Yamaha NS-1000M speakers - Need advice please!

[Herr Eickhorn]

Hello everyone. I was hoping to get some advice and suggestions on how to upgrade my home theater system. Since I have to work with a modest budget, my system is not the best, but better than most. Here is what I have: A Panasonic 50” plasma TV; TH-50PX50U. A 100 watt AV Yamaha receiver RX-V2095. A Panasonic DVD player DVD-RP91. A XM tuner Polk XRt12. I use expensive high quality Nordost interconnects on all the components. My main speakers are small Yamaha satellite speakers NS-A327 attached to a powered Yamaha subwoofer YST-SW100. I have the exact same set up (including YST-SW100 subwoofer) for my rear speakers. It is a mirror image of my main speakers. In front, my center speaker is a Yamaha NS-AC80. I use quality Tara Labs speaker cable for all my connections which are terminated with soldered on gold plated banana plugs. I have separated all signal cable from electrical cable as best as possible. I have spent a lot of time keeping it tidy– no rat’s nest of cables here.

Now, many people laugh and sneer at my puny main speakers. However, I think they sound pretty good and most people are amazed at the sound quality I get once they hear it. In fact, many years ago Consumer Reports magazine rated this speaker/sub woofer combo as their number one 3 piece speaker set up. That is why I bought this set up. I didn’t have the time to do my own sound auditions and took their word that this would be a good set up. Since then, I have auditioned many expensive speakers in high end audio stores. I have yet to really hear that big a sound improvement that would justify the cost of new speakers. It seems that there is a lot of high priced junk out there. Or, perhaps, I have been listening to the wrong speakers. I don’t know. In any case, I still have this nagging feeling that my speakers are the weak link in my system and need to be upgraded. So, after some research, I discovered the legendary Yamaha NS-1000M speakers. I’m thinking that these may be the perfect upgrade for my mains. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Thoughts on how these speakers would integrate into my current system? I would also like to hear suggestions on any other types of speakers that might integrate well into my system. I would appreciate any advice and opinions. Thank you.

 

[Audioholics]

I haven't personally heard those speakers, however make sure you don't fall under the impression that you have to stay with Yamaha for speakers. You may want to branch out and try different brands and rememeber that in most systems around here the sub(s) don't match the speakers either.

It sounds like you really care about fidelity, so be sure not to pidgeonhole yourself into a corner by selecting from only a few brands.

Welcome to Audioholics - we hope you learn a lot here and get the help you're looking for.

 

[Nick250]

I still have this nagging feeling that my speakers are the weak link in my system

More often than not they are the weak link in most systems. As Clink says audition as many as you can. I mean, many, many auditions. If you find some that you really like but are above your budget, sell your expensive wire and interconnects to help finance the upgrade.

Nick

 

[Tom Andry]

As Clink says...

Dis-missed!

 

[Herr Eickhorn]

Thank you for the advice. I am familiar with the Yamaha brand so my questions orient to them. However, I will certainly consider other speaker brands besides Yamaha.

I really want to find some speakers that I can just swap into my current system by replacing my mains with them. I want to avoid that trap where you upgrade one component only to find that you have to upgrade everything else. Been there and done that – it gets expensive. My wife will be unhappy………

So here are some specific questions:

Is my receiver stout enough to drive the NS-1000M’s if I can find a good used pair?

At 2 feet away from my plasma TV, will the NS-1000M’s cause interference?

Is my receiver stout enough to drive, say, a pair of NS-8HX?

Since I have 2 subwoofers, do I really need these large types of speakers? Or could I go with, say, a pair of smaller NS-2HX?

Keep in mind I’m not really into volume and making a lot of noise. I just want high quality sound at easy listening levels – for both music and movies.

 

[arftech]

"Keep in mind I’m not really into volume and making a lot of noise. I just want high quality sound at easy listening levels – for both music and movies."

If you can find them in your area take take the time to audition B&W loudspeakers. They're awesome sounding speakers that will not "color" the sound.

Al

 

[Yamahaluver]

The NS-1000M is legendary and unequalled till today due to their berilyum drivers, the mids and the tweeters, one of the reasons you can still see them being traded despite their vintage. If accuracy is your forte, then these speakers are certainly for you as many of the leading broadcasting centers in Europe used them as monitors because when they were tested, they had the flattest response curve, I have the NS-1000x, which is basically the same speakers but with pure carbon fiber 12" woofers giving it an extension in bass, the NS-1000M comes with treated paper cone woofers, make sure when your buy the NS-1000M, it has working mids and tweeters, replacements can only be ordered from Yamaha Japan, I recently ordered a tweeter and a mid, each cost me around $250.

Good Luck