main channels and rear surround channels operating, the forward surround channels being muted.
Their stuff depends on measurements made in certain venues, like a pub or stadium. Here is a review of their very first DSP-1, which i recently bought for 110€ to add to my hifi hoard.

A review of the unit:

Yamaha DSP-1 Surround Processor review, test, price

www.hifi-review.com

And i found this strange DSP demonstration from the 80ies:

Yamaha Digital Home Theater Laserdisc : Yamaha : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Japanese Yamaha Laserdisc Demo (Audio in English and hardcoded Japanese subtitles on movie clips)

archive.org

Not a single spec on the product page, impressive

Found them here:

HA-L7A - Specs - Yamaha - Music - Australia

The Yamaha HA-L7A is a headphone amplifier that allows you to dive into your favorite content, by fusing superior Hi-Fi audio technologies with sound field advancements from AV receivers.

au.yamaha.com

Looks to be plenty of power, 2x1W into 32 ohms, i bet there will be plenty of power left at 250 ohms or so. I'm not into headphones, and i don't have the cash for this, but i bet the DSP stuff is fun.

I just smacked my lips for no reason. Strange. I never do that, unless my credit card slips magically into my hand.

 

[voodooless]

Only a 90 SINAD? That’s way off the mark…

 

[Godataloss]

I don't know enough about the design necessities to say weather it's utilitarian or avante garde.

 

[restorer-john]

I'm their sound fields fan. So much so, i bought a Yamaha DSP-E1000 and a DSP1 recently.

See if you can find a DSP-3000, it incorporates better A/D-D/A and has a master six gang volume internally.

 

[TheBatsEar]

Only a 90 SINAD? That’s way off the mark…

CD quality, innit?

Let me guess. You NEED more?

 

[voodooless]

CD quality, innit?

Nope, it’s only half of CD quality

Let me guess. You NEED more?

No, but for that kind of money I expect more. Much, more! What the hell else do I pay all this money for?

 

[TheBatsEar]

What the hell else do I pay all this money for?

Clout.

 

[voodooless]

Clout.

To what end? If I would really want that, wouldn’t the money be more effective elsewhere?

 

[TheBatsEar]

To what end? If I would really want that, wouldn’t the money be more effective elsewhere?

Maybe. I was thinking about buying gold teeth, but lack the funds as all my money is stuck in hifi stuff.

 

[voodooless]

Maybe. I was thinking about buying gold teeth, but lack the funds as all my money is stuck in hifi stuff.

Or maybe you need one of these:

how to remove an existing tooth sound receiver implants

i have a tooth sound receiver implants which contains an electronic device which contains a receiver can receive the message from outside the brain and to transmit the message to inner nerves in the brain without passing through the ear.

forum.biohack.me

And it’s audio related … or maybe you already have one… just don’t believe the x-ray…

 

[restorer-john]

Only a 90 SINAD? That’s way off the mark…

Yamaha have always been, and continue to be, conservative, unlike the Chinese who can't seem to advertise a truthful specification on anything.

 

[voodooless]

Yamaha have always been, and continue to be, conservative, unlike the Chinese who can't seem to advertise a truthful specification on anything.

So when was the last time Yamaha showed an AP report like some of the Chinese companies do nowadays?

And why be that conservative? It’s orders of magnitude off:

JDS Atom Amp 2 Headphone Amplifier Review

This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the JDS Labs Atom Amp 2 headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $129. The solid metal case makes an instant impression, erasing memories of the plastic case of the previous generation. A white LED...

www.audiosciencereview.com

It’s a $129 device… sure, it’s missing a DAC, but I’m too lazy to find a good combo right now. And it’s not even from China

 

[restorer-john]

So when was the last time Yamaha showed an AP report like some of the Chinese companies do nowadays?

And why be that conservative? It’s orders of magnitude off:

They aren't desperately trying to capture market or make outlandish claims to sell product. They don't need to do that- the parent company is 136 years old and have more runs on the board that practically any other HiFi brand on the face of the earth.

Specifications need to be conservative to ensure every product, in every market, hits, with performance to spare, at least the advertised numbers. Chinese brands think a random AP report means automatic credibility? LOL. It took Audio Precision 30 years to catch up with the Japanese analyzers from Shibasoku and Panasonic that the Japanese used to design their gear for many decades.

You need to look outside this festering little corner of internet group-think for some perspective now and then.

 

[voodooless]

They aren't desperately trying to capture market or make outlandish claims to sell product. They don't need to do that- the parent company is 136 years old and have more runs on the board that practically any other HiFi brand on the face of the earth.

They still deliver a 90 SINAD dac/headphone combo for € 4000 though…

Specifications need to be conservative to ensure every product, in every market, hits, with performance to spare, at least the advertised numbers

I don’t think we seen any Yamaha products tested at ARS that measured significantly better than spec.

LOL. It took Audio Precision 30 years to catch up with the Japanese analyzers from Shibasoku and Panasonic that the Japanese used to design their gear for many decades.

Fine, give me those reports. I don’t care what device it’s made on as long as the data is reliable.

You need to look outside this festering little corner of internet group-think for some perspective now and then.

Whatever… but tell me then, in what perspective is this thing worth it’s € 4000?