Yamaha YH-5000SE Flagship Headphone Review

[IXOYE]

The newer Sennhesier models also have a small dip in the clarity range (around 2-3kHz) but not nearly as deep.

I like a little dip in that frequency range, but not 17.5 db

 

[Postlan]

$5,000? No thanks.

$50? No thanks.

 

[Randolf]

Nice review, but the Yamaha YH-5000SE leaves me puzzled. Another nice review with measurements, long-term listening experience and background information can be found here:

https://den-fi.com/yamaha-yh-5000se-a-half-century-in-the-making/

There are some very positive subjective reviews of the YH-5000SE not even mentioning the huge deviation from the Harman target curve. I am pretty sure that must be noticeable by almost everybody.

 

[Chagall]

Nice review, but the Yamaha YH-5000SE leaves me puzzled. Another nice review with measurements, long-term listening experience and background information can be found here:

https://den-fi.com/yamaha-yh-5000se-a-half-century-in-the-making/

There are some very positive subjective reviews of the YH-5000SE not even mentioning the huge deviation from the Harman target curve. I am pretty sure that must be noticeable by almost everybody.

Very fair and objective review from the owner of the headphones no less. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Buckchester]

Nice review, but the Yamaha YH-5000SE leaves me puzzled. Another nice review with measurements, long-term listening experience and background information can be found here:

https://den-fi.com/yamaha-yh-5000se-a-half-century-in-the-making/

There are some very positive subjective reviews of the YH-5000SE not even mentioning the huge deviation from the Harman target curve. I am pretty sure that must be noticeable by almost everybody.

Many people regard owner reviews as one of the most objective sources of information. But when you look at them, I would argue they represent some of the least objective.

This person believes these and the Susvara are some of the most tonally correct headphones? But we can see from the measurements this is obviously not the case.

How do they arrive at such conclusions? It probably has much to do with the fact they are not conducting their listening comparisons properly.

 

[Cote Dazur]

Nice review, but the Yamaha YH-5000SE leaves me puzzled

This person believes these and the Susvara are some of the most tonally correct headphones? But we can see from the measurements this is obviously not the case.

Not sure what you are puzzled with, here we have an Audiophile friend who has spend a considerable amount of money on a well established brand headphone. The longer he will listen to them, the better they will sound (to him) as his brain is answering the question he his asking himself: aren't those $5,000.00 Yamaha the best ever? And the brain to reply, yes they are.
If he was to try a pair of $80 IEM with great measurements, he will find they sound very different, but still prefer his $ 5,000.00 reference.
Nothing to be puzzled with.

 

[Chagall]

Many people regard owner reviews as one of the most objective sources of information. But when you look at them, I would argue they represent some of the least objective.

This person believes these and the Susvara are some of the most tonally correct headphones? But we can see from the measurements this is obviously not the case.

How do they arrive at such conclusions? It probably has much to do with the fact they are not conducting their listening comparisons properly.

It's the opposite. Usually, owners are subjective (confirmation bias and purchase justification).

Who's to say that for his preference and his HRTF, Susvara isn't the most tonally correct headphone? There are a lot of headphones that don't measure great on the fixture but are great for many people and vice versa.

 

[Chagall]

Not sure what you are puzzled with, here we have an Audiophile friend who has spend a considerable amount of money on a well established brand headphone. The longer he will listen to them, the better they will sound (to him) as his brain is answering the question he his asking himself: aren't those $5,000.00 Yamaha the best ever? And the brain to reply, yes they are.
If he was to try a pair of $80 IEM with great measurements, he will find they sound very different, but still prefer his $ 5,000.00 reference.
Nothing to be puzzled with.

Did you read the review?

As it is easy to see, this headphone is not really a headphone that can be blindly recommended. It's quite target-deviant, which does not necessarily mean it's a bad headphone, it's just going to be more hit or miss to people's preferences than the average headphone.
I still think it's a headphone that is impossible to recommend to most people without a home demo as it just sounds too weird with the vast majority of music, but I respect that Yamaha has attempted to try new things with the YH-5000SE instead of making a generic-sounding planar magnetic headphone.
I, frankly, am excited to list this headphone for sale after touring it with some friends. I do appreciate the fact that the YH-5000SE has forced me to try to understand what the engineers at Yamaha were trying to do, rather than lazily claim they don't know what they are doing because I don't like the sound of it or because it doesn't measure close to a target.

 

[Mr Swing King]

I can get used to a lot of different sound signatures - some I even like on quite a few occasions, but coming home to something that is tuned realistically always pulls me back to reality.
Having to get used to something so bonkers and uniquely unnatural as the Yamaha flagship is madness to me unless the buyer well and truly loves the presentation.
I should know, I know quite a few Grado fans that genuinely feel anything other than the Grado signature just sounds meh. Speaking of which, this could well be the planar for those folks with that awkward peak in the high mids.

 

[Chagall]

I should know, I know quite a few Grado fans that genuinely feel anything other than the Grado signature just sounds meh.

Yes, that is fine - as long as it's a genuine preference (not just brand fandom), and don't bash others for liking something else.

I can get used to a lot of different sound signatures - some I even like on quite a few occasions, but coming home to something that is tuned realistically always pulls me back to reality.

I know what you mean. This IEM is what made me discover and fall in love with EQ

Kinda similar to Yamaha...

 

[Dz1]

190 ratings already on a headphone that costs $5000. Why are people who have never used this headphone rating it?

This site would be more useful to buyers if the only people who rate a headphone are those who have actually tried it.

 

[Mr Swing King]

190 ratings already on a headphone that costs $5000. Why are people who have never used this headphone rating it?

This site would be more useful to buyers if the only people who rate a headphone are those who have actually tried it.

Speaking wholly from personal experience here, but when you’ve listened to 300+ headphones and furthermore have gotten your head around a simple frequency response, it is very possible to grok headphones from afar…and well I have NEVER heard a headphone with a massive peak in the midrange that sounds good. Add to that, this is a supposedly TOTL planar magnetic that rolls off in the bass like a dynamic driver headphone meaning you don’t even get the advantage of the planar party trick.
The Yamaha is an objectively poor headphone, regardless of price.

Edith: and I haven’t even mentioned the horrendous treble!

 

[Postlan]

190 ratings already on a headphone that costs $5000. Why are people who have never used this headphone rating it?

This site would be more useful to buyers if the only people who rate a headphone are those who have actually tried it.

The rating on this site is not for the headphones themselves but for the measurements of the headphones. People who own these headphones may have subjective biases, so I believe they should refrain from voting.

 

[Dz1]

The rating on this site is not for the headphones themselves but for the measurements of the headphones. People who own these headphones may have subjective biases, so I believe they should refrain from voting.

So the people who actually know what they are talking about because they have actually used the headphones are the ones who should not vote?

I'm not sure you have thought things through properly.

 

[Postlan]

So the people who actually know what they are talking about because they have actually used the headphones are the ones who should not vote?

I think you're lacking in logic if that's what you really believe

I'm not sure if your logic is flawed or if it's a lack of understanding, but if that's what you think, then fine for me. It doesn't really matter to me what you think.

 

[Dz1]

I'm not sure if your logic is flawed or if it's a lack of understanding, but if that's what you think, then fine for me. It doesn't really matter to me what you think.

It matters to me though because I use this website to recommend items for me to buy. I can't have people like you messing things up for me as has happened in the past.

I have purchased items that measured perfectly and were rated highly by people like you, but when I actually used it I was bitterly disappointed with the sound quality. It turns out there's a lot those frequency graphs are missing when it comes to sound quality. So I hope people like you who have not actually used the item think twice about voting in future so i can avoid buying any more duds.

 

[Mr Swing King]

It matters to me though because I use this website to recommend items for me to buy. I can't have people like you messing things up for me as has happened in the past.

I have purchased items that measured perfectly and were rated highly by people like you, but when I actually used it I was bitterly disappointed with the sound quality. It turns out there's a lot those frequency graphs are missing when it comes to sound quality. So I hope people like you who have not actually used the item think twice about voting in future so i can avoid buying any more duds.

It sounds like you’ve completely missed the point of measurements. The fact that something measures perfectly doesn’t in any way, shape or form dictate that you should like it.
The Harman Target is a framework in order for you and me to interject our own tastebuds into…and sure there are a lot of people who love the sound of the Harman Target (I happen to love it over iems), but you don’t have to.
What we can judge, without ever hearing X headphone, is objective performance. I already previously named the rolled off bass (which should be criminal in a TOTL planar magnetic flagship imho) as well as the humonguous peak in the mids…but how about that treble? It consists entirely out of peaks and troughs…and well peaks are peaks no matter how you slice it..and again speaking from personal experience that signals to me a very very unrefined sounding treble performance.
Maybe some people will adore the sound of this headphone, sure, but the objective performance leaves a LOT to be desired - and there are those of us who see a peak like that in the midrange, and we simply run screaming for the hills. No audition needed, thank you very much.

P.S. I would recommend you go look up the frequency response of whatever headphone or iem that you dig, and then take it from there in terms of what you want to upgrade soundwise. Maybe you own a classic Sennheiser and want more subbass and lesser clarity around 2-3k. Perhaps you love a more lively treble a la what you encounter over many Beyerdynamics. All of this can be much easier navigated through these measurements…if you know what you’re looking at and furthermore know what you like

Edith: perhaps take a look through this thread also: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/things-that-cannot-be-measured.20808/

 

[SMAC88]

If you are listening to this headphone and think this is what music is supposed to sound like, I highly recommend you get the aforementioned Tanchin One IEM to appreciate what high fidelity music reproduction is all about. At $27, it is pocket change.

How would you compare the Tanchin One IEM against the Truthear Crinacle zero and 7hz Crinacle zero 2?

 

[Postlan]

It matters to me though because I use this website to recommend items for me to buy. I can't have people like you messing things up for me as has happened in the past.

I have purchased items that measured perfectly and were rated highly by people like you, but when I actually used it I was bitterly disappointed with the sound quality. It turns out there's a lot those frequency graphs are missing when it comes to sound quality. So I hope people like you who have not actually used the item think twice about voting in future so i can avoid buying any more duds.

This website is for people who believe there’s a correlation between measurements and experience, so if you feel there’s no correlation, this site is a complete waste of time for you. You’d be better off going to a place like Audiogon.

Or, before complaining about the measurements, take some time to study why there might not be a correlation. Also, if you’re only looking at frequency response, you should make sure you understand the significance of the other measurements as well. Personally, while I don’t think these simple measurements can tell you everything about a product’s characteristics, I can say from experience that there’s still a certain relationship between expected values and actual listening experiences, so you can get a ballpark idea without having to buy the product. There are products like this one where you can tell just by looking at the distortion rate that they’re clearly terrible, and I think it’s really convenient that you don’t have to buy them to find that out.

If you think there’s no problem with these headphones, why not go ahead and buy them?

 

[Cote Dazur]

This site would be more useful to buyers if the only people who rate a headphone are those who have actually tried it

This site is already more than use full for buyers, it is essential.
Amir reviews contains all the information we need for an educated decision.
The last thing we need is some fuzzy comments from a subjective impression from total strangers because they have had the headphones on their head.
Based on the measurement and the asking price we can all decide what we think about those particular headphones.