Yamaha Professional Audio

[highfigh]

I understand the advantages of rack mounting and why a pro amp would assume the use of such. My comment was more about the consumer's tolerance of its existence, i.e. I don't care if they're present even if I'm not using them. The aesthetic has little impact.

I think an open rack of equipment looks great without rack ears too, but the convenience of opening or rotating a rack to gain access to the back of the equipment is good, as long as it's not too crowded. If the equipment is the same width and everything is vertically aligned, it looks good- both have advantages & disadvantages and since I keep all of my boxes (I try to get my customers to do that but they rarely do), none of my hardware is missing. I often put the hardware in a bag for my customers and even then, they sometimes toss it with the inevitable "Can we put that TV on a table?" or "Can we squeeze another cable box into the rack?" when rack shelves were used as a way to give things more breathing room.

Ultimately, I agree- it doesn't matter how it looks, as long as it works well.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

It seems there is plenty of talk of the Crown Class-D amps (XLS series).

But not many people have used the Yamaha Class-D amps, like the PX3.

I've been doing some light reading. A few things stood out.

First, with these Yamaha PX3 amps, the RACK MOUNT ears can be REMOVED!

Yes, unlike the Crown, QSC, and other Pro amps, these Yamaha PX3 amps are made so anyone could remove the rack mounts if they want the amps to look more "consumer".

Second, you can set both the High-Pass Filter (HPF) and LPF in small increments from 20Hz-20kHz. For example: 20Hz, 21Hz, 22Hz, 23Hz, 24Hz, 25Hz, etc.

It also has a 6-Band Parametric EQ (PEQ).

https://jp.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/8/792728/px10_en_rm_e0.pdf

Just for fun, I did a Photoshop of the Yamaha CX-A5100 and PX3.

Notice how Yamaha shows the Volume/Gain of the PX3 set at 100% or 0dB on the LCD?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

It seems there is plenty of talk of the Crown Class-D amps (XLS series).

But not many people have used the Yamaha Class-D amps, like the PX3.

I've been doing some light reading. A few things stood out.

First, with these Yamaha PX3 amps, the RACK MOUNT ears can be REMOVED!

Yes, unlike the Crown, QSC, and other Pro amps, these Yamaha PX3 amps are made so anyone could remove the rack mounts if they want the amps to look more "consumer".

Second, you can set both the High-Pass Filter (HPF) and LPF in small increments from 20Hz-20kHz. For example: 20Hz, 21Hz, 22Hz, 23Hz, 24Hz, 25Hz, etc.

It also has a 6-Band Parametric EQ (PEQ).

https://jp.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/8/792728/px10_en_rm_e0.pdf

Just for fun, I did a Photoshop of the Yamaha CX-A5100 and PX3.

Like it!!! I use a Yamaha pro amp. Love it.

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

They're are nice amps, I considered them before I bought the Crown. I have heard though that the PEQ function is designed to work only with Yamaha Pro speakers, but I would have to confirm that. The other thing I read is that their fan is on all the time instead of coming on just when necessary.

 

[KEW]

It wouldn’t be a small percentage if the manufacturers would cater to the consumers.

The reason it is still a small percentage is because the manufacturers don’t cater to the consumers.

If Yamaha catered to customers by making their pro amps prettier, etc. then you would have paid less for their pro-amp(s) instead of your consumer amp. I think they don't want to compete with their own products. Also if enough sales shifted from consumer outlets to pro-audio outlets, Yamaha would disenfranchise Audio shops.

I don't think Crown pro-amps are really cutting into Harman's Mark Levinson sales!

 

[KEW]

They're are nice amps, I considered them before I bought the Crown. I have heard though that the PEQ function is designed to work only with Yamaha Pro speakers, but I would have to confirm that. The other thing I read is that their fan is on all the time instead of coming on just when necessary.

My PS series Yamaha pro amp has a switch on the back to go between "YSProcessing" (aka YSP) "On" and "Off" located between the two white knobs. I believe the YSP option is optimized for certain YSP designated Yamaha speakers. I leave it off.
From the manual on YSProcessing:

If you set this switch ON, the amplifier adds low-frequency compensation so as to enhance speaker output. The results (the actual change in the low-frequency balance) will vary according to the speaker type. Note that this switch is effective only if the FILTER switch is set to OFF. NOTE: This feature provides improved frequency reponse on speakers such as the YAMAHA S112 and S115

You will also notice that it provides a slider switch for each channel to select between "Low Cut", Subwoofer", and "Off" above the frequency knobs. Thus far, I have used this as a full range amp so leave both in the "Off" position, but I believe the "Low Cut" setting provides a high pass filter and the "Subwoofer" setting provides a low pass filter - with the filters effective at the frequency the knob is set to!
From the manual:

OFF ...................... Do not use any filter.
SUBWOOFER..... Use a low-pass filter. The amplifier outputs the frequencies that are lower than the cutoff set by the FREQUENCY adjustment knob.
LOW CUT ........... Use a high-pass filter. You can use this setting to filter out unneeded low or subsonic frequencies.
If you select SUBWOOFER or LOW CUT, you can then use the FREQUENCY adjustment knob to adjust the cutoff frequency. The adjustment range is 25 Hz to 150 Hz. NOTE: If the amplifer is set to BRIDGE mode, only the switch and knob for Channel A are effective. (The Channel B frequency controls are disabled.)

One nice thing about this amp is the gain knobs on the front have 31 detents at each of the 31 tick marks so if you don't want to max them out, you can match the settings for both channels precisely (Although I don't know for sure that the rheostats are that precise). It also had a tinted security cover you could screw over the gain knobs (which is long lost by now).

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

My PS series Yamaha pro amp has a switch on the back to go between "YSProcessing" (aka YSP) "On" and "Off" located between the two white knobs. I believe the YSP option is optimized for certain YSP designated Yamaha speakers. I leave it off.
From the manual on YSProcessing:

You will also notice that it provides a slider switch for each channel to select between "Low Cut", Subwoofer", and "Off" above the frequency knobs. Thus far, I have used this as a full range amp so leave both in the "Off" position, but I believe the "Low Cut" setting provides a high pass filter and the "Subwoofer" setting provides a low pass filter - with the filters effective at the frequency the knob is set to!
From the manual:


One nice thing about this amp is the gain knobs on the front have 31 detents at each of the 31 tick marks so if you don't want to max them out, you can match the settings for both channels precisely (Although I don't know for sure that the rheostats are that precise). It also had a tinted security cover you could screw over the gain knobs (which is long lost by now).

Wow Kurt, I didn’t know you had this. I use a 2500 on my mains. Great amp.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

If Yamaha catered to customers by making their pro amps prettier, etc. then you would have paid less for their pro-amp(s) instead of your consumer amp. I think they don't want to compete with their own products. Also if enough sales shifted from consumer outlets to pro-audio outlets, Yamaha would disenfranchise Audio shops.

I don't think Crown pro-amps are really cutting into Harman's Mark Levinson sales!

Great point.

It’s too easy to see things from our personal point of view and forget about the business POV.

Although the PX3 still looks like a pro amp, I applaud Yamaha for making it look a lot prettier than most pro amps (to my eyes) and easily allowing consumers to remove the rack mount ears. The LCD screen is also a very nice touch that shows a lot of info, like volume (gain).

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

Very nice Yamaha amp, Kurt. Unfortunately, the PS Series has been discontinued. If I was in the market, I would consider the PX series.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Very nice Yamaha amp, Kurt. Unfortunately, the PS Series has been discontinued. If I was in the market, I would consider the PX series.

If you’re comfortable with the secondary market, the PS series is available widely from the 2500 up to the 7500. Since pro gear is very robust, most are in good shape. Ears are removable too. I know your not in the market but it could be a cheap experiment.

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

If you’re comfortable with the secondary market, the PS series is available widely from the 2500 up to the 7500. Since pro gear is very robust, most are in good shape. Ears are removable too. I know your not in the market but it could be a cheap experiment.

Yes, thank you William. I was going to purchase the Yamaha P2500S just prior to the amp being discontinued. I waited too long. Instead, I went ahead and purchased the Crown XLS 2502.

 

[highfigh]

They're are nice amps, I considered them before I bought the Crown. I have heard though that the PEQ function is designed to work only with Yamaha Pro speakers, but I would have to confirm that. The other thing I read is that their fan is on all the time instead of coming on just when necessary.

If the EQ is variable, I would bet the presets are for their pro speakers, but with someone who knows how to analyze and adjust the response, it's likely adjustable and has several presets for whatever the system needs.